Unit 8

Tawau Hills National Park
The lush forests of the Tawau Hills in the east coast of Sabah were gazetted as a National Park to protect the natural environment with its unique flora and fauna and to ensure an uninterrupted water supply for the region. Rugged volcanic terrain cover the natural landscape, in sharp contrast to the neatly cultivated plantations of oil palm, cocoa and rubber on the flat coastal plains. It covers an area of 27, 972 hectares.
Lush dipterocarp forest vegetation and lianas cover the lower regions giving way to thick damp mossy forests as the altitude gets higher and temperatures get cooler. The variety of plant life found within the Park include Agathis, Mountain Ru, Tree ferns, different species of orchids and begonia. A particularly interesting specie is the Mengaris tree whose smooth grey trunk makes it particularly difficult to climb. Wild bees protect their precious store of honey from the voracious honey bears, by making their honeycombs high up these trees.
Macaques, creamy white leaf monkeys, giant tree squirrels, civet cats and leopard cats inhabit the park’s dense primary forests. Borneo’s largest wild cat - the clouded leopard, though rarely seen is not uncommon. It preys on smaller mammals such as rats and even bigger wild pigs. Other inhabitants of the harmless kind include 8 different species of hornbills and pheasants and the slow-moving forest tortoise
There are also hotsprings-Mother Nature’s very own spa, where you can ease your tired muscles and weary bones while luxuriating in the therapeutic warmth of the ‘geothermal’ pool. Getting there Tours to Tawau Hills Park depart daily from Tawau. The Lucia Jungle Lodge, built next to the park headquaters, offers simple, inexpensive accommodation in cozy rooms near the southern boundry of the park and amidst several streams. The cafeteria is open all day long but the lodge also offers a kitchenette for it's guests who wish to prepear their own meals.