What is there
The best description is from a 2010 MySabah visit. The water comes out of the rocks hot enough to steam, and the writer guessed it could boil an egg at the source; nobody has published a measured temperature. Further from the source it was much cooler. The water looked murky that day, though the writer understood it is normally clear. A cool stream runs right beside the spring, close enough that stepping from one to the other gives you a jolt, and there was a small hut next to it. Mosquitoes were bad. The writer's own verdict: "not really impressive".
No water analysis has been published, so the mineral content is unknown.
Why you can't visit
In 2010 MySabah reported that, because of security concerns, Sime Darby did not actively promote the spring and only tried to preserve it, and that it was not for walk-in visitors.
In October 2022, Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment and Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai toured the Sime Darby estate in Kunak with Tourism Malaysia and a Sabah Tourism Board product team, and visited the Sungang spring. The Daily Express report said the public was not allowed into any of the estate sites he saw, which also included a lake, an old Japanese tunnel and an oil palm museum. He urged the company to work with local communities on tourism and said the tourism board would help. We found no later news of the spring opening. Tingkayu Salt Hot Spring, also on estate land in Kunak district, has similar access limits.
Getting there
The spring is inside Ladang Sungang, an oil palm estate about 11 km from Kunak town. A 2011 local blog advised a four-wheel drive for the estate roads. There is no public access, so do not drive in without the estate's permission. The exact location has never been published; the map pin marks Kunak town, not the spring.
Before you go
- Don't enter the estate without permission. Ladang Sungang is private plantation land, now under SD Guthrie (formerly Sime Darby Plantation).
- If access ever opens, the estate roads called for a 4WD in 2011.
- Bring strong insect repellent; the 2010 visitor found the mosquitoes bad.
- The source steams. Put your feet in where the water has spread out and cooled, and don't jump straight from the hot water into the cold stream beside it.
Questions people ask
Is Sungang Hot Spring (Kunak Hot Spring) open to the public?
No. It is inside a private oil palm estate, and as of October 2022 it was listed among Kunak sites the public is not allowed to enter. We found no news of it opening since.
Where is Sungang Hot Spring?
In Ladang Sungang, an oil palm estate about 11 km from Kunak town, run by SD Guthrie (formerly Sime Darby Plantation). The exact location is not published.
How hot is Sungang Hot Spring?
No temperature has been measured publicly. A 2010 visitor described steaming water at the source, cooling quickly further away.
Is there a hot spring I can visit near Kunak?
The nearest open options are around Tawau: Tawau Hot Springs at Kampung Air Panas, which has built pools, and the lukewarm sulphur springs in Tawau Hills Park, a 3.2 km walk from the park headquarters.
Other springs within 150 km
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources. Prices and hours change; confirm with the operator before a long drive.
- Daily Express: Potensi tarikan baharu pelancongan di Kunak (12 October 2022)
- MySabah.com: Kunak Hot Spring (2010, updated 2014)
- Cicindak blog: Kunak Hot Spring (February 2011)
- Wikipedia: Sime Darby (Sime Darby Plantation rebranded SD Guthrie Berhad, May 2024)
- OpenStreetMap: Kunak town
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