Nestled not too far from Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia is Kubah National Park. While the Park hosts bearded pigs and hornbills, it is best known as a destination for frog-focused night tours as well as containing around 93 species of palms. Over 60 species of frogs are found at Kubah, including one of the smallest species in the world. So, while in Borneo, we had to check it out!

Kubah National Park is just over 5,500 acres and is a dipterocarp forest (aka mainly comprised of trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. While the area has several hiking trails and overnight accommodations, we opted to travel in with a Night Froggy Tour which picked us up in Kuching and took us to the Park. It was hot and humid, despite it being nighttime. The Park has a pay toilet (it’s really cheap), and you have to sign in with your guide before heading to the Frog Pond.

The tour is mostly an uphill hike to a short loop trail around a man-made pond filled with frogs. We didn’t get very far before we found the coolest critter of the night: a female Malayan horned frog (Megophrys nasuta). She was magnificent! We heard a few others in the night too. Their call is described as a metallic “honk” or “henk” which sounded more like the start of an emergency vehicle noise in the forest. As you might imagine, these frogs spend most of their time in the leaf litter. Interestingly enough, their bellies do glow under UV light.

As we climbed up the paved road, we got to see tons of other critters. I had a medium-sized fruit bat fly over. I finally saw some of the flask-shaped pitcher plants (Nepenthes ampullaria) which glowed under UV-light and housed tiny frogs. In fact, the Matang narrow-mouthed frog (Microhyla borneensis) will call from the pitchers to amplify their voices and will also lay their eggs in the plants. The Park also had huge stick insects, katydids, and spiders all around. The forest was so loud at times that it was hard to hear the rest of the group.

When we finally arrived at the Frog Pond, I couldn’t believe how many amphibians were all around this tiny, dug-out area with a wooden walkway over it. The pond itself wasn’t much for the eyes, but it had enough water to attract a ton of amphibians. By far, the most common species was the white-lipped frog (Chalcorana raniceps) followed by the harlequin flying tree frog (Rhacophorus pardalis). We also got to see a few like the mahogany frog (Abavorana luctuosa) which aren’t as common. For me, it was difficult to get good pictures as my camera lens kept fogging up. I got a few, though, along with lots of memories stored in ye Olde Brain.

Overall, the trip was a great one. Even better- when we got back to the van, soaked in sweat- the driver had little goodie bags for us with fresh bananas, banana bread, and cold drinks. It was the perfect end to a perfect night. If you are in Kuching, then I suggest checking out the tour and supporting the Park and local ecotourism.