Annah Rais Hot Spring Relaxation

Hot Springs in Sarawak Malaysia of Borneo island are truly a hidden treasure. Last weekend Siamee Cat managed to visit there with her cousins. Annah Rais Hot Springs located at the streams next to Bidayuh Village Annah Rais, near to the Borneo Highland, where people can enjoy relaxation with untouched natural beauty of the lush of tropical Borneo rainforest and it is a perfect getaway of escaping from the hectic city life.

Annah Rais Hot Spring was discovered about 250 years ago. Since then the place has been guarded and preserved by the early settlers from the Bidayuh village of Annah Rais. Based on their belief the hot spring is a sacred place where some of the villagers would seek for blessings and cure for various illnesses.

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 Annah Rais Village is one of the famous tourism destinations in Sarawak, Borneo.To be there, it took us one and half hour drive from Kuching downtown. First it was 40km from the signboard outside Padawan district when we reached Padawan district, then it was 28km from Padawan district and we drove a long stretch road towards Borneo Highland, after Borneo Highland there is a road sign written Annah Rais on the right. To arrive there, we passed by Sarawak's Annah Rais Longhouse where the home of Bidayuh families and drove 10 more minutes through a narrow hilliest road.

Driving towards Borneo Highland

The hot springs recently had undergone some improvements on the facilities by Tourism of Malaysia. We have to pay RM5 per person for the entrance fee. According to Siamee Cat cousin, she said previously we have to walk on a dirt trail to the stream and sat on the stones to enjoy the hot spring in natural way. Now, there is a concrete walkway, steps to the streams, showers and changing rooms, and they also built a pool to contain the hot spring and provide sitting areas.

The stream was icy chilled and air has the smell of sulfur. We got excited when we first stepped in the stream. It was shallow and the floor of the stream is full with stones. When we walk along the shallow stream with our bare feet, it gave us the feeling of having relaxation foot massage in natural way.

Upon arrival you will find "Bidayuh" families at Annah Rais Longhouse

The downstream has a very small circle of concrete pool in the middle of the stream; the spring water in this pool is much too hot to touch. We even found a cooked frog right in the middle of the pool!

Next to this small pool, there are rocks circulating them to make up a natural tub; this is the best place to soak our feet and body in. As we touch the sand of the stream, we could feel the heat of the sand and stones. It's fun to dig up the sand and see the contrasting colors of the rocks. It gets hotter when you dig deeper. There are some parts which are visibly bubbling in the hot spring.

Miracle Hot Springs

It was really fun to soak ourselves in the hot spring with the running flow of stream and then switch to drifting cold stream. Annah Rais hot springs definitely a must visit place for escaping from hectic city life.