Best Time to Visit in Kuching (Sarawak)
Part of the Kuching (Sarawak) travel guide — see every topic in All Kuching (Sarawak) Guides.
Kuching sits one and a half degrees north of the equator and is hot, humid and wet year-round: highs of 31–33°C, lows of 23–24°C, and rainfall in every month. Kuching is in fact one of the wetter cities in Malaysia. The north-east monsoon from November to February brings the heaviest rain and occasional flooding; the rest of the year is drier without being dry. Since the weather never really changes, the calendar — Gawai in June, the Rainforest World Music Festival mid-year — matters far more.
The seasons
The wetter period runs November to February with the north-east monsoon, peaking in January, when Kuching can receive very heavy rain and localised flooding occurs. Boat access to Bako can be disrupted and jungle trails are muddy and leech-heavy. The drier months, roughly May to September, still see afternoon storms but far more usable days. Temperature and humidity are effectively constant. There is no month you cannot visit; there are months where you should expect to lose an afternoon to rain.
Gawai Dayak
The Dayak harvest festival, on 1 and 2 June with celebrations running for days either side, is the biggest event in Sarawak's year. Longhouses hold open house, families return from the cities, there is tuak, music, dancing and enormous hospitality, and visitors who have any longhouse connection are swept into it. Kuching itself is quieter as people leave for their communities. If you can time a longhouse stay for Gawai, do — but book months ahead, because transport and accommodation across the state fill completely.
The other dates
The Rainforest World Music Festival runs three days mid-year at Damai and fills accommodation for a wide radius. Chinese New Year in January or February is significant in Kuching, which has a large Chinese population, with temple activity and many businesses closed for several days. Hari Raya moves each year. The Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival and Sarawak Regatta are smaller. Sarawak also observes Sarawak Day on 22 July and Gawai as state holidays that the peninsula does not.
Choosing
For weather: May to September. For the single best experience: Gawai in early June, if you can arrange a longhouse stay, or the music festival. For quiet and low prices: any month outside those and outside Chinese New Year. Avoid: January for the heaviest rain, and the days around Gawai and the festival if you have not booked. Wildlife is largely aseasonal, with the caveat that orangutan sightings at Semenggoh are least likely during the mid-year fruiting season.
Best Time to Visit at a glance
| Temperature | 31–33°C day, 23–24°C night, year-round |
|---|---|
| Wettest | November–February; January the heaviest |
| Driest | Roughly May–September — still afternoon storms |
| The big festival | Gawai Dayak, 1–2 June — book months ahead |
| Also | Rainforest World Music Festival, three days mid-year |
| Note | Semenggoh sightings are lowest in the fruiting season |