Sarawak Cultural Village

The village at Damai opened in 1990 to show the building traditions of Sarawak in one walk. Around a small lake stand seven full-size structures: Iban and Bidayuh longhouses, an Orang Ulu longhouse with painted murals, a Melanau tall house on high posts, a Penan hut, a Chinese farmhouse and a Malay town house. Each is staffed by people from that community demonstrating weaving, blowpipe making, sago processing, bead threading or music, and visitors move between them at their own pace. A dance performance in the theatre closes the standard visit. It is a constructed museum rather than a living settlement, and honest about that, but the buildings are properly made and the craft demonstrations are real work.

What you actually see

• The Melanau tall house - the high-posted structure reached by a notched log stair.
• The Orang Ulu longhouse - painted murals, beadwork and sape lute playing.
• The Iban longhouse - the covered gallery, weaving looms and pua kumbu cloth.
• The craft demonstrations - sago processing, blowpipe making and blowpipe practice.

When to go

Mornings, before the heat builds and before the coach groups arrive from the Kuching hotels. Two dance performances run daily at set times and the visit is normally built around one of them. A large music festival takes over the site for a long weekend in mid-year, when ordinary visits stop. Afternoon rain is common.

Honest expectations

It is a purpose-built attraction, and the staged feel puts some people off; the dance show in particular is a tourist performance. The ticket is expensive by Malaysian standards. Paths between the houses are exposed and the walking is hot. It is not a substitute for visiting a working longhouse up-river, though it is far easier to reach and far cheaper in time.

Nearby

Damai beach, Mount Santubong and the Kuching waterfront are all close.