Getting here:
Teluk Assam is the main beach fronting the Park Headquarters. Most visitors to Bako National Park will arrive at Teluk Assam from the boat jetty at Kg Bako.

Description:
Teluk Assam is a very long half-sandy and half-muddy beach. I estimate the walking distance from one end at Tanjung Sapi to the other end close to the mangrove forest is at least 2 kilometres. Not exactly a walking distance, but one should try to do the walk nonetheless. Teluk Assam can be considered the featured beach in the national park, but not necessarily the most beautiful, mainly because it hosts the Park Headquarters and other well-documented beaches in Bako National Park will take anywhere between 30 minutes to half-a-day jungle hike to get to.

Don't expect to see crystal-clear water teeming with marine life at the beach. It does not offer such attractions commonly seek by sun-worshippers. The western end of Teluk Assam is flanked by a number of towering rock formations that this national park is famous for. You can clearly see the exposed layers of different sediment rocks creating nature's most spectacular painting of varying colours and contrasts. Millions of years of erosion have produced these dazzling rocky scapes that no human engineering feat can ever achieve. Interestingly, there is one rock section that resembles an iguana head. You can play with your imagination. Just stare at the rock formations for a couple of minutes and try to make out what you can see between the layers.

On the eastern side of the beach lies the featured mangrove forest equipped with raised wooden planks. This section of the beach is very popular among the day-trippers who probably have never seen a mangrove forest before. Not to mention the chance to see the fabled proboscis monkeys feeding among the mangrove trees. This primate species is endemic to the island of Borneo, which means one cannot find them anywhere else in the world, save it for man-made nature reserves or animal zoos. At low tide, you can walk along the beach (or the mangrove forest) to see mudskippers, sky-blue fiddler crabs and shell-dwelling hermit crabs. The secondary forest along the beach is also a great place to catch a glimpse of the docile silvered langurs (or leaf monkeys). You can easily spot 5-10 of them within a bushy tree. Do approach them in caution to avoid disturbing them. They are not known for their ferociousness like the harrowing experience I had with Bako's long-tailed macaques, but still, precautionary steps are advised.

Teluk Assam is also a great place to see the sunset as it faces the northwest. In all honesty, the sunset I witnessed during my one-night stay here was far from being magical, but it was acceptable nonetheless. The dark gray hue of approaching storm clouds (yes, it rained cats and dogs that night) emanated a stark contrast to the golden sky of the setting sun right above the majestic Mount Santubong. Early morning is the best time to see Mount Santubong and the massive peninsula as the sky is usually clear during this period before layers of cloud start to kick in.