Malaysia · Sarawak
Where to Stay in Kuching, Sarawak
Kuching is the capital of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, a riverside city in Malaysia long known as the Cat City.
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Where to stay in Kuching
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Where you stay in Kuching turns on the waterfront. The old streets along the Sarawak River keep the museums, the temples, and the night markets within a walk, and staying by the water suits anyone here for the old city. The riverside glows with lights at night.
Rooms fill the shophouses and towers near the quay. Out toward the newer suburbs, the city spreads into malls and quiet streets. A room away from the centre trades the river views for space, parking, and an easy road to the airport and the rainforest parks.
The jungle starts past the edge of town. If you want the museums and the markets, stay by the water; if you want space and the parks, take a room outside. Either way, the river runs through the heart of it.
About Kuching
Kuching is known as the Cat City.
What is Kuching known for?
Its very name means cat in Malay, and cat statues watch over the streets along the Sarawak River, where the old city of the White Rajahs spreads below the forested hills. The Sarawak State Museum holds the treasures of Borneo. River and jungle frame the town.
What are the main landmarks in Kuching?
The waterfront is the heart of Kuching. Along the Sarawak River the old colonial town, the forts, and the cat statues draw every visitor, and the Sarawak State Museum stands among gardens above the water. Museums gather Borneo's story.
The grand Borneo Cultures Museum and the Chinese History Museum tell of the island's peoples, while Saint Joseph's Cathedral rises over the old streets.
What is the history of Kuching?
Kuching was the seat of the White Rajahs. In 1841 an English adventurer, James Brooke, was made rajah of Sarawak by the sultan of Brunei, and his family ruled the land as private kings for a century. The Brookes built along the river.
They raised forts, an astana palace, and a colonial town on the Sarawak River, and they governed the Malays, Chinese, and Dayak peoples of the interior in their strange white kingdom. At last the wider world broke in. The Japanese seized Kuching in the last war, and afterward Sarawak passed to Britain and then, in 1963, joined the new Malaysia.
Through it all the city kept its many peoples and faiths. The Sarawak State Museum and the grand new Borneo Cultures Museum gather the art and life of the whole island, while Saint Joseph's Cathedral and old Chinese temples stand among the shophouses. Cats of stone still guard the streets of Kuching.
Where is Kuching?
Kuching stands on the Sarawak River near the sea. The city spreads along both banks a little way inland from the coast of Borneo, ringed by rainforest, swamp, and the blue mountains of the interior. Jungle presses close to the suburbs.
The river carries the city down to the South China Sea.
What is the climate of Kuching?
Kuching lies under an equatorial sky. The heat holds steady and heavy all year, and rain falls in great tropical downpours, heaviest in the northeast monsoon from late in the year. Storms drum on the roofs by afternoon.
The forest stays green and wet through every month.
How do you get to Kuching?
Kuching has its own airport near the city. Flights land from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and across Borneo, and roads run out along the coast and into the interior. Riverboats still cross to the far bank.
Most arrive by air into the Sarawak capital.
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Updated August 2026