What's on in Kuching (Sarawak), Malaysia through the year

Busy — Chinese New Year, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Chinese New Year

  20 Jan – 25 Feb · usuallyLunar New YearClosuresBook early

  Kuching's Chinese half shuts for three or four days and Carpenter Street is the place to be for it. Flights in from the peninsula are the expensive part. Source ↗

Still on: Northeast monsoon (1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year closure in Malaysia

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Chinese New Year (20 Jan – 25 Feb (usually)), Northeast monsoon (1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Term-1 break (Hari Raya 2026) in Malaysia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Mid-year break in Malaysia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Drier months

  1 May – 30 Sep · usuallyDry season

  The stretch between monsoons, when the Bako boat landing is reliable and the trails at Kubah and Gunung Gading are not ankle-deep. Sarawak is never dry, only less wet.

Peak crowds — Rainforest World Music Festival, Mid-year break in Malaysia

• Festival

  Gawai Dayak

  1–30 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalClosures

  Sarawak's own harvest holiday on the first two days of June, with open houses in the longhouses up-river and celebrating that runs on and off for the rest of the month. Source ↗

• Festival

  Rainforest World Music Festival

  20 Jun – 20 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Three days at the cultural village under Mount Santubong, north of the city, drawing more than twenty thousand people. Rooms in Kuching go months ahead of it. Source ↗

Still on: Drier months (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Rainforest World Music Festival, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Drier months (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Rainforest World Music Festival (20 Jun – 20 Jul (usually))

Busy — Term-2 break in Malaysia, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Haze season

  1 Aug – 15 Oct · usuallySmoke season

  Smoke from land clearing in Kalimantan and Sumatra drifts across in the drier weeks and schools close on the worst days. Some years it barely happens; others it lasts a month. Source ↗

Still on: Drier months (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Term-2 break in Malaysia, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Drier months (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Haze season (1 Aug – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Haze season (1 Aug – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Northeast monsoon

  1 Nov – 28 Feb · usuallyClosures

  The heaviest months on this coast, when the Bako crossing gets cancelled on the rough days and the up-river boats run to the water, not the timetable.

Busy — Year-end break in Malaysia, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Northeast monsoon (1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually))