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Fish Feeding
Toss food into the crystal water and watch hundreds of Pelian fish swirl around your hands in a mesmerising living whirlpool you won't find anywhere else in the world.
Our Roots
A River Protected
A River Protected
for Generations
Tagal — a Kadazan-Dusun word meaning "prohibition" — is one of Borneo's most enduring gifts to the world. For centuries, the indigenous peoples of Sabah have used this ancient system to protect their rivers, sustaining fish populations and forest ecosystems for their children, and their children's children.
At Taman Tinopikon, the Tagal system lives and breathes along the Moyog River in Kampung Notoruss. Here, the gentle Pelian fish — protected for so long and so well they have lost all fear of humans — will swim freely around you, feed from your hands, and nibble softly at your skin in what locals call "the kiss of the river."
Officially completed on 13 December 2012 under the Sabah Fisheries Department's Tagal Programme, Taman Tinopikon is one of 628 registered Tagal zones across 227 rivers in Sabah — a living proof that when indigenous knowledge guides conservation, nature recovers beyond expectation.
Learn about the Tagal system
The Moyog River — heart of the Tagal sanctuary
Pelian fish in the Moyog
Crystal-clear waters