From Kota Kinabalu, you drive about two hours to Kinabalu Park, the mountain rainforest area at the foot of Mount Kinabalu. There will be time for hikes on the park trails, birdwatching, and a detour to the Poring Hot Springs.
6 Days / 5 Nights
March–September
2 stops
Why This Route?
For busy nature lovers who want to experience Borneo's mountain rainforest without long transfers.
Hidden Gems
Poring Hot Springs with Canopy Walkway, early in the morning
Desa Dairy Farm in Kundasang, a few kilometers from the park, overlooking Mount Kinabalu
Sunday Market on Gaya Street in Kota Kinabalu
Itinerary
Stop 1 • 2 Nights
Kota Kinabalu
City
Perfect for an exciting city trip. Culinary highlights and Rich in culture and history.
Kota Kinabalu, or KK for short, is the capital of Sabah and for most, the starting point on Borneo. The city itself is more practical than beautiful, but conveniently located: Off the coast lie the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, and inland is Mount Kinabalu. Evenings, the waterfront night market with grilled fish is a must; on Sunday mornings, explore the Gaya Street market. For sunset, head to Tanjung Aru or climb Signal Hill.
11 Sights
3 Restaurants
Stories and People
After an initial settlement on Pulau Gaya was destroyed in 1897, the British North Borneo Chartered Company founded Jesselton on the mainland in 1899, naming it after their Vice-President Sir Charles Jessel. Allied bombing raids almost completely destroyed the city in 1945; only three buildings remained standing. One of these is the Atkinson Clock Tower from 1905. In 1967, the state parliament decided to rename the city Kota Kinabalu, after Mount Kinabalu.KK is home to Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Chinese, Malay, and many immigrants from the Philippines. This diversity shapes its markets and cuisine. In late May, the Kadazan-Dusun celebrate Kaamatan, the harvest festival, with dances, traditional costumes, and rice wine. You can see traditional homes of these ethnic groups in the open-air section of the Sabah Museum.
For adventure seekers. Perfect for unwinding and relaxation and Route highlight.
Kinabalu National Park in Sabah in northern Borneo protects the 4,095-meter-high Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Malaysia. You come for the two-day summit climb to the sunrise or for the montane forests, which have been protected by UNESCO since 2000 as Malaysia's first World Heritage Site.On the way up, the vegetation changes from rainforest through cloud forest with pitcher plants and orchids to the bare granite dome. Even without the summit, the forest trails at the headquarters, the hot springs of Poring and the cool mountain village of Kundasang are worth it.
5 Sights
5 Restaurants
The holy mountain
For the Kadazan-Dusun, Kinabalu is a sacred mountain, seat of the guardian spirit Aki Nabalu. Many of the mountain guides and porters still come from the villages at its foot today.The highest peak is named after Hugh Low, a British colonial official who, in 1851, was the first European to reach the summit plateau with a Dusun guide. The highest point was only climbed in 1888 by the zoologist John Whitehead. On June 5, 2015, an earthquake triggered rockfalls, killing 18 people. In Kundasang, a memorial commemorates the prisoners of war who died in 1945 on the death marches from Sandakan to Ranau.
