Taman Negara Kinabalu Things to Do

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The Kinabalu Park provides endless opportunities for the photographer - from the changing views of the mountain to the thousands of plants and animals that live there. You will almost certainly need more films, memory cards and camera batteries. White or pale flowers are particularly difficult to take with flash and a useful item is a light reflector to reflect the sunlight onto the object you are photographing.

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Kinabalu is one of the richest centres of plant diversity in the world and is an excellent place to observe a wide range of plants. Orchids, rhododendrons and pitcher-plants are particularly showy. The pitcher-plants Nepenthes villosa and Nepenthes rajah are not found anywhere else in the world and both are easily visible on Kinabalu. Likewise, many orchids are found only on the mountain. The mountain garden at the park HQ and the Orchid Conservation Centre at Poring are excellent places for more detailed observation of Kinabalu's plants where many rare species are easily seen. Kinabalu is one of the few places in Borneo where the giant-flowered Rafflesia is easily accessible, though whether or not it will be flowering is largely a matter of luck. The Sabah Parks staff at Poring should know whether any are blooming at the time of your visit.

Both Kinabalu Park HQ and Mesilau Nature Resort are excellent places for watching montane birds, especially in the early mornings when many birds are hawking insects around the lamp posts. Poring Hot Springs is good for lowland species, such as spiderhunters and sunbirds. Over 300 species have been recorded from the park.

Camping is encouraged only at Poring Hot Springs. Tents can be hired at Poring but you must bring everything else. Food is available at the restaurant on the other side of the Mamut river or from the stalls just outside the park entrance. It is also possible to camp at both the Sayap and Serinsim stations but you will need a 4-wheel drive to reach them and must bring all your own gear including tents as well as food as there are no visitor facilities at either place. Camping is not permitted elsewhere in the Park.

Large animals are rare and difficult to see but a lot of interest and pleasure can be had watching smaller creatures, particularly insects. Butterflies, moths and beetles are particularly diverse and colourful and can be examined closely clustered on walls or bushes under lamps in the early morning.

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It is within reach for most visitors as long as you are reasonably fit and well prepared. The Park requires all climbers to be accompanied by Park guides. This is particularly important if you are using trails other than the standard climb to Low's Peak but even for this is compulsory.

Mount Kinabalu is also one of the most accessible and spectacular mountains in the world. The mountain was first climbed by Sir Hugh Low in 1851 who collected many of Kinabalu's unique plants.

Established as a park in 1964, Kinabalu is now accessible to visitors who travel from around the world to experience its wonders for themselves.

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Recommended: climb the mountain via Mesilau Trail and go down via Timpohon (Kinabalu Park) Trail. Stay one night at Laban Rata and continue climbing to the peak around 2 or 3am. If you're lucky, you can see the shooting star while climbing to the peak and you can even watch the sunrise if there's no mist. Make sure you take lots and lots of picture.

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A climb that was well worth the effort, energy and altitude sickness! Register at Mt K Headquarters when you arrive to secure a guide. Make sure you buy plenty of energy snacks when you're in Kota Kinabalu as it is cheaper from supermarkets. Set off nice and early, like 8AM. We arrived at Laban Rata Resthouse at 1PM. There are plenty of sheltered stops along the way and tandas (toilet) huts.

BYO toilet paper and ofcourse plenty of H2O. Wrap your spare clothing inside a plastic bag inside your backpack. We perspired so much from the climb that the spare tshirts inside our packs were sodden and couldn't be worn til dry! Peopled advised me to climb with hiking shoes for the uphill and open toe sandals for the descent. I just wore an old pair of sneakers for ascent and descent, they were just fine. Whilst we were making our painstaking ascent up the relentlessly steep uphill rockface, other groups were making their descent, skipping down the mountain like billy goats. If one more person making their descent said 'don't worry! it's all worth it', I could have slapped them! Paracetamol came in VERY handy. From laban rata to the summit we all had altitude sickness in the form of headaches and nausea. We bought anti-nausea tablets for RM2 up at the LR resthouse. The website stipulates that there are hot water showers at Laban Rata. I never experienced any such luxury!

The descent is tough on your knees. Our knees felt like jelly and our muscles ached for five days afterwards (and I do step aerobics frequently!)