Mount Kinabalu
Malaysia'S First UNESCO World Heritage Site, Inscribed 2000 For Biodiversity; At 4,095 Metres The Highest Peak Between The Himalaya And The Mountains Of New Guinea · Kundasang, Sabah
AT FOUR THOUSAND AND NINETY-FIVE METRES KINABALU IS THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN BETWEEN THE HIMALAYA AND NEW GUINEA, a granite dome pushed up through Borneo and still rising. MALAYSIA'S FIRST WORLD HERITAGE SITE was inscribed in 2000 NOT FOR THE VIEW BUT FOR WHAT GROWS ON IT: the park spans lowland rainforest to bare alpine rock in a few horizontal kilometres, and the species packed into that gradient make it ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BIOLOGICAL SITES ON EARTH - thousands of plants, hundreds of them found nowhere else, including RAFFLESIA and the giant pitcher plant NEPENTHES RAJAH, which holds litres of fluid and has drowned small vertebrates. THE CLIMB IS A TWO-DAY WALK, not a technical ascent, WITH A HARD DAILY PERMIT CAP AND A MANDATORY GUIDE. TO THE KADAZAN-DUSUN IT IS AKI NABALU, where the dead go, and that is not a decoration on the story. Permits are capped daily and the beds at Laban Rata sell out months ahead, which decides whether you climb far more than fitness or weather ever will.
Kinabalu Park, Ranau, Sabah, Kundasang, Sabah, Malaysia
KINABALU PARK IS ABOUT TWO HOURS BY ROAD FROM KOTA KINABALU and the park itself is open daily for walks, the botanical garden and the lower trails without any climbing permit. THE SUMMIT CLIMB IS A DIFFERENT PROPOSITION ENTIRELY: A CLIMBING PERMIT, A MOUNTAIN GUIDE AND AN OVERNIGHT BOOKING AT LABAN RATA ARE ALL COMPULSORY, DAILY NUMBERS ARE STRICTLY CAPPED, AND BEDS SELL OUT MONTHS AHEAD - this is the single most important planning fact about the mountain. The standard pattern is climb to Laban Rata on day one, leave around two in the morning on day two for the summit, and descend all the way out. THE VIA FERRATA is booked separately and has its own age and fitness limits. IT IS COLD AND WET NEAR THE TOP in every month. Poring Hot Springs is nearby.