A Mount Kinabalu Travel Guide | Hiking | Travel | Hotels and Accomodation | Preparation

The Geology of Mount Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu
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Mount Kinabalu is primarily a large granodiorite (or granite), which intrudes into the sedimentary rocks and forms the core of Mount Kinbalu. This dome batholith was million’s of years ago pushed up from the earth’s crust as molten rocks and in geological terms is a very young mountain.

This molten rock hardened and formed into granite roughly 10 million years ago and is still pushing up and outwards at roughly 5mm per year. During the Pleistocene Period 100,000 years ago, the massive bulk of the mountain was covered in ice, with glaciers flowing down it’s sides.

View Mount Kinabalu in a larger map

The flowing of these glaciers scoured and marked the surface, in the process creating the 1800m deep Low’s Gully, named aptly after Hugh Low and is located on the North side.

Its granite composition and the glacial formative processes are readily apparent when viewing its craggy rocky peaks.

The mountain range itself covers over an area of around 750km squared, stretching through the entire West coast of Sabah. At 4095m (13 435 feet), Mount Kinabalu dwarfs all around it and is the highest mountain between the 2500km long Maoke Mountain range and the peaks of the Himalayas.

The lowest elevation of Kinabalu Park is 550m (1805 feet), or the Porinng Hot Springs, located in the Southern region of the park.

This massive change in height in such a small area means that the temperature decreases from 25°C at sweltering and humid Poring, to 4°C at the summit of Mount Kinabalu.

Due to its altitude, it enjoys heavy rainfall for several months of the year, as clouds are trapped in many areas of the Park. Also referred to as “a mountain of mist and rain” (Dr. Willem Meijer).

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The Climbing Seasons

Climbing Mount Kinabalu
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Mount Kinabalu is situated in East Malaysia. Generally speaking, Malaysia is generally warm throughout the year with temperatures ranging between 21°C to 32°C in low lying regions colder temperatures of approximately 16°C in the highlands.

As Malaysia is situated along the equator, Malaysia has two distinct seasons, the dry and the rainy season.

The north-east monsoon brings the rainy season from the end of the year (typically mid-November) till the beginning of the year (around February). Annual rainfall is approximately 2,500mm (100 inches). It would be advisable to avoid this period for climbs as the conditions may make climbs up the mountain more difficult. Generally, planning to do the climb after this wet season would be ideal (from February till April). Temperatures at the main park during this period would range between 20°C to 25°C. However, higher up at the peak, temperatures still can approach near freezing. Therefore, it would still be advisable to have the necessary garments for this weather such as boots, rain coats and warms jackets.

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History Of Mount Kinabalu

The History
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Mount Kinabalu is a renowned mountain in South East Asia and Borneo’s tallest mountain. Situated in Kinabalu Park in state of Sabah 80 kilometres east of Kota Kinabalu, Mount Kinabalu has a summit (Low’s Peak) of 4095 metres above sea level.

Kinabalu Park is located in Kundasang and covers an area of 754 square kilometres and establishes itself as a location to protect and promote this botanical paradise. The park is open daily from 7am to 5pm and more information can be found on the following link:

http://www.sabahtourism.com/sabah-malaysian-borneo/en/destination/124-kinabalu-park/

Sir Hugh Low made the first documented ascent of Mount Kinabalu in 1851. Both of Mount Kinabalu’s highest peak and the deep gully on the other side of the mountain are name after him. Sir Hugh Low was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. The son of a Scottish horticulturist, he acquired botanical experience at a young age before heading to South East Asia at the age of 20. [1]

Lilian Suzette Gibbs was a British botanist who worked for the British Museum in London. She was the first woman to ascend Mount Kinabalu in 1910 and had several plants named in her honour. [2]

Mount Kinabalu is one of the most accessible mountains in the world which does not require any special climbing skills; however, it would be recommended for people with a good physical condition. During the rainy season (typically towards the end of the year in November and December), the climbing conditions can get slightly dangerous as the higher slopes may be slippery and more difficult to climb. During this period, dense fog has also been known to reduce visibility. More suitable timing for the climbs would be around the month of April whereby the temperatures are typically between 20-25⁰C around the low lying areas and approaches much colder temperatures with higher altitudes. It is advisable to bring warmer clothing for the ascent. [3]

Mount Kinabalu is a mountain covered in rainforest that are populated by a variety of fauna and flora. Among, the vast bio-diversity, the surroundings of Mount Kinabalu includes the largest flower in the world, the Rafflesia. This parasitic plant is capable of growing to sizes up to almost one meter in diameter. A survey of the mountain indicated an estimate of 5000 to 6000 plant species in this area which is considerably more than all of Europe and North America (excluding tropical areas of Mexico) combined. With such staggering figures, it is no wonder that this area is a very important biological site. Besides the diversity of plants there are a range of animals such as orang utans, Kinabalu giant red leach and various species of birds such as the Rhinoceros Hornbill.

The mountain’s name also brings many stories with regards to the origin of its name. The first derivation of the word Kinabalu was taken from the Kadazan Dusun word ‘Aki Nabalu’, which translated means ‘the revered place of the dead’. The locals believed that the spirits were roaming on the peak of the mountain, feeding off moss that grows amongst bare rock. Upon ascent to the peak, the Kadazandusuns would perform religious ceremonies to appease the spirits of the mountain. In the modern times, these rituals are performed by the Kinabalu park guides.

A second source states that the name Kinabalu derives from “Cina Balu” (or translated to a Chinese Widow). The pronunciation of the word “Cina” (chee-na) was changed to “Kina” (Kee-na) due to the influence of the Kadazan Dusun of Sabah.

The story goes that a Chinese prince was cast away to Borneo when his ship sank in the middle of the South China Sea. After being rescued by natives from a nearby village, he grew fond of the people and was then accepted by the natives. He fell in love with a local girl and eventually married her. As the years passed, he felt homesick and requested permission from his new found family to return back to China to visit his parents. He had promised that after his trip back to China, he would return to Borneo to take her and their children to China.

Upon his return to China, he was given a grand welcome, but to his dismay, his parents disagreed on bringing back his family which he had left in Borneo. It was arranged that he was to wed a princess from a neighbouring kingdom. As such, he obeyed his parents with a heavy heart.

His wife back in Borneo decided to wait for his ship to return. She decided to climb the highest mountain in her village every morning at sunrise to get a better view of the coast, but eventually her efforts took a toll as she fell ill and died at the peak of the mountain whilst waiting for her husband’s return. The people in her hometown village were gravely touched by his and decided to name the mountain Kinabalu in remembrance of her. [4]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Low

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilian_Gibbs

[3] http://wikitravel.org/en/Mount_Kinabalu

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kinabalu

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Mount Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu
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Mount Kinabalu, or Gunung Kinabalu (in the national language of Malay) is on the island of Borneo, in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. Located in Kinabalu National park, which is a World Heritage Site, it stands as the highest mountain in the Malay Archipelago.

Sitting high above the clouds, a satellite scan of the area, as well plenty of travellers later, revealed that the Peak of the mountain (Low’s Peak) sits at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft) above sea level.

Getting To Kota Kinabalu

As a traveller, your first task will be to get to the general vicinity of the mountain.

For overseas travellers, this is typically a flight into Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and a connecting flight via one of the local air carriers (Air Asia or Malaysia Airlines) to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah.

Air Asia Route Map

Malaysia Airlines flights take off directly from KLIA itself, but if you choose to use Malaysia’s low-cost carrier, Air Asia, you will need to take a connecting transport from KLIA to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) and take your flight from there.

The flight to Kota Kinabalu will take approximately 2.5 hours regardless of which airport you take off from.

Alternatively, there are select International airports that fly direct to Kota Kinabalu, such as from Brunei, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Manilla, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore. To find all routes to Kota Kinabalu, you can use the search tool below:

Upon Landing In Kota Kinabalu Airport

Upon landing at the main airport, depending on your time of arrival, you’ll probably need to rest in the city before making your way to Kinabalu Park, as the travel time from the city is still around 3 hours.

Take a taxi by going to the Airport Taxi Services counter (and not from some random taxi driver outside) and purchase a ticket to the city. It will cost you around RM10 – RM20 for a one way trip.

There are a selection of hotels to choose from and you may search through them using the below search tool. You can filter by cost, location, star rating and other details:

Getting From Kota Kinabalu To Kinabalu Park Headquarters

You can take a bus from the city centre to the Kinabalu National Park, a trip of roughly 3 hours. The bus should be heading to Ranau, but it would be good to double check just in case. The bus should cost you less than RM20 one way.

Alternatively you can hire a taxi to get there, which would be a good idea if you’re travelling in a group. Taxis typically take a maximum of 4 passengers and cost anywhere from RM80 to RM100, negotiate the price if you can.

You can also negotiate a ‘pick up’ price, where the taxi driver will pick you up when you get back to the bottom of Mount Kinabalu and take you back to Kota Kinabalu for your return flight.

The taxi will still take more than 2 hours to get to the park, with the journey being quite winding (warning to those with motion sickness!).

If you’re feeling brave, you could always hire a car as well. There are multiple car rental agencies at the airport itself and a few in the centre of Kota Kinabalu. Have a look around and make sure you ask for a map!

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