SABAH, the second largest state in Malaysia, is bordered by Sarawak on its southwestern side, and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) to the south. Sabah has a heavily indented coastline of approximately 800 to 900 miles and is washed by the South China Sea in the west and north, the Sulu Sea in the northeast and the Celebes Sea in the east.
Sabah's 76,115 sq km (29,388 sq miles) is dominated by one grand feature, Mount Kinabalu, the resting place of the souls of the departed Kadazan/Dusun peoples. Mt. Kinabalu stands at 4,093 metres and is the highest mountain in South East Asia. It is 1,961km from Hong Kong, 1,143km from Manila, 1,495km from Singapore, 1,678km from Kuala Lumpur and 2,291km from Taipei. Sabah was known in ancient times as the "Land Below The Wind" because it lies below the typhoon belt.
Kota Kinabalu is the state capital of Sabah. The town of Sandakan was once the capital of the state before the capital was transferred to Kota Kinabalu. Sabah is the home to thousands of species of trees, flowering plants and wild animals, some of which are rare and others found only in Sabah. It has a wide diversity of flora and fauna, as well as one of the world's largest rainforests. Sabah is an exciting and interesting place for eco-tourism, with unspoilt beaches, isolated tropical islands, beautiful and colourful marine life, and a majestic mountain.
Mt. Kinabalu
With the new height of 4,095 m above the sea level, Mt. Kinabalu has been quoted as one of the most unique mountain in the world. The secret of this, which stays with you from the very first sight through a lifetime, is the way the mountain is set; near equator, rising darkly straight out of the tropical forest, one continuous, clean, black, bare rock mass, to the summit. Due to this fact, Kt. Kinabalu has its own climate, a constant flux of cloud and wind, rain and cold, and the warmth from the forest below. It is seldom in any sense a static mountain, one may be looking at it one moment and the next, it has disappeared. This play a very important part in the excitement provided by Mt. Kinabalu.
The opportunity to do rock climbing activity on the summit is extremely great, with a lots of rock face which is relatively safe and hard to climb. Over 20 peaks waiting on the top to be conquered and so far, there has been less record of people climbing to most of the peaks except the Low's Peak which is commonly used by tourist. Typically, it will take 2 days to conquer this highest mountain in Malaysia. A day to 11,000 ft and the second day, to reach the summit before sunrise. However, staying on the mountain for more than 3 days is common nowadays especially for rock climbers.
Facilities:
Accommodation is not a problem here with resthouse and a restaurant at the 11,000 ft elevation. There is Laban Rata, Panar Laban and Gunting Lagadan resthouse with a moderate restaurant serving oriental and western menu. At the elevation of approximately 12,000 ft, a small hut which can accommodate 4 people is located western side of the mountain. it is called West Gurkha Hut. Any climbers can go and stay there provided that they informed the park authority earlier before climbing. This hut is without any caretaker. So, if you are thinking of staying there, make sure you clean the hut before you depart from there. You are advise to bring your own cooking equipment and foods. However, sleeping bags, cooking pot, cutlery and mattress is readily available there.
Area:
There are few areas of which most people climb and explore. There are namely Low's Peak, Eastern Plateau, Western Plateau, Victoria Peak, St. John and Alexandra Peak. Care should be taken when exploring these area due to the fact that it needs a high level of fitness to explore this except the Low's Peak.
Activity:
Some of them would like to go to the Low's Peak and some of them just want to enjoy the beautiful scenery. technical rock climbing is also another type of interesting activity here. Multi-pitch climbing can be done all over the summit with a competent partner.
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