Mount Kinabalu
Soars more than four kilometers to the sky, Mount Kinabalu is the roof of Malaysia. The mountain is located within the area of Kinabalu Park of Sabah, which has been declared as one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites for the last 10 years. Hiking up to the peak is possible only on foot, an exhaustive but memorable journey.
Most visitors will come through Kota Kinabalu International Airport, a clean small town with modern infrastructure, including ultra-wide roads. Budget travelers can choose X-plorer Backpackers, a two story motel with wooden floors and walls. One room can be occupied by up to 6 adults at RM30 per person per night.
Taman Kinabalu is reachable by two hours drive from the town. There are two entry points to climb the mountain. The shorter track started at Timpohon which sits at 1.800 meters above the sea level. The other track started at Mesilau. Climbing Mount Kinabalu has been set as a well managed tourism activities. Comfortable paperwork procedures just like obtaining visa-on-arrival at the airport, easily ordered meals and accommodations, as well as standardized guide and porter fees.
The track from Timpohon to the peak is 9 kilometers long through narrow soil pathway and sharp steep hike ups. The first rest post is Kandis, followed by Ubah, Lowii, Laban Rata, and the last is Sayat-Sayat. Each post features suitable information from its height to the history behind their respective name. Each post has an emergency carriage and clean rest room. They are free of graffiti and other forms of vandalism.
Climbers normally stop and stay overnight at Laban Rata. Hike from Rimpohon to Laban Rata takes between 5 to 8 hours depends on your fitness. To ease yourself you can hire a porter at RM8 per kilogram. Many of them are female, but they are definitely strong. They can easily carry 30 kilograms up to the peak. In addition to helping visitors, the porters also carry logistic for a restaurant, including gas bottles. Laban Rata has cabins with hot water, restaurant, coat rental, and souvenir shop.
To catch the sunrise at the peak, the following day climbing is continued as early as 3 in the morning. The first challenge is long uphill hike combining wooden and rocky steps, ending at an extrem steep which requires rope to get through. The rope leads you to the top. The track is quite slippery and visitors are advised to forget anything accidentally falls down from their bags or pockets as there is no way to collect it back.
Sayat-Sayat is the last post before the peak. Climbers intending to reach the peak are registered one more time, and have to report again in their way back. The steep uphill is getting more though closing to the peak, and the rope is getting more and more helpful. Unlike most summits, the peak of Mount Kinabalu is rather wide and bumpy. Temperature at the top early in the morning is about 5 Celcius degree.
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