The Breath Taking Mt Kinabalu

Magical Heights of Mt Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu; one of the highest mountains in South East Asia and definitely the highest in Malaysia. The picturesque mountain is perched in the Kinabalu National Park around a 2 hour drive from KK. The summit of 4095m is a tiresome effort to climb but its well worth it. 

The route

The trek takes around 2 days; most people trek around 6 hours to a hut at 3323m then you get up at 2am to continue to the summit to be greeted with one of the most spectacular views at sunrise. You then return to Laban Rata for breakfast and continue on down the mountain and through the rainforrest for another 4 hours or so to hit park headquarters for a late lunch.

Chilly at the 4095m summit

Another option for the incredibly fit or time stricken climbers is do make it to the summit and back in one day. This is a cheaper option as the Laban Rata hut is more expensive, however for me it was about the whole experience, of trekking up, enjoying the views of staying above the clouds, the summit and of course the walk down.

Many people stay at park headquarters the night before the climb which avoids the 2 hour drive the morning of the climb as well as acclimates you to a little altitude! Park headquarters was beautiful, we stayed in a dorm however it did not feel like a dorm you find in Asia. It felt like we were in the European mountains (i just think the fire was for effect). We were incredibly lucky to have a spectacular view of the upcoming trek from HQ, with the tiny lights of Laban Rata up the mountain once the sunset.

Dad and i with the Mt behind

The first day took us about 5 hours to make it to the hut, our guide followed closely behind but it was amazing to see he was doing it while wearing crocs and texting! Most of the trek was through the rainforrest with the canopy protecting you from the sun most of the time. This i was very thankful for but it was dripping with sweat hot! The track consists of many steps, rocks and wood. The key to making it up is to focus on the goal and just go one step at a time. Along the way there are many huts to grab some fuel and release your back from your bag.

With stunning views from Laban Rata, we indulged in a buffet dinner, an ice cold shower then watched the sunset over the world. The view is just breath taking with the land down below, the clouds moving fast with the wind and the view of the mountains behind i feel i could have stayed there another night just to ponder life.

 

Made it to Laban Rata

The wake up at 2am wasn’t as hard as i thought it would be, from there we put our head torches on and set off for the summit. Initially we just climbed more steep steps until we hit the rope course. We had to use a rope as a guideline to climb up a sheer rock race of an angle about 75. This was the part where my dad put his worrying shoes on because the slightest slip and you could be in big trouble, nevertheless it was definitely adrenalin pumping. Once we got through the last check point and rope course, we started the long steady climb over the rock fields. These fields felt like they went on forever, however we were going as slow as a turtle as we had 1.5 hours till sunrise and only 1km to go! This is also the area many people also experience altitude sickness or really struggle to breathe because of the decreased levels of oxygen. So back to our mindset of slow and steady, one foot after the other.

Words cannot describe the feeling of being on top of a mountain for sunrise. As the light started to increase so did our view, the definition of the surrounding mountains, the colours becoming brighter through the clouds; simply breathtaking.

 

Sunrise at the summit

The summit was freezing cold, i wore a singlet, jumper, ski jacket, ear warmers, scarf, beanie and gloves and i was still shivering! So once the sun came up, we were off, stopping for many photo opportunities along the way.

We came to the conclusion that if people climbed to the summit in day light many would not make it to the top. On the decent, we were amazed at the achievement we went up and couldn’t believe how we did it! The rock face seemed a lot steeper and the sheer cliffs were almost vertical drops.

Breakfast at Laban Rata was a relief, time to release the knees and relax for an hour before completing the decent. I thought the last part was the hardest, on the knees, and on the mind; just wanting to finish.

What a view..!

 

For the whole trip we had incredible weather, it only drizzled on us on the decent which started to get a little muddy, so be prepared if you go with the rain, it could be very slippery!

All climbers need a permit. You need to prearrange this (easiest online) as there are only a limited available. With the permit you also have a guide, usually very small groups.

 

Worth the climb

Hanging on to a mountain by a thread!

Trekking through the clouds