Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Common birds are Bornean treepies, fantails, bulbuls, sunbirds and laughing-thrushes, while birds seen only at
higher altitudes are the Kinabalu friendly warbler, the mountain blackeye and the mountain blackbird. Other wild-
life includes colourful butterflies and the huge green moon moth.
WALKS AROUND THE BASE
It's well worth spending a day exploring the marked trails around park headquarters; if
you have time, it may be better to do it before you climb the mountain, as chances are you
won't really feel like it afterwards. There are various trails and lookouts.
The base trails interconnect with one another like a tied shoelace, so you can spend the
day, or indeed days, walking at a leisurely pace through the beautiful forest. Some inter-
esting plants, plenty of birds and, if you're lucky, the occasional mammal can be seen
along the
Liwagu Trail
(6km), which follows the river of the same name. When it rains,
watch out for slippery paths and legions of leeches.
At 11am each day a
guided walk
(per person RM3)
starts from the Sabah Parks office
and lasts for one to two hours. The knowledgeable guide points out flowers, plants, birds
and insects along the way. If you set out from KK early enough, it's possible to arrive at
the park in time for the guided walk.
Many of the plants found on the mountain are cultivated in the
Mountain Garden
Offline map
(admission RM5; 9am-1pm, 2:30am-4pm)
behind the visitors centre.
Guided tours of the garden depart at 9am, noon and 3pm and cost RM5.
Sleeping
LABAN RATA (ON THE MOUNTAIN)
Camping is not allowed on the mountain, and thus access to the summit is limited by ac-
cess to the huts on the mountain at Laban Rata (3272m). This
must
be booked in advance,
the earlier the better. In order to have any hope of clear weather when you reach the sum-
mit, you must arrive around dawn, and the only way to do this is by spending a night at
Laban Rata. If you attempt a one-day ascent starting around 7am, by the time you get to
the summit it will almost certainly be clouded over or raining.
Sutera Sanctuary Lodges
( 088-308470, 088-318888, info 243 629; suterasanctu-
ary
lodges.com.my
;
Jln Haji Saman, Lot G15, ground fl, Wisma Sabah;
8:30am-4:30pm Mon-Sat, 8:30am-12:30pm Sun)
in Kota Kinabalu operates almost all of
the accommodation here, but space is limited. Be mindful that travellers often report frus-
