ASEAN Protected Areas

Mt. Kinabalu National Park

ASEAN Heritage Park & World Heritage Park, Malaysia

Location

Kinabalu National Park, established in 1964 and covering an area 754 sq km, is one of the greatest attraction of Sabah State. The park is located only 23 km away behind the capital town of Kota Kinabalu towering up to its jagged granite peak of 4,095 m. Coordinates are 6° 00 25’’ - 6° 29’ 48” N and 116° 21’ 30” - 116° 45’ 00” E.

Habitats

Stretching from lowlands to the peak of the highest mountain in Borneo, Kinabalu boasts unparalleled diversity of flora and a wide range of vertically zoned habitat types. These range from hill dipterocarp forest (152 - 1000 m), submontane forests dominated by Lauracea and Fagacae up to about 2000 m, stunted upper montane heath rhododendron forests as far as the treeline and a strange alpine flora on the bare granite massif itself.

Wildlife

Kinabalu is famous for its rich flora and fauna. In addition to a wide range of the lowland species of the island, Kinabalu has the fullest lists of montane species of all taxa. Many species are found only in Kinabalu. It has been estimated that the full flora of the mountain may reach 6,000 species. The flora of the mountain is characterized by large numbers of orchids, rhododendrons and pitcher plants. The lowland forests harbour the huge parasitic Rafflesia keithii flowers.

Special birds include the Kinabalu serpent eagle, Kinabalu friendly warbler, mountain blackeye, black-breated fruit-eater and mountain laughingthrush. Notable mammals include the Lesser moonrat, mountain treeshrews and in the lowlands, bearded pig, Bornean gibbon and even orangutan.

Other interests

Mt. Kinabalu is intimately connected with the folklore and local traditions of Sabah. In particular in its slopes are the home of hill Dusuns or Kadazans, belonging to the largest racial group in the State. Noted for their basketry and other handicrafts, they live in small kampongs or villages scattered throughout the area and are still using traditional methods of farming on shifting cultivation basis. Their steep fields, planted with dry rice and other crops are thickly clothed in secondary jungle while lying fallow, reach right to the Park’s boundaries. For the Kadazans, Mt. Kinabalu is the resting place of the spirits of their deceased ancestors and as such, remains sacred.

Visiting

The Park is visited yearly by thousands of tourists who come to enjoy its climatic, scenic, floral and faunal splendours.

Among other things, it also contains the granitic massif of Mt. Kinabalu. At 4,095 m, it is Southeast Asia’s greatest challenge for climbers. Mt. Kinabalu is the highest mountain between Northern Burma and New Guinea.

Having an altitude which varies from 152 m to 3,952 m above sea level, the vastness of the Park enables the preservation of tropical lowland forest and wildlife, as well as the alpine-like associations of the summit zone. The park is reached by road from the state capital of Kota Kinabalu. The headquarters near the town of Ranau takes about 3 hours whilst the lowlands on the northern side of the park can be visited at Poring Hot Springs about one hour further.

The Headquarters has excellent accommodation of chalets, hotel and dormitories. Camp sites occur at intervals all the way up to near the summit. The headquarters has restaurants, souvenir and book shops, an education center and botanic garden.

Most visitors walk varying distances up the summit trail. A normal attempt on the peak consists of about 5 hours climbing to stay at the upper cabins of Layang Layang and an early morning ascent of the granite summit to witness the dawn before morning clouds swirl out of the valleys and cover the peak.

Poring Hot Springs offers visitors the chance to bathe in natural hot springs, see a butterfly house, ethnic garden, mini-zoo and canopy walkway. There is a forest walk to a large waterfall, chalet accommodation and a camping area.

Conservation Programmes

Management of ecotourism to the park is the primary concern and programme of the Sabah Parks but the management plan of the park also contains programmes of research and protection.

Threats

Former threats have included agricultural encroachment into the lower portions, claims of native customary rights and pollution into the Mamut River from the now-closed copper mine at Ranau.

A perpetual problem is coping with the huge numbers of visitors without damaging the park vegetation and disturbing wildlife. Climate changes in recent years cause serious droughts to montane vegetation and some forest fires have affected the border forests.