What You Should Expect on the Mt. Kinabalu Park Tour in Borneo: Home of the Tallest Peak in Southeast Asia

If you find yourself in Borneo, hopefully you’ll make your way to Malaysia’s northeastern tip of Sabah State. For those in Sarawak state – check out my orangutan post on Semenggoh Nature Reserve here.

There is a lot to offer for all types of travelers. Adventure travelers may find themselves in Sandakan, winding down the Kinabatangan River for eco-tourism.

Food adventurers can set up shop in the town of Kota Kinabalu, trying every noodle or nasi lemak shop they pass by.

Island hoppers can scoot on over to Gaya Island and its smaller neighbors (like Sapi and Manukan).

And for lovers of altitude, there is of course, Southeast Asia’s tallest peak – Mount Kinabalu.

Despite being described as one of the most manageable mountains for novices to scale, a lot of us travelers do not set aside the time or budget to hire a guide to climb Kinabalu (but if you look at the breathtaking views from the peak, you might be convinced to do so…).

While I sat daydreaming on the shores of Manukan Island, I pondered how to budget my last day in Kota Kinabalu . I could walk in circles to try 8 different laksa shops in town. But on that cloudy day, I felt the magnetic pull drawing me towards the mountain. The mountain is not even visible from the town and I wasn’t lucky to see it from the islands that day, but giant dormant volcanos have a super power in making their presence detectable.

So with one full day left, I said goodbye to my plan of a self-guided laksa tour and decided to take a day tour to Kinabalu Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Booking a Kinabalu Park Tour

Opting for a local, guided tour, I chatted with the booking office dudes at Jesselton Point. This is the same place where you book your ferry to the islands (or where you book your wetlands tours). There are also similar options to book online, but when you book last-minute like I did, it feels better to talk to someone in-person.

The guys working there are all competent in English and all seem nice, as they crack a lot of jokes (but people do tend to be nicer when you are about to hand money over to them). The total cost for two people to go on the day tour was 430 ringgits (~100 USD).

I paid cash, received a receipt, and kept in communication with the staff via WhatsApp. He told me what time the guide/driver would pick us up the next day, and we just had to trust his word that someone would pick us up.

What’s Included

As advertised, the tour starts by picking up all tourists at their respective hotels (early enough to beat the traffic). The driver/guide takes you up the mountain to a viewpoint of Mt. Kinabalu (in Nabalu), then you enter the national park where you can walk around the botanical garden. After a short walk, you’re back in the car, passing through Kundasang to reach the Poring Hot Springs. After the lunch (inclusive) you have time to walk around the hot springs site. After you’ve had enough, maybe around 2-3pm, the driver takes you back to town.

The cost of entry to the National Park and the Poring Hot Springs are also included in the tour package.

What the day actually looked like

Sometimes you don’t want exactly what’s advertised on a cookie-cutter tour and sometimes you don’t know what to expect.

Aside from one major surprise (a bad surprise), my experience pretty much followed the script. Our guide Jeff, a local from Kota Kinabalu, was on time picking us up at our accommodations, CJ Residence (affiliate link) and we left around 7:30am. We were lucky in that no other tourists booked the package that day, so it was a private tour!

After a couple of hours driving up the winding road, we arrived at the viewpoint, and we were lucky again that the clouds had parted to expose the sight of the tremendous mountain. Also at the viewpoint area, there is a small outdoor market where some of the vendors sell these amazing pineapples (called nanas in the local language). After some quick pics, we were off to the next station.

We made it to the entrance of the national park, where there was a handful of tourists snapping photos of Mt. Kinabalu and climbers mentally preparing themselves. Tucked away down the road, we made it to the botanical garden.

Despite already being inside the national park, there was surprise fee to enter the botanical garden but it was nominal (only 5 MYR or just over 1 USD). Maybe just the price to pay for a World Heritage Site. Unfortunately, there was not much in bloom but we did see a few pitcher plants. Overall, it was perfect weather for a 20-minute, shaded walk.

There were surprise fees throughout the day, but they were all fairly nominal

We were back in the car again for another haul. This time there was some traffic. Jeff was saying how there is only one lane and one route, so any time a slow truck is crawling up the hill, the traffic tends to halt.

We finally arrived at the lunch spot, just right across the street from the Poring Hot Springs. Lunch was not spectacular but we were happy to eat after the long ride in the car.

The hot springs attracts a number of local families who seem to really soak in the experience. The grounds have a lot more than hot springs though. There is a 15-minute walk to the Kipungit Waterfall, a path to see the notorious Rafflesia flowers (if you happen to luck out and visit during one of the two days in the year while they are in bloom), and the highlight for me was the Canopy Walk.

There is another fee to enter the Canopy Walk (only 5 MYR again) but for some reason there is another fee if you want to take pictures with your phone (5 MYR) and another fee if you want to record video (30 MYR). The ranger said you can enter first and pay the photo fee later (but I have no idea how they regulate that). Once you enter the Canopy Walk area, there is a 15-minute hike uphill (pretty steep, but with steps) before you even reach the sky bridges. The rain and humidity meant I was already drenched by the time I made it to the top. However, once I got up there it was like a nice reward. There were so few people that you felt really out in the jungle at that point.

The bridges felt sturdy, but if you are bad with heights, you might not want to look down. There were about six bridges or so, all varying in length. The views were priceless, giving you the POV of an orangutan living in the trees. After taking some photos, I hiked back down to the entrance and kept my honor by giving the ranger my 5 MYR camera fee.

With a little bit of time to spare, the best way to end the day was relax my legs in the hot springs, while watching the locals play.

Overall, until that point, the driving (or sitting in the car for me) wasn’t all that bad. Every turn there would be a new site or a new angle of Mt. Kinabalu, with different fog patterns each time. But going back is where I learned my lesson. Traffic jams in Borneo are no joke.

Traffic jams in Borneo are no joke

After living in Bangkok and LA, I thought that I had seen it all. But was I wrong. To be fair, I was warned by the man I booked the tour with the day prior. On Friday afternoon, people tend to move towards the city. And with one road, often one lane leading back, our 2-hour trip slowly turned into 4 hours. We were all safe, but if I can share one bit of advice, it is to avoid this tour on a Friday. Travelers and locals alike – all of our time is too valuable to be sitting still in a metal box.