How To Visit Mount Kinabalu National Park In Sabah – Budget Travel In Malaysia

Mount Kinabalu National Park is a world heritage site. At its centre is Mount Kinabalu which, at 4095 metres, is Malaysia’s highest mountain by some distance.

With our visit to Mount Kinabalu only days away, we discovered that it is recommended to book a climb way in advance as numbers are restricted and you can only climb the mountain with a guide. Reports on the internet and a discussion with a Canadian couple, who had just completed the climb, left me under no illusion that it would be a difficult climb and one I wasn’t overly keen on attempting. The price also put me off. Joanna was in two minds, as we set off for a four day stay just minutes away from the park entrance.

How To Get To Mount Kinabalu From Kota Kinabalu 

There are buses that travel to Mount Kinabalu that leave from the north bus terminal in Kota Kinabalu but the bus terminal is a taxi ride away from the centre of the city. An easier option is to take a mini bus from the car park near the airport bus station (map). We got a ride for just 20 MYR (haggled down from 25). Buses leave when they are full so you may have to wait. It is best to leave early as there are more passengers. We were told that a bus would definitely leave at 10 am and our bus did just that, despite not being entirely full. The buses go to the town of Ranau, which is 20 km further than Mount Kinabalu but they stop at the park and will drop you off anywhere on route.

Where To Stay Near Mount Kinabalu National Park

The main entrance to Mount Kinabalu is in the Sabah district.

These are some of the best budget hostels near Mount Kinabalu National Park, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I found Agoda to be much better than booking.com in Southeast Asia. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.

• D’Villa Rina Ria Lodge
• Happy Garden Resort
• Kinabalu Valley Homestay
• Amazing Grace Lodge
• B-Inspired Abode
• Skyville Zen Resort
• Postar’s Backpacker Kundasang
• Mile 36 Lodge
• Ren – Hana Kampungstay Kundasang
• Suang Noh Homestay Kundasang

D’Villa Rina Ria Lodge

We looked into staying at a place called ‘Jungle Jacks’ (map) as we had heard good reports. Apparently, Jungle Jack can get you the best prices if you plan to climb the mountain and can even arrange next-day visits if you have not booked ahead. We were happy to stay in dorms this once but the lack of a safe to lock up our valuables put us off. We ended up booking a stay at ‘D’Villa Rina Ria Lodge’ (map).

Check in was easy and we only had to pay a 10 MYR deposit. Our room was very basic and was too far from the reception to pick up the free WiFi. The bedding and towels were not the greatest in the world but the room did boast a balcony with views over the valley.

The accommodation has its own on-site restaurant and also a small shop selling snacks, drinks and essentials. Tiger beer is sold in small cans for just 6 MYR. All of this is very useful as there are no shops around and no public transport in the evening.

Breakfast was included but was not the best. In fact, all of the food was pretty poor. Despite the negatives, we had a good time here. The staff were lovely and made us feel welcome. I enjoyed sitting in the restaurant area, overlooking the valley, and taking advantage of the strong WiFi available there.

Be warned: at night time the restaurant area is filled with all kinds of insects. Moths the size of a closed fist are not uncommon. But hey, you’re in a national park in Malaysia!

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We paid £55.16 for 4 nights (double room with en-suite bathroom)

Click here to stay at D’Villa Rina Ria Lodge.

Food And Drink In Sabah

In the area we stayed in, there was a limited choice of restaurants and no bars at all. More choice is found in the actual towns of Kundasang or Ranau.

89 Station

’89 Station’ (map) is a Chinese restaurant located opposite the D’Villa Lodge. It is unusual as it serves deer, wild boar and pork shanks as well as the more common meats. I had a deer curry here which was very tasty and reasonably priced. At night time, there was a lot of karaoke coming from this area and I have a feeling this restaurant might have been responsible.

Restoran Panataran

Opposite the entrance to the national park, this basic restaurant has a large menu but not all the dishes were available when we ate here. We ate here twice due to the lack of choice in the area. The food is cheap and decent without being great. Map.

Things To Do Around Mount Kinabalu National Park Sabah

The most obvious thing to do whilst here is to take Jack Kerouac’s advice and ‘CLIMB THAT GODDAMN MOUNTAIN!!!’

However, we had left it late and, after a conversation with a Canadian couple who said it was the hardest thing they’d ever done, I just wasn’t feeling it. A 3 hour trek up Penang Hill was more than enough for me and the idea of trekking for two days really didn’t appeal. Having said that, the sense of achievement would have been wonderful and I was trying to convince myself to do it, but to no avail. It is costly and, from all accounts on the internet, it is HARD! I decided to miss this one.

This meant there was little else to do in the area and we had booked a four night stay. We did, however, manage to fill our time and also enjoy a day of doing nothing.

Mount Kinabalu National Park

There are many trails around the mountain that are much easier on the legs. For just 15 MYR, you gain access to all the trails. You are covered for most of the trails so you won’t get burnt but take sunscreen just in case. Mosquito repellent is also a must.

Just after the ticket counter is the best view of the mountain you are going to get. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see the mountain in its full glory. We headed down the stairs to the restaurant to begin the Bukit Burung trail. Within no time at all, we were deep in the jungle!

Lost In The Jungle?

I let Joanna navigate us around the park. The trails are signposted so there shouldn’t have been a problem. Joanna seemed convinced she knew the way, even when we had a decision to make.

After a few more turns and more signposts (which seemed to confuse more than help), helping a big beetle back onto its legs, and creeping past a huge wasps’ nest, we had a Blair Witch moment. After over an hour of trekking through the jungle, we ended up right back where we started!

It didn’t matter as this meant we had done most of the trails and could now follow the most simple trail alongside the stream.

Botanical Gardens

We came across the botanical gardens, which had got some mixed reviews online. Admission is only 5 MYR so we went inside. I can understand why some people feel ripped off. The area is not that much different from the rest of the park with barely any information about the plants. There are guided tours throughout the day so this may make it more worthwhile.

Liwagu Restaurant

We exited the botanical gardens and arrived at ‘Liwagu Restaurant’ (map). We decided to stop for tea and cake. The cheesecake was delicious and I got to sample Sabah tea for the first time. The cheesecakes was only 10 MYR, much less than I was expecting for a restaurant in the middle of a national park!

The restaurant is located at the top of the trails. From here, you would carry on going up only if you were climbing the mountain. We took the last trail which led us back to the ticket office at the entrance. We visited the Kinabalu Conservation Centre and that concluded our day trekking through the National Heritage Park.

We had a great day exploring the park but it just seemed to lack a WOW moment for me. I was expecting, at some point, to turn a corner and see the mountain in all its 4,000 metre glory but this was not to be. The best view is from the bottom of the park and the mountain was constantly covered by clouds. Despite this, it is still definitely worth a day of your time in this area.

Poring Hot Springs

A visit to Poring Hot Springs is a must if you are in this area. Getting there and back is not so easy, however, which is bizarre for such an obvious tourist attraction.

The first part of the journey involved making our way 20 km to the town of Ranau. The staff at our lodge told us to simply wait by the road and wait for a bus. There are no timetables as such but they did have an approximate timetable of when the coaches from Kota Kinabalu were due to pass. The minibuses from Kota Kinabalu also pass and any of these will pick you up if they have space (and probably if they don’t).

Bus to Ranau

After a wait of approximately 15 minutes, and trying unsuccessfully to hitch-hike, a coach appeared and pulled up, just like the lady in the lodge said it would. We paid 10 MYR for the journey to Ranau.

Breakfast In Ranau

We were dropped off in Ranau and decided to have a walk around the town, have some breakfast and find a bank. There is nothing in the town of any interest to travellers but we did manage to get some cash and have breakfast.

We headed back to where we had been dropped off as the internet told us this was where we could find a bus to the hot springs. This was not the case. We had to walk back into town and ask around for a bus to Poring. The reaction from the locals led us to believe that this was not going to be easy.

Bus to Poring

Luckily, a woman heard us asking and pointed us in the direction of a number of mini-buses parked next to a monument (map). She spoke to a driver and then came back to us and said he would take us for 20 MYR each. We declined, saying it had only cost us 10 MYR to get from Mount Kitabalu National Park to Ranau. He immediately accepted our offer of 10 MYR. We were on our way!

Hot Springs

We arrived at the park and paid our 15 MYR admission. This only gained us access to the public hot springs and none of the other attractions. We found one of the tubs and turned on the taps to fill it with hot spring water.

We soon realised this would take all day to get anywhere near full enough to soak. Luckily, there was an already-filled bigger bath nearby. We quickly vacated our tub and got in the bigger one. It was very hot; we had to lower ourselves in slowly. It was very nice and relaxing and we spent a good twenty minutes letting the spring water work its magic on our tired travellers’ bodies. Joanna then went for a swim in the rock pool whilst I went to the shop to buy some lychee fanta.

Butterfly Farm & Canopy Trail

We then moved on to the butterfly farm. We bought a combo ticket for the butterfly farm and canopy trail, saving some Ringgit. It cost 7 MYR for both.

The butterfly farm was very pretty and had some amazing species. They are not the easiest insect to capture on camera but I managed to get a few good shots.

The canopy trail was exciting and scary! I’m not sure how high it is but it certainly seemed high when we were on it! The canopy moves around a bit and it felt like it wouldn’t be that difficult to fall! Exciting but not for those that don’t like heights!

Waterfalls

There are two waterfalls accessible from Poring Hot Springs. One is a good 2 hour trek away but there is a smaller one which only takes around 10 minutes walk. It is small, but very pretty and in a very nice, relaxing area.

Rafflesia

After a visit to the Orchid Conservation Park (no orchids in bloom) we arrived at the tropical gardens, already aware that there were rafflesia in bloom.

We had a guide for the short walk around the area where the rafflesia were. He told us some interesting facts about the biggest flower in the world. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get too close to have a smell as they die if a human touches them!

Tropical Gardens

In the information leaflet we were given when we bought our tickets, it claimed that the tropical gardens was home to many wild animals, including monkeys and orangutan. This was not to be the case. It was completely lacking in animals. Even the aviary contained just 2 birds! It was, nevertheless, a nice area to walk around. Apart from a very weird building that we had to pass through.

Poring Hot Springs to Mount Kinabalu National Park

On leaving the tropical gardens, we saw some of the workers and we asked them if they knew of any buses that would take us back. The reply of, “how much do you want to pay?” didn’t sound too promising. Luckily, a local overheard our conversation and told us he was heading back to Kota Kinabalu and would take us back to our lodge for, “no money.” He even took us on a diversion to take us to a rabbit farm that we had no idea existed. What a stroke of good luck! Many thanks to that guy!

Ranau Rabbit Farm

If you like rabbits, then you must come here. If you do not like rabbits, stay well away as there are dozens of them! Admission is 8 MYR and you can buy rabbit food for 1 MYR. If you do, you will immediately become a god to the rabbits and you will literally find yourself surrounded by them. Be careful though; one rabbit got a bit aggressive and took a big bite out of my finger! Talk about ungrateful! If you get a clear day, you will also get a great view of the mountain thrown in.

Is Mount Kinabalu National Park In Sabah Worth Visiting?

Many travellers moving from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan opt for the cheap flight option. If you decide to travel by bus, I recommend staying for at least two nights near the national park. The area is stunningly beautiful and is a nice change from the city. The trails around the park and the hot springs in Poring are both cheap and a great way to get back to nature.

Apologies to Jack Kerouac. We never did climb that goddamn mountain.