Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Visiting Kinabalu Park and Kudat
📌 By Jakub Mikula | August 16, 2019
Thinking of travelling to Sabah on a solo budget trip? I visited Sabah for 4 days to explore the Kinabalu Park and the city of Kudat.
The island of Borneo is shared by Malaysia (Sarawak, Labuan, Sabah), Brunei, and Indonesia (Kalimantan). The region of Sabah is located in the northern part of the island. This region is most known for the highest mountain of Malaysia (and South-East Asia) - Mount Kinabalu (4095m). Hiking to the summit of Mt. Kinabalu requires a permit; however, hiking the Kinabalu park is free of charge. There is a couple of trails one can take leading through the lush rainforest to the main gate (Timpohon Gate) further from which a permit is required.
Another interesting place to visit is the city of Kudat, located in the norther part of the island. From there, one can visit the norther-most point of Borneo (Simpang Mengayau) with beautiful white sand beaches stretching along the cost.
Transportation in Sabah
If you’re travelling solo, renting a car may become quite expensive. Fortunately, there are many (mini)bus connections which can take you to all parts of Sabah directly from the main bus terminal in Kota Kinabalu. Locals call it Padang Merdeka. There is no departure/arrival schedule, but the minibus leaves once enough people have arrived.
Going to Kinabalu Park from Kota Kinabalu
Arrive to the Padang Merdeka bus terminal and ask for a minibus to Ranau. Tell the driver to drop you off at the Kinabalu Park Entrance (see figure below). The price for one person is 20 MYR and the ride will take approximately 2 hours through a beautiful mountainous landscape.
Riding up the mountains, the sweltering morning heat from Kota Kinabalu turns into a comfortable fresh breeze.
From the car park proceed upstairs to the park headquarters to pay the entrance fee (15 MYR), register and get a map of Kinabalu Park trails. Remember to sign out when you leave to park. Kinabalu Park embraces a sprawling network of trails, many of them are interconnected. You can choose one based on the level of difficulty. I went for the Liwagu Trail (5620m - 120-150min) which follows a small river all the way up to the Timphon Gate entrance from where one would need a permit to further continue to hike Mt. Kinabalu.
I met only one person along the whole trail (walking the opposite direction). While many animals scurried back into the shadows when I was passing by, I could see many birds in the sky above. The sound of the river was present all way long. At the end of the trail, near the gate, there is a small shop to buy snacks and water.
There is a lot of squirrels waiting for you to share with them a little bit of your food. They are very curious and shy-less to get very close to you, or even touch you.
On the way back, I decided to walk the main road along which I found some great view points overlooking Mt. Kinabalu. You can also get a taxi to drive you down.
On the way back to Kota Kinabalu (the same day, in the late afternoon), I took a bus which stops at the opposite side of the road at the car park shown in figure above. The bus was going to Surau Terminal Bas from where I took a grab to get back to the city centre.
Going to Kudat from Kota Kinabalu
Kudat is a small city located in the northern-most part of Borneo. It’s quiet and without tourists. The (mini)bus ride from Kota Kinabalu takes 3 hours and costs 35 MYR per person. The minivan leaves from Padang Merdeka once it’s full.
The transportation in Kudat is limited and the only possibility is to take a taxi which may be quite pricy.
Another option is to stay directly at one of the resorts near Simpang Mengayau (the tip of Borneo). There, a beautiful white beach stretches along the cost overlooking the South China Sea.
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