Sabah (Kota Kinabalu): 20 routes

A granite mountain above the clouds, rivers full of proboscis monkeys, orangutans in the forest and some of the finest reefs on earth: twenty slow routes across Sabah, starting from Kota Kinabalu.

I came to Sabah for Mount Kinabalu and stayed for almost everything else. Kota Kinabalu, the state capital everyone calls KK, is not a beautiful city at first glance: rebuilt in concrete after the war, hot, busy around the waterfront. But it sits between a string of reef-fringed islands and the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea, and within a day or two of it you can be on a brown river at dawn with hornbills overhead, or kneeling in warm water watching a turtle sleep under a ledge.

These twenty routes are the trips I would give a friend. Some are easy mornings in town, some are overnights or several days in the east of the state. Distances in Sabah are long and roads wind, so I've tried to be honest about travel times. Permits, prices and boat schedules change, especially around the parks and the islands, so check locally before you commit.

Practical tips first

Gaya Street on a Sunday morning

Kota Kinabaluhalf a dayEasy

Every Sunday the old main street of Kota Kinabalu turns into a long, noisy market of orchids, puppies, durians and herbal remedies, with the colonial clock tower watching from the hill.

Sunset on the waterfront and the night market

Kota Kinabaluan eveningEasy

Watch the sun drop behind the islands from the KK waterfront, then follow the smoke into the night market for grilled fish, squid and a plate of rice by the sea.

Mari Mari: a morning in the old ways of Borneo

Kota Kinabaluhalf a dayEasy

In a forested valley half an hour from the city, traditional houses of five Sabah peoples come to life with blowpipes, fire-making, bamboo dances and a Murut trampoline.

Sabah Museum, the city mosque and Likas wetlands

Kota Kinabalu1 dayEasy

A rainy-day loop through a museum shaped like a Rungus longhouse, a white mosque that seems to float on a lagoon, and a mangrove boardwalk in the middle of the city.

Island-hopping in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

Islands & west coast1 dayEasy

Five green islands just off the city, with white sand, clear water and fish that swim right up to your knees, are only fifteen minutes away by speedboat.

Klias: proboscis monkeys and firefly trees

Islands & west coast1 day (afternoon and evening)Easy

A long afternoon drive south of KK brings you to quiet mangrove rivers where proboscis monkeys gather at dusk and, after dark, whole trees flicker with fireflies.

Kota Belud's Sunday tamu and the Bajau horsemen

Islands & west coasthalf a dayEasy

North of KK, rice fields lead to a country market where Bajau, Dusun and Chinese traders meet every Sunday, with Mount Kinabalu rising behind the paddies.

Kudat, Rungus longhouses and the Tip of Borneo

Islands & west coast2 daysEasy

Drive to the northernmost point of Borneo, stop at a Rungus longhouse and a gong-making village on the way, and watch the sun go down where two seas meet.

Climbing Mount Kinabalu to Low's Peak

Kinabalu highlands2 days (1 night on the mountain)Hard

Two days up a mountain of granite, from moss forest to bare rock, to stand on Low's Peak at 4,095 metres as the sun rises over Borneo.

The forest trails of Kinabalu Park

Kinabalu highlands1 dayModerate

You don't need to climb the mountain to feel its magic: the trails around park headquarters wind through mossy montane forest full of orchids, pitcher plants and birdsong.

Kundasang: dairy cows, cabbages and the war memorial

Kinabalu highlands1–2 daysEasy

On the cool eastern slopes of Kinabalu, terraced vegetable farms, a hillside dairy and a quiet memorial garden look straight up at the mountain's granite wall.

Poring: hot springs, a canopy walk and Rafflesia

Kinabalu highlands1 dayEasy

After a climb, or simply after a long drive, soak in sulphur baths under the trees, then walk high in the rainforest canopy and hope to find the world's largest flower in bloom.

Sepilok: orangutans, sun bears and a canopy at dawn

Sandakan & Sepilok1–2 daysEasy

In the forest outside Sandakan, orphaned orangutans learn to be wild again, the world's smallest bears sun themselves on tree trunks, and a canopy walk lifts you to the hornbills' level.

Sandakan: a heritage walk and the memorial park

Sandakan & Sepilok1 dayEasy

In the old capital of British North Borneo, stone steps lead past a Chinese temple and a colonial church to the house of a writer who named Sabah, and later to a quiet park that remembers a terrible war.

Gomantong Caves: swiftlets, nests and bats at dusk

Sandakan & Sepilokhalf a dayModerate

Walk into a huge limestone cave where swiftlets nest by the million, harvesters climb rattan ladders to the roof, and at dusk a river of bats pours out into the sky.

Three days on the Kinabatangan river

Kinabatangan & Danum2–3 daysEasy

A wide brown river through a ribbon of forest, where proboscis monkeys crash through the treetops at dusk, hornbills fly overhead and pygmy elephants sometimes come down to drink.

Danum Valley: into ancient rainforest

Kinabatangan & Danum3–4 daysModerate

Some of the oldest and tallest rainforest on earth, where you might wake to gibbons calling, find an orangutan nesting by the trail and walk under trees taller than a thirty-storey building.

Tabin: mud volcanoes and a lost rhino

Kinabatangan & Danum2–3 daysModerate

A big wildlife reserve of recovering forest, where elephants and birds come to lick minerals from bubbling mud volcanoes, and where Malaysia's last Sumatran rhinos once lived.

Sipadan: diving the wall

Semporna & the reefs1 day (within a 3–5 day trip)Moderate

A tiny forested island on top of a seamount, where the reef wall drops hundreds of metres into the blue and turtles, barracuda and reef sharks gather in astonishing numbers.

Semporna, Mabul and the Bohey Dulang lookout

Semporna & the reefs2–3 daysModerate

Turquoise lagoons, stilt villages, a volcanic peak with a postcard view and some of the best muck diving anywhere: the islands around Semporna are worth days of their own.

Prices, opening hours and rules change. Treat these notes as a starting point and check current information before you go.