Kundasang: dairy cows, cabbages and the war memorial

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.

Area

Kinabalu highlands

Start from

Kota Kinabalu

Distance

about 100 km

Time needed

1–2 days

Best season

All year; clearest views early morning

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Car, driver, or bus to Kundasang/Ranau

Tickets & rules

Entry fees for the dairy farm and the war memorial

Why go

Kundasang is where people from KK go to feel cold. The small town sits at around 1,200 to 1,900 metres on the slopes east of Kinabalu Park, and the morning air is crisp enough for a jacket. The hills around it are covered in terraced plots of cabbage, carrots, lettuce and tomatoes, which supply much of Sabah, and the roadside market in town sells them by the bag along with strawberries, highland honey and pickled tuhau.

Above the town, the Desa Dairy Farm at Mesilau sits on green pasture with Holstein cows grazing and the jagged summit of Kinabalu behind them, a view that has earned it the nickname 'the New Zealand of Sabah'. You can feed calves, drink fresh milk, eat ice cream and watch the mountain come and go in the clouds.

Then there's the Kundasang War Memorial, a calm, beautifully kept place of gardens, built to remember the prisoners of war who died on the Sandakan death marches and the local people who helped them. It's a quiet counterweight to the cheerful farm.

The story

The memorial was built in 1962, on the initiative of a former Australian soldier, close to the route of the death marches. In 1945, as the Allies advanced, Japanese forces moved some 2,400 Australian and British prisoners from the camp at Sandakan towards Ranau, about 260 km through jungle and mountains. Almost all of them died, from starvation, disease, exhaustion or execution. Only six survived, all Australians who escaped with help from local villagers.

The memorial has four gardens: an Australian garden, an English garden, a Borneo garden and a contemplation garden with a long reflecting pool and the names of the dead. A wall also honours the Sabah villagers who risked their lives to feed and shelter escapees. The atmosphere is gentle rather than grand, and it's well worth an hour.

Kundasang's farms are more recent. From the 1970s, the cool slopes were developed for temperate vegetables, and later for dairy. The landscape you see, all terraces and greenhouses, has almost entirely been made in the last fifty years, and on clear mornings the mountain looks down over it like a stern grandparent.

Getting there

Kundasang is about two hours from KK by car, just beyond the turnoff to Kinabalu Park HQ. Buses and minivans to Ranau pass through. Desa Dairy Farm is a short drive up the Mesilau road; you need a car or taxi.

Combine with Kinabalu Park or Poring Hot Springs for a two-day loop.

A suggested plan

1. 7:00 amWatch the mountain from a viewpoint above town before the clouds rise.
2. 8:30 amDesa Dairy Farm: calves, fresh milk, the view of Kinabalu.
3. 11:00 amKundasang War Memorial: walk the four gardens slowly.
4. 12:30 pmLunch in town, then the vegetable and fruit market.
5. AfternoonContinue to Poring Hot Springs, or back to KK.

Where to stay

Kundasang has many guesthouses, chalets and small hotels with mountain views; book the night before an early start for the best views of Kinabalu at dawn.

Good to know

• Bring a fleece; nights can drop below 15°C.
• Get to the dairy farm early; it gets busy with tour groups later.
• Try the local tea and the Kundasang strawberries if they're in season.