Kinabalu National Park

This is the other Park of Malaysia that, together with Gunung Mulu National Park, which has been included in the World Heritage list by UNESCO. In it you can make many things, as Tomaš and me did when we were here. But from all those things, there is one which is the most important thing you can do at Kinabalu National Park. Because the Mount Kinabalu, with its 4095 metres high, is the highest peak in South East Asia, or at least that is what is written in many places, but depending on where you check it can be even the fourth one in this list.

Zuzana and I like hiking mountains, so when Zuzana knew that she was coming to Malaysia and she looked for some information about the country, she decided that one of the things she wanted to do was climbing the Mount Kinabalu. It was then when we decided that as soon as she had a long weekend we would try it.

As I told you, the Muslim New Year (the Hari Raya), coinciding with the end of the Ramadan, is one of the most important holidays of the Muslim year... no wonder, as a professional big eater as I am, if I was not allowed to eat during daylight for a whole month, I would also celebrate the day Ramadan finishes. Obviously, the Hari Raya, in a Muslim country as Malaysia, means public holidays, more precisely two days of public holidays, which, this year, were Wednesday and Thursday. Just on Thursday the week before Zuzana knew that she was going to have the Friday off, so she called me to ask where she should book the plane ticket for those five days.

I was going to spend the Hari Raya in Kuching with Nadim, the local photographer, who had invited me to go to his neighbourhood to see how it is celebrated there. Zuzana called me on the phone ,but just at that moment I was dying trying to climb the Pinnacles. Digi, the mobile company I use here, has no coverage in the Pinnacles, as in many other places, but even if it had had it, I don't think I would have had the strength to take the mobile out from my pocket.

Zuzana could not contact me and she booked the ticket as we had spoken before, that we would climb the Mount Kinabalu. Two days after, when I came back to the headquarters of Mulu Park, I met in a path one of the girls working in the offices and she told me "Hi, Zuzana called you and she said that she is Singapore and she will be arriving to Kota Kinabalu on Wednesday morning". Imagine my face at that moment, when somebody tells me that sentence in the middle of the jungle. So the Hari Raya in Kuching was not going to be possible and I will go climbing the Mount Kinabalu instead. ¿You see? Changing plans again, I can not plan anything.

I called Anddreas to see when we can make that trip to the interior of Sarawak. Then Zuzana and me got in touch as we could (between Mulu and Singapore) and we decided that as soon as Zuzana arrived Kuala Lumpur on Sunday she would book a plane ticket for me to fly to Kota Kinabalu.

Once in Kota Kinabalu I tried to book all we needed to be able to climb the Mount Kinabalu, but of course, in a long weekend like that, everything was fully booked for the three days when we could climb it.

Even like this, Zuzana and I decided that we will go to Kinabalu Park on Friday morning with the first transport leaving Kota Kinabalu and we will be at the waiting list, in case somebody doesn't go and there are some free places.

To be rested before climbing the mountain, we decide that on Wednesday we would just take a walk on Kota Kinabalu to see how they celebrate the Hari Raya. People wear traditional dresses, men and women, and the city becomes full of bright colours wherever you go. Besides, there are many celebrations where people wear their best clothes.


We also decided that on Thursday we would go to the islands that you already know close to Kota Kinabalu. Since I had already been there and I also wanted to spend the day with Zuzana not been worried if I have to take a picture here or there, I gave myself tha day off and I left the camera in the hostel. Obviously, since I don't have the camera, when we are in Sulug Island (the "desert" island where Tomaš had his foot incident), we see a beautiful gecko besides our bags which I can't take a picture of. Well, at least I leave you here a small video I took with the compact camera that Zuzana takes in her job, so you can see a bit of the island and the small gecko.

That evening, coming back from the islands, it started to rain, but one of those funny tropical rains. When we arrived to Kota Kinabalu we were already soaked, so we decided to go walking, better said, running to the hostel. I was really funny, when crossing the streets the water was up to the calf.

On the next morning we are at seven o'clock in the bus station ready to take the first whatever going to Kinabalu National Park.

As soon as we arrive to the Park we go to the offices and we ask if there is any free bed in any of the mountain refuges, but... nothing, everything is fully booked, and without a reservation in a refuge it is not allowed to go up. Almost everybody already arrived and there are not much places left, but anyway we put our names in the first position for the waiting list. Moreover, the woman in charge of the accommodation is one of those cold people who don't care if you ask if it is possible to sleep on the floor in the café; the expression in her face doesn't change at all, there is no way to convince her.

It is supposed that people arrive at 10, but we have to wait until noon in case there is any delay. After one hour we ask again... nothing. We are not going to get anything from that woman, so I try to ask somebody else. As soon as I see that the woman is attending anybody else I go to the desk to ask another girl, who looks nicer, if there is any cancellation, even if I know that there is not because we are the first ones on the waiting list and they would have told us. When she tells me that there is no cancellation I ask if there is any other way to go, even if there is no free place in the refuge. Then she tells me that they can't do anything about it, that it has to be authorised by the chief of the Park Rangers. This is what I want to know, who can allow us to go, who can take the decission.

Then I go to the counter where you have to pay the Park taxes to ask for the chief of the rangers, waiting for a moment when there is no queue, but there is always somebody. Then I go to the entrance of the Park rangers' office and somebody comes to ask what I need. And here I go again, I give him my business card and start the speech that I have so well prepared: "I am a photographer from Spain...". The man calls the chief of the rangers, who comes and he tells me that there is an agency managing the "via ferrata" in the Mount Kinabalu and they have some places reserved for them, that I should talk to them to see if we could get any of them.

We go to the office of the agency and they tell us that they have free places but that we should contract any of their activities. Well, it seems that things are getting better and we will be able to go up after all. When we are getting out of the office of the agency my telephone rings, it is from the Park office, there has been a cancellation of two people. Yes!

We talk with the girl of the travel agency which had the cancellation and we decided to keep the two beds. We pay the Park taxes, we look for a group to join and share the expenses of the Park guide and the transport to the beginning of the path (you can start from the offices but believe me, it is not necessary, the normal trek is enough) and we move off.

Climbing the Kinabalu. The general opinion is that it is not as tough as the Pinnacles, but that it is also quite demanding. You start climbing at 1886 metres high and that day you walk 6 Km until the refuges, which are at 3272 metres high (don't do the calculation, I tell you, it is 1406 height difference). On the second day you climb to the top, but there is a small detail, you climb to see the sunrise from the top of the Mount Kinabalu, at almost 4100 metres of altitude (if you are lucky and it is not cloudy, in Mount Kinabalu you never know). So what you do is starting the hike at 2:30 in the morning, yes, you read well, at half past TWO in the morning. The objective is to ascend in a bit less than 3 Km the 823 metres to the top and be there at 5 in the morning to see the sunrise. After that you go back to the refuge, where you have lunch, and then you hike down to the starting point; in total 2229 metres of descent.

So, let's go.

During the first day you walk through all the different kinds of vegetation which exist in Kinabalu Park. At the beginning you start hiking in the rain forest, but when going up, the weather becomes more fresh, humidity decreases and the jugle turns into a forest, and slowly, the forest becomes less and less thick and changes to the typical high mountain vegetation all surrounded by bushes. Clouds change and move very fast here, it is probable that during the ascent you can see
all kind of images as a resutl of the mix between them and the Sun.


The path is easy to follow; the only problem is that the people who built it were either very tall or very lazy, because the steps sometimes (too many time) are as high as your knees.

During this day you are meeting everybody coming down after reaching the top (or maybe not). Since we had to find the accommodation, we started quite late, and we are meeting the last people coming down. They look really tired, so we realise that the walk is going to be long.

During the hike we stopped several times, to eat the picnic pack that the travel agency gave us, to have a rest, to drink some water... it is very interesting, you talk with people, where they come from, why they are travelling... in this part of the world, in South East Asia, there are many people travelling for long periods of time, from 2 months to several years. I imagine that if you come in an organised trip, it will be more difficult to meet them, but if you are not so "conventional" (just a little bit less) you would be surprised of how many people do this kind of things.

Finally, in the evening, we arrive to "Laban Rata", the refuge where we have the beds reserved. The pack we have with the travel agency includes meals at the refuge: the dinner for that evening and the lunch for the next day after coming back from the top. Both of the meals are buffet, and you can be sure that we appreciated it, and it is not just because of me, that I love eating, but recovering the energy spent during the day and getting ready for the next day is really important.

Laban Rata, together with other refuges, is in the area where almost everybody who climbs the Mount Kinabalu spends the night. They are several wooden houses in a privileged place. After dinner, you can come out to the terrace to enjoy the sunset over 3000 metres of altitude.


In a short time we go to sleep. Even if it is early (around 8 or 9 in the evening), it is not difficult to fall asleep, the day has been long and we are tired.

Two in the morning, we are so sleepy.

After achieving to move away from the bed and wrapping us up warm with all the clothes we have, we meet our group and the guide and we start the hike to the top. The day before, since I was a bit "fit" after the week before in Mulu and Zuzana was not so trained because in the office she doesn't practice many sports, we decided that I would take most of the stuff in my backpack. That morning we only took the small bag with the minimum necessary, so Zuzana said that she would take it. Without the backpack, only with the almost 5 Kg of my photo gear, I have to say that I felt like new, like a child, jumping from one stone to other. There was an area where there were some ropes to help yourself; I didn't care, without even touching the ropes, stopping to change lenses and trying to take a picture. My camera works very well in low light conditions, but at night, in the middle of the mountains... there is not much it can do.


Zuzana was quite tired, and thanks to the guide she managed to keep on going up. I took her bag and then I stopped running all around, but even like this I was quite fresh compared with other days.

We finally reached the top of the Mount Kinabalu, 4095 metres over sea level. And we took the picture, of course.


We did it quite well, I would even say that we were one of the first groups reaching the top. When we arrived up there it was getting light but it was still dark, so we found a place to have a rest and protect ourselves from the wind. Because of course, if you think about it, in the highest peak in South East Asia there is nothing in miles around to stop the wind. And being in the tropic doesn't make a difference, 4000 metres it is quite high anywhere. How cold that was! it doesn't matter how much you protect yourself from the wind, there is always some wind blowing around you, and your t-shirt is wet.

After a while, at the break of dawn, we could admire sunrise from the top of the Mount Kinabalu.


Don't think that taking this picture is just grabbing the camera and shooting. As soon as your hands are out of your pockets they are frozen. And when you have been taking photos during half a minute, with all this cold wind blowing, you don't feel anything at all. There was a moment when I had to take the pictures with the middle finger because with the index one I had no sensibility at all and I didn't know were the shutter was.

After a while we started the way down. Much better than the way up, besides, since you go up at night and then you go down with daylight, it is absolutely different. The Mount Kinabalu is not in a big mountain range, is like a single mountain in the middle of nothing, so the views are amazing.


At ten in the morning we were in Laban Rata again. Since we had time enough, we decided that, instead of going down immediately, we preferred having lunch calmly, sleep a small one hour siesta and then walk the rest of the path.

So we did. After the siesta and packing again, we started the way down to the head offices of the Park. Then, as it had happened to us the day before, we were meeting all the people climbing to the refuges to reach the top on the next morning. We were always trying to encourage them and make them see that it can be done.

Other people you pass by when going down are the porters. As I told you before, meals at Laban Rata are buffets, and there are many people climbing the Mount Kinabalu everyday. Somebody has to take all that up there, and for sure it is not going to be by car. Local porters, men and women, carry big, better said, huge backpacks or just packs on their backs. And they climb up to the refuges on their sandals, flip-flops, whatever. So when you see them, then you realise than it could be much worse.

In about 4 hours we were back at the begining of the path and we took the minivan to the offices of the Park. There is another meal waiting for you to recover all the strength you left in the Mountain during last two days, it is also buffet, of course. After lunch we went back to Kota Kinabalu with some other people we met during the way up and down.

In Kota Kinabalu, that night, we decided that we deserved a feet massage. It was really relaxing. And the next day, one more session of islands to finish the recovering process before Zuzana goes back to work on Monday, and before I continue with my adventures.

One last thing. If any of you is thinking about climbing the Mount Kinabalu, you should know that there is another option than the one we did and most of the people do. Every year there is an event called Climbathon and that you can imagine what it is about. It is a race consisting on climbing up and down the Mount Kinabalu, running, of course. It is 21 Km long, like half marathon but a little bit steep, in fact, if you think about it, the accumulate different of height is negative (according to the map race). People usually makes it in a bit more than two and a half hours, so it shouldn't be too difficult.


So, come on, who wants to try?