Mount Kinabalu

If you ask me what I’d liked the most of Malaysia than, without a doubt Mount Kinabalu will definitely be my answer. Mount Kinabalu will not only challenge you physically and mentally, it will also amaze you with some of the most beautiful views you’ve ever seen.

Okay, let’s start with a little disappointment before I start to throw around my happy thoughts about this Mountain. Even though a lot of people tell you that Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain of South-East Asia, it isn’t. I even found postcards with a picture of the mountain and the text: ‘Highest of South-East Asia but you’ll see, even postcards lie sometimes. The honour of being the highest Mountain of South-East Asia is claimed by Hkakabo Razi which you will find in Myanmar. Hkakabo Razi is 5881 meters high. With a height of 4095 meters, Mount Kinabalu is smaller but still a beast to tame.

How do I book Mount Kinabalu?

Actually when you look around at the internet of ask around in the hostels you’ll find out that prices differ quite a lot. When asking around I heard prices between 1100 and 2000 RM. Just shop around a bit and show agencies the lowest prices that you’ve found, it will help. Another big tip is: book ahead! There are approximately 100 permits a day to go up the mountain. So if you’re on a tight schedule, book a couple of weeks before you go, just to be sure. It doesn’t mean that you can’t book tickets for Mount Kinabalu one or two days before your trip, but it’s just a bit more uncertain.

How to prepare for Mount Kinabalu?

When you’ve booked your trip it is time to worry about what you need for the trip. What do I wear while hiking on Mount Kinabalu and what other stuff do I need to take? Most people do the Mount Kinabalu in two days. You’ll need different things for each day.

Hiking Mount Kinabalu

So first day starts of in the morning. My pickup at the hostel was at seven. From Kota Kinabalu its an 2,5 hours drive. to the Timphon gate were the trail starts. When I arrived the company introduced our group to our guide. After that we had to fill in some forms and eventually we got hour permit pass. At 10 o’clock we started to walk up the mountain. There are a lot of groups and in the beginning it will be a bit crowdy but after 15 minutes it will be fine. The first part isn´t that hard. You´ll start off at a height of 1862 meters. The first part is not that heigh yet and your still fit ;). While your walking up you will start to notice that the air will get thinner and thinner. When your going up In a tempo that’s to challenging for you, you will understand what the thinner air does to you. You will get out of breath at some point. Just take it slow. On the way you’ll find a lot of places to rest our just to have your packed lunch or drinks. There are toilets there at those shelters (it’s a good idea to bring your own paper, just to be sure). While walking you will see the summit at some point, for me that was a great moment because my goal seemed quite near. Beside the summit view there are a lot of good viewpoint that will fuel your motivation to get higher and higher. At the end, I was looking at every corner if I already could see the hostels. All of a sudden I saw the building ascending above the clouds, there it was.. a amazing place above the clouds and under the sun. One of the most beautiful places if been so far. 5,5 hours it took me toch came to this point, it was totally worth it. I can write a lot about it but just look at the pictures:

Once you’re up there you’ll forget about your muscle strain or how tired you are. I just sat down there watching the clouds. Everybody that came up seemed to do the same thing. It was such a rewarding seight. After a while I checked into the dorm at Laban Rata Guesthouse. Basic but good. The showers are a challenge though. The water feels like it just came of a gletsjer. But still after a day of teasing your body it’s good to shower the sweat off. After the showers it was time for dinner. Dinner was a pretty nice buffet but to be honest, after walking for 5,5 hours I could’ve eaten anything. And while eating this is your view:

Mount Kinabalu Laba Rata Guesthouse – Travellers of Malaysia

After dinner I looked at the sunset and went to bed. The alarm rinkeled at 1:45 am. There is food at the buffet. Even Though it was a strange time to eat you should. You’ll need the fuel. At 2:45 my group started walking. Temperature was quit good so I started off without beanie and gloves. The first part, until the checkpoint it is mostly stairs. After the checkpoint the terrain gets rougher and at some point it was genuine climbing. It was still pitch black so I was glad my headlight accompanied me. Up the last part I could feel my body struggle the thin air and the freezing wind. The last 150 meters of height is really had to put up a fight with the weather and the mountain to make it to the top. At that point a saw a lot of people on the way sheltering for the wind behind rocks. It seemed tough on everybody. But than the moment when you can touch the sign of the summit. It was 5:15 so it took me 2,5 hours to get here. And when you count up the day before it took me 8 hours to rise to the top. But that moment at the summit makes you proud at the accomplishment. Even though there are more challenging mountains on the world, the feeling at the actual top doesn’t change for me. Mount Kinabalu rewarded me not only with that feeling but also with the views.

After spending 1 hour at the top, enjoying the view but enduring the cold it was time to start descending. I got down to the hostel in 1,5 hours. Breakfast was served. I waited for the group and after a while, once we all had our breakfast we walked down the last bit. Descending was more comfortable that going up for me but still at the and my upper legs and muscles around my knee started to protest. After a couple of hours we saw the Timphon gate again. After a lunch at the restaurant (which was included) the adventure was over and a bus brought us back to Kota Kinabalu. What an adventure, but so amazing. If you’re doubting, don’t. Just do it. Especially when you’re not experienced in hiking mountains because Mount Kinabalu is a good and doable mountain to start with. So start walking and let Mount Kinabalu amaze you!