National Park Vacation in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Kinabalu National Park

For a unique national park vacation in Borneo, you must make sure that you drop by at Kinabalu National Park, about 90 km or about 2-hour drive from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. In fact, a vacation in Sabah or Borneo will be incomplete without a visit to Kinabalu National Park. Kinabalu National Park gives you an opportunity to escape from the hot tropical sun and enjoy the cool and refreshing mountain air as it is in the heart of the montane oak-chestnut-conifer forest.

Gazetted since 1964, Kinabalu National Park is well protected with one of the richest diversity of plant, animal, insect and bird life in the world. It carries lowland, montane and alphine vegetation on a scale that is not seen between the Himalayas and the New Guinea. The world’s largest pitcher plant (Rajah Brooke) and the world's biggest flower (the Rafflesia) can also be found here.

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Mesilau Nature Park

Mesilau Nature Park is located within the Kinabalu National Park area on the Pinosok Plateau near Kundasang town. It is about 30 minutes by road away from Kinabalu National Park (about 108km from Kota Kinabalu). The stretch of the road from Kundasang to Mesilau Nature Park, which is about 2,000 metres above sea level, is extremely steep and some parts of it are in bad condition (at this point of writing).

On the way, you will surely be captivated by the spectacular views of the Kundasang valley with terraced hill slopes planted with highlands vegetables, and parts of the scenic beauty of the Kundasang Mt. Kinabalu Golf Course, a challenging 18-hole golf course for avid golfers, undeniably, the highest golf course in South East Asia.

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Poring Hot Springs

Another interesting natural wonder fit for a wonderful national park vacation is the Poring Hot Springs, located approximately 47 km from Kinabalu National Park passing Kundasang and Ranau towns. Poring is situated on the Kinabalu National Park's boundary at the edge of the Mamut River. The name Poring, stands for the tall bamboo plant that is abundant in that area.

Since it is only 456 metres above sea level, Poring offers a different type of national park experience - humid lowlands environment compared to the cool mountain surrounding at Kinabalu National Park.

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Schedules of National Park Vacation Activities

The following are the schedule of the audio-visual shows and guided trail walks organized by Park Naturalists at the Headquarters of Kinabalu National Park, Mesilau Nature Park and Poring Hot Springs:

Kinabalu National Park