Climbing Mountain Kinabalu (Amazing Borneo Package)

Feat: the extremely expensive city of kota kinabalu

I spent slightly over $1100 on my trip to hike mt Kinabalu, so going in I had extremely high expectations. This is a prewarning of my pessimism.

Arriving at kota kinabalu airport, we (Me, my brother, and a friend) took a grab to our homestay in the city. This homestay was a two star hotel that cost 53 sgd for two nights, and it really was the bare minimum to live. There was no lift so we had to lug our luggage up. Worst was the room itself which had no floor space. With our luggage on the floor, there was nowhere to step. It was extremely tight and uncomfortable. In conclusion I strongly recommend you stay at somewhere nicer. It might be 10-20% more expensive but you will have a much more enjoyable stay.

After that for the hike itself. You get transported from your homestay in the city (kota kinabalu) to the mountain park. The trip is about two hours. We got picked up at 610am and reached at about 8am. After that we spent about 30 minutes signing indemnity forms and storing our luggage at the bottom of the mountain. The cost was 15rm for one luggage. After that we took this van on a short 10 minute, 4km trip higher up the mountain to the gate. We started our hike at about 840am. The terrain has many sharp rocks and is also rather steep, so ensure you have proper hiking boots. Definitely no running or sports shoes, they will quickly wear out. The total hiking length for the first day is 6km. But the majoirty of time will be spent on the last 3km because the air will start to thin, and the hike also gets steeper. Overall you will ascent about 1500m, from 1800 to 3300. I found the hike much more challenging than I expected because of the altitude and also the weight I was carrying (We didn’t pay for a porter). My bag was about 10kg. On the way there are shelters you can rest in. I was so tired, each stop was very precious to me.

In the end, we reached at 320pm, which was quite a good pace. The dinner starts at 430pm. They serve rice, noodes, beef, lamb, chicken. The taste is of a typical homecooked meal. Our accomodation was quite nice. We stayed in dorm rooms of 6 beds each, which had aircon, blankets and towels provided. However showering was impossible because there was no hot water, and up at 3300m, the water is below 10 celsius. I managed to shower but I don’t recommend it, just use body wipes and shower the next day.

We went to sleep at 8pm. We woke up at 150am the next day for the summit attack. 150am was rather late, we were one of the last to get breakfast, so we spent 25 minutes queuing. We left for the 2.7km hike at 240am. The ascent is 800m. In the first hour there are many people around, but as everyone seperates because of different pace, you may find yourself alone (other than your guide). Its very dark on the mountain so you need a headlamp. There are also many stars visible in the sky. On the summit attempt, you will feel very breathless due to the thinner air, so ensure you pace yourself. There are also a few sections where you need to hold onto a rope because the surface is too steep. A hiking pole will also help a lot. I reached the summit at about 515am. The summit is quite crowded and there is a queue to take a photo with the mt kinabalu sign. Its also extremely cold, around five celsius. I had very good gear that kept me warm but my fingers were still cold despite having two layers of gloves. Once the sun comes up, you get to see a really beautiful view, like the mountain landscape, the clouds

After watching the sunrise and taking a few nice photos, we started our descent at 615am. The descent was tricky because of how steep the rock surface was, and it put a lot of strain on our feet. We took over two hours to reach back to the laban rata dorms. After eating breakfast and checking out, we started our 1500m descent back to the gate. The descent was a horrible experience because it puts a lot of strain on your knees and feet as each step is very steep, it took us 5 hours to reach back to the gate and we arrived at 245pm)

You then have provided lunch (until 430pm) in this hotel restaurant in kinabalu park but the food is of the same quality as up on the mountain. They transported us from the restaurant to the baggage storage. They then get a van for you to go back to your hotel. Something I didn’t like was we shared a van with another climber that stayed completely outside the city, so we got to the hotel 40 minutes later than we would have.

On our last night, we stayed at the shore, a 4 star hotel/homestay. I highly recommend the Shote, it was spacious with a living room, rain shower, washing machine, cooker, fridge. Everything that iskandar sinsuran didn’t have for only a few dollars more.

In summary, mountain Kinabalu has very beautiful landscapes and cold weather which makes for a very comfortable hike. However the cons would be the price and the descent experience. I recomemnd it if budget is not an issue for you. If not other alternatives would be much more cost friendly.