Sabah is a great place to visit if you plan to indulge in nature’s delights. With its majestic mountains, undersea wonders, lush rainforests, colourful people and unique cultures, the state is set to woo and win the hearts of many travellers with its varied landscapes and natural wonders. Sabah’s lush jungles – the oldest rainforest in the world – have provided an ideal playground for nature. The world over, scientists travel to Sabah to study the unique nature of this part of the our planet, and only slowly we begin to realise what treasure nature has given to us. Eco tourism is Sabah's main forte and its heavenly beauty made worldwide headlines when it became host to the first Survivor series as well as the fourth installment of The Amazing Race. Sabah was also featured in Sacred Planet, a documentary hosted by Robert Redford. BAT*21, a filmed starred by Gene Hackman and Danny Glover was also shot here.
Located at the northern tip of Borneo, Sabah is the third largest island in the world, which is approximately the size of the Republic of Ireland (70,282 sq. km.). Sabah shares its western border with Sarawak and its southern one with Indonesia’s Kalimantan. Scattered off the coasts of Sabah are various island paradises The warm waters of the South China Sea in the west and the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea in the east surround this land of beauty and mystery.
Quick Tips:
There are virtually a myriad of places to visit in Sabah that you just can't make up your mind where to go first!
Kinabalu National Park - Gazetted as a World Heritage site, Kinabalu Park was established in 1964 and covers an area of 750 square kilometers (300 square miles). Two expeditions to explore the mountain and its flora in 1961 and 1964 were led by Professor John Corner, on behalf of the Royal Society of London, which led to the formation of Kinabalu Park. The park is a two hour drive away from the city. Mount Kinabalu offers a range of opportunities for hikers, scramblers, and rock climbers. Covering a vast 754 sq. km. area, Mount Kinabalu stands as the main attraction of this park, which is a two hour drive away from KK city.
The greatest obstacles are the altitude and distance. There are two tourist trails that are used to get to the summit. If you are planning an easier and shorter climb, most visitors like to hike to the summit over two days using Timpohan Gate. This trail will usually take you about 4-6 hours to reach Laban Rata rest house 10,850 ft. You can watch the sunrise on the second day and trek up to the summit and descend on the same day. Beautiful Sceneries. A must visit for any keen tourists visiting Sabah.Best Way To Get Around:
Reaching Sabah by air.
Kota Kinabalu (KK) is the capital city of Sabah and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA, IATA airport code BKI) serves as the gateway to this paradise on earth. To keep things in a perspective, there are two options of reaching KK by air, depending upon where you depart from.
From major Asian countries and cities:
KKIA entertains direct flights from Asian countries and cities such as Osaka, Tokyo (Far Eastern Transport), Korea, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei, Kaoshiung, Hong Kong (Dragonair), Manila, Cebu, Brunei (Royal Brunei), Bangkok, and Singapore (Silkair).
From the rest of the world:
If you originate from other cities mentioned above, you will then have to fly into Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. From Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), you will need to get a connecting flight to KKIA. There are many daily connecting flights to KK and the journey takes approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. Provided your destination is Kuala Lumpur, you could take a flight from any airline that you prefer.