Tucked away in the island of Borneo, in Kota Kinabalu, is a UNESCO heritage site – The National Park at the base of the Kinabalu mountains. This is a tropical rainforest at its lushest best. Add to it, hot sulphur springs, a canopy walk 100-200 feet above the forest floor, the sight of pitcher plants, some giant ones called Nepenthes Raja that can hold up to three litres of water, and the world’s largest flower, the Rafflesia, if you are fortunate enough to see it in its bloom. The humungous red blossoms can reach upto 176 cms in diameter in full bloom! The National Park is larger than Singapore, and takes around ten hours to explore. Sulphur Springs, named Poring springs, melt away sore muscles. The mountain garden at the park is a botanist’s paradise, with stunning varieties of orchids, and rare flora that are endemic only to Kinabalu.

If you wish to scan new peaks, Mt. Kinabalu is all yours, offering a two day hike to the highest peak in South East Asia.

Climbing up Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, may be a bone-numbing, muscle-wrenching, breath-stifling experience. But, oh the joy of arriving at the peak, at the crack of dawn! Become part of a surreal experience – a blotch of orange, rising like a phoenix, splurging its hues, softly at first, and then violently, drenching the skies above and the earth below, with its unending supply of colour.