Best trails in Kinabalu Park

Mount Kinabalu is a must-hike destination! Given the right conditions, the mountain’s beauty and vastness will leave you in awe. The initial stretch of the hike is fairly easy, but without proper cardio training, it can become quite challenging—especially at the halfway point, where exhaustion starts to set in. Our organizer provided pre-packed lunches along with trail snacks, which was a great help in keeping our energy up. The Panalaban area is peaceful and majestic. The breathtaking rock formations form a stunning backdrop, and the sheer size of the mountain is incredible. The food here is hot, delicious, and satisfying. You'll have dinner on the first day, a light supper before the summit push, and breakfast after descending from the peak. The summit push begins in the early morning, around 2:30–3:00 AM. Timing is crucial—you must reach the summit by 7:00 AM to allow enough time for your descent. The latest recommended return time is 10:30 AM, as this marks check-out. Delays beyond this may incur extra costs for food and accommodation, so make sure to stay on schedule! Our organizer also secured a free lunch at a lodge in Kinabalu Park. We made it just in time—it’s best to arrive by 4:00 PM at the latest to take advantage of the buffet. Overall, the experience was absolutely **amazing!** Every bit of money spent was worth it. The guides and staff were incredibly kind and helpful, offering encouragement and staying by your side throughout the journey. So, good luck and enjoy your next hike!

A beautiful day 1 trail to summit Mount Kinabalu.Its an elevation gain of 1,400m,tests our limit.Its worth the effort,got a fabulous view of the mountain.Raring to go for the Summit

Great little hike to help acclimatise for Kinabalu peak. Trail in good condition, no other people. Lots of orchids

I climbed Mount Kinabalu from Timpohon to Laban Rata and then overnight to the summit and back down, in late July under perfect weather conditions (it started raining less than two minutes after I reached the finish line back down). I climbed from Timpohon to Laban Rata in 3h40 + a generous hour of breaks, including lunch, and summited from Laban Rata to Low's peak in 3 hours, from 2:30 to 5:30, just in time for day break. I followed with the Walk the Torq via ferrata (the short one, completed in a leisurely two hours) and then the hike back down to Timpohon took 4 hours. As a generally fit (mid 30s, running 5-8km daily, boxing, no smoking no alcohol) and well-travelled but not experienced hiker, I found Mount Kinabalu to be an enjoyable and rewarding trek. I found it to be consistently and moderately challenging but never "hard". While trail is fairly steep, at a consistent 25% (2.3km elevation in just 8.7km of trail), it's basically one giant staircase with changing ground and views. There are no passages that require particular technique, although having some upper back conditioning can help for the rope-assisted part of the ascent around km 7. The descent, particularly the last 3 kms, is more tedious than difficult, and one should really just ensure good form to reduce stress on the knees. By the end of it I was so bored with the forest staircase landscape that I sprinted the last 100m to the gate - saved me from getting drenched! Altitude was my primary concern, having never hiked past 3,850m, and having struggled the only time I got that high, I did feel that the air was getting thinner after the 5th km hut around 3,000m and the last kilometre to the hut was definitely slower. It took me a good 8-10 hours to get over a mild headache and it was only after two hours of the early morning summiting ascent that I started feeling fully comfortable. The most exciting and rewarding portion is certainly the last 1.7km after the Sayat Sayat hut, where the vegetation clears out and the landscape becomes truly unique and bewildering. It's definitely worth the effort to reach at sunrise as the views are incomparable. All in all I highly recommend this trail to anyone with an acceptable level of fitness and motivation. I saw several people well into their 50s completing the trail at a good pace, although I can't speak for those who didn't complete it and I did hear of a lady who had to be brought down urgently due to altitude sickness. It's not technically difficult so it's the perfect place to reward yourself with a high summit and move on to the next stage, which I can't wait to do.