Mount Kinabalu, 30-31 March 2026

written on 12 April 2026

"Mount Kinabalu is probably just another ordinary hike." - me days before the hike.

Well, it was - to some extent.

Well-maintained trails, cozy beds, delicious buffet meals, Mount Kinabalu is hardly considered difficult compared to other hikes I have done before. Plus, countless social media posts calling it "有腿就行" ("you can do it as long as you have legs") meant my expectations were not high to even start with.

Well, not until I saw this with my own eyes.

Sunrise at the peak — Sunrise at Low's Peak, 4095.2 metres above sea level.

Impromptu(?) Trip

Mount Kinabalu initially serves as sort of a milestone for me, or should I say for most hikers - highest peak in Borneo, Malaysia's first World Heritage site, everything just makes it a feat worth conquering.

Booked the accommodation on Sabah Park official site, searched online for fellow hikers to share guide fee, bought flight ticket weeks before the hike.

That was it. No serious preparation beforehand, just blind confidence (and ignorance) in myself.

Homy Seafront Hostel, a hostel literally facing the sea, as you can tell from its name.

Vans at Padang Merdeka — The ride from Kota Kinabalu to Kundasang cost me RM30.

Day 0 — Kundasang

I arrived in Kundasang so late that I only got to register at the Kinabalu Park HQ and missed exploring the neighbouring area. And it got foggy real quick, since Kundasang is at about 1,800m elevation.

Things got ugly when the capsule hotel owner told me the WiFi was down, and I had to sit outdoors in bone-chilling wind just to get proper signal for my phone.

Space Capsule — The space capsule I stayed for a night before the hike.

Space Capsule View — Despite the poorly sound-insulated sleeping capsule, the view offered by the hostel was magnificent indeed.

Day 1 — Timpohon Gate to Panalaban

After meeting two fellow hikers at the Kinabalu Park HQ at 7am, we started recruiting more hikers to share the guide fee. We ended up with a 70-year-old local Sabahan uncle. Turned out it was his 5th Mount Kinabalu hike. Imagine my shocked face LOL. (The uncle was super fit and pacey, which we didn't know by then.)

mount-k-overview — Mount Kinabalu from the HQ.

Kinabalu Park Sign — Kinabalu Park World Heritage sign.

If I were to describe the Timpohon Gate - Panalaban trail with one word, it would be "well-maintained". About 7km long, the trail is equipped with tons of stairs, making the ascent manageable. There are toilets and gazebos each kilometre, super convenient for resting and rehydrating.

It took us about four and a half hours to reach the Panalaban, where we rested for the night and prepped ourselves for the summit push the next midnight.

white flowers — White flowers along the trail.

panalaban balcony — View from the Panalaban restaurant balcony.

postbox — Highest altitude post box in Malaysia.

panalaban sunset — Panalaban sunset — the calm before the summit attack.

Day 2 — Summit attack

Woke up at 1.40am to prepare for the summit attack. Had to fight for seat for breakfast as the restaurant was packed. It was 2.30am when we started the summit attack. All gear's up, and heat-retaining done from head to toe.

"Stairs, stairs and more stairs.
Bare stone slopes.
Peak.
Bare stone slopes.
Stairs, stairs and more stairs.
That pretty much sums up the entire summit attack.
Invest in a good pair of hiking shoes with nice grip and thank me later.
😂"

My AllTrails review for the summit attack. No bullshit. The summit attack is basically 50% stairs + 50% bare stone slopes.

milky-way — The Milky Way right above me at the 8km mark.

lows-peak-under-stars — Low's Peak under the stars.

Words can't describe what I saw. Those moments are forever etched in my memory.

Day 2.5 - The Descent

The descent was slightly tougher than the ascent, as my rusty knees begged me to take it easy. I didn't want to push too hard, as I knew I had to be fresh for surfing lessons the next few days.