Mount Kinabalu

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Mount Kinabalu (Malay: Gunung Kinabalu) is a prominent mountain in South East Asia. Its height has been given as 4095 m (13,450 ft) [1] above sea level, or also 4101 m [2] from other sources. It is located in Kinabalu National Park on the Malaysian island of Borneo. The main peak of the mountain can be climbed by a person with a good physical condition, and requires no mountaineering equipment. Other peaks along the massif, however, require rock climbing skills. The mountain features a large variety of flora, including wild pitcher plants and orchids.

[edit] Climbing route

Climbers must be accompanied by guides at all times. The climb starts at the Kinabalu park headquarters at 1500 m (4900 ft). Accommodation is available inside the park or outside near the headquarters. From there, climbers proceed to the Timpohon gate at 1800 m (5900 ft), either by minibus or by walking, and then walk to the Laban Rata hut at 3300 m (10,800 ft). Most people accomplish this part of the climb in 3 to 6 hours. Since there are no roads, the supplies for the Laban Rata hut are carried by porters, who bring up to 30 kilograms of supplies on their backs. Hot food and beverages, hot showers and heated rooms are available at the hut. The last 800 m (2600 ft), from the Laban Rata hut at 3300 m to the summit at 4100 m, takes between 2 and 4 hours. The last part of the climb is on naked granite rock.

Given the high altitude, some people may suffer from altitude sickness and should return immediately to the bottom of the mountain, as breathing and any further movement becomes increasingly difficult.

A typical descent from the summit is quick but is often equally painful as the ascent: knee joints, ankle joints and toes tend to suffer as the climbers descend 3000 m (9850 ft) in five hours.

[edit] Tales

There are two tales that led to the main beliefs in the origin of the mountain's name.

The first derivation of the word Kinabalu is extracted from the short form for the Kadazan Dusun word 'Aki Nabalu',- meeting "the revered place of the dead".

The second source states that the name "Kinabalu" actually means "Cina Balu" ( which would fully mean "A Chinese Widow"). Due to the lingual influence among the Kadazan Dusun of Sabah, the pronunciation for the word "cina" (chee-na) was changed to "Kina" (kee-na). It was told that a Chinese prince was cast away to the Borneo island when his cruise ship sank in the middle of the South China Sea.

He was subsequently rescued by the local natives from a nearby village. As he regained full recovery, he was slowly accepted as one of the people living in the village. Eventually, he fell in love with a local girl and married the girl. Years went by, he started to feel homesick. So, he asked permission from his newly-found family to go back to China to visit his parents (the Emperor and Empress of China). To his wife, he promised that as soon as he is done with his chores in China, he will come back to the Borneo Island to take her and their children back to China.

So, after building a simple sailship for him, he went back to China. When he arrived in China, he was given a grand welcome by his family. However, to his dismay, his emperor parents disagreed with him about taking his wife from Borneo back to China. Worse, his parents told him that he was already betrothed to a princess of a neighbouring kingdom. Having no choice (due to high respect towards his parents), he obeyed with a heavy heart.

Meanwhile, back in the Borneo Island, the lovesick wife grew more and more anxious. Eventually, she decided that she will wait for her husband's ship. However, since the village is situated far away from the shore, she couldn't afford to come to the docks and wait for him daily.

Nevertheless, because of love, she found a better way to wait for her husband's arrival. She decided to climb to the top of the highest mountain near her village, so that she could have a better view of the ships sailing around the South China Sea. Thus, she was then seen climbing up the mountain at every sunrise, returning only at nights to attend to her growing children.

Doing this for a long time, her efforts have finally taken a toll. She fell ill, and eventually died at the top of the cold mountain while waiting for her husband. The spirit of the mountain, having observed her for years, was extremely touched by her loyalty towards her husband. Out of admiration for this woman, the spirit of the mountain turned her into a stone. Her face, was made to face the South China Sea, so that she can wait forever for her dear husband's return.

The people in her hometown who heard about this were also gravely touched by this. Thus, they decided to name the mountain, Kinabalu, in remembrance of her. To them, the mountain is a symbol of the everlasting love and loyalty, that should be taken as a good example by women.

To this day, the people around Ranau, a district in Sabah, believed that the St John's Peak was the stone in which her body was turned into. You can have a better look at this peak at

http://michael.ellerman.id.au/index.cgi/2005/06/05?flav=thumbs%E2%84%91=sv400178.jpg

[edit] Biology

The mountain is famous for supporting a rich ecosystem of many endemic and very rare species of flora and fauna. The most well known are the pitcher plants and orchids, especially Nepenthes rajah.

View from Mt. Kinabalu	Looking out to the horizon, en route to the hut as dusk approaches. Cloud formations are detailed and highly visible at this stage of the climb.	Mount Kinabalu seen from Poring Hot Springs	Mount Kinabalu with Telecom station visible
Looking down from the plateau of Mt. Kinabalu	Coming down from the peak of Mt. Kinabalu	View from the plateau of Mt. Kinabalu after sunrise

[edit] External links

• Malaysia Travel Guide on locally known as Gunung Kinabalu, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah
• 360 degree view of Mount Kinabalu and 200 photos of summit trail
• Molon's Mount Kinabalu photo gallery
• Guide to climbing Mount Kinabalu
• Ling Yeu Jou's Kinabalu photo gallery
• A Photographic Travelogue & Guide to Climbing Mt Kinabalu
• Mount Kinabalu travel guide from Wikitravel
• Sabah Parks website
• ASEAN Heritage website
• Mount Kinabalu Climbing Information, Tips & Guidelines
• Awesome Mount Kinabalu Travel article
• Mount Kinabalu Photo Tour

	Sabah
Divisions: Interior Division | Kudat Division | Sandakan Division | Tawau Division | West Coast Division
City: Kota Kinabalu
Towns: Beaufort | Beluran | Inanam | Keningau | Kinabatangan | Kuala Penyu | Kota Belud | Kota Marudu | Kudat | Kunak | Kundasang | Lahad Datu | Nabawan | Papar | Penampang | Pitas | Ranau | Sandakan | Semporna | Sipitang | Tambunan | Tamparuli | Tawau | Tenom | Tuaran
Islands: Banggi Island | Gaya Island | Layang Layang Island | Ligitan Island | Sebatik Island | Sipadan Island

de:Kinabalu fr:Mont Kinabalu ms:Gunung Kinabalu nl:Mount Kinabalu ja:キナバル山 pl:Kinabalu pt:Monte Kinabalu zh:京那巴鲁山