Mount Kinabalu - The Highest Peak in South East Asia

The summit of Mount Kinabalu is 4095m (13,436 feet) above sea level - making it the highest point between the Himalayas and New Guinea. Kinabalu is a mountain that has captured the imagination for centuries. It is not surrounded by other high peaks; instead it rises straight out of green, tropical forest to a multi-peaked summit of stark, bare rock.

The mountain is a huge dome of granite that was forced through the earth's crust as molten rock approximately 10 - 15 million years ago. The mountain was moulded by glaciers during the ice ages, with the last ice cap retreating about 8,000 years ago. Amazingly Mount Kinabalu is still rising by 5mm per year.

Mount Kinabalu features strongly in local belief and folklore. The indigenous peoples living within sight of the peak all respect the mountain as a resting place for the dead. Historically, the upper 1000m were left untouched for spirits. Local beliefs also include one of a dragon guarding treasure near the summit.

The mountain's summit, Low's Peak, and the notorious Low's Gully are both named after the first person accredited with climbing Mount Kinabalu - Hugh Low, who took 9 days to reach the summit plateau in 1851. However, Low only reached the summit plateau and it was British zoologist John Whitehead who finally conquered the mountain in 1888.

Today the mountain is a lot easier to climb than it was in the 19th Century - but it is still a strenuous 2 day journey. On most days between 50 - 100 climbers reach the summit. During 2008, 48,604 tourists scaled South East Asia's highest mountain - this has increased from 39,298 tourists who climbed the mountain in 2006. This is a fraction of the 230,000 visitors per annum to Kinabalu Park, the home of Mount Kinabalu.

If you are interested in climbing Mount Kinabalu during your holiday in Sabah, Borneo then please contact the Borneo Dream team.