Kinabalu National Park, the entrance to Mount Kinabalu, is located at 1,585 metres above sea level and is the main starting point for the summit trail that leads to the top of Mount Kinabalu. It covers an area of 754sq km and is made up of Mount Kinabalu, Mount Tambayukon and the foothills.

Kinabalu National Park is home to thousands species of flora and fauna and wildlife and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, the first of its kind in Malaysia. The most famous of the pitcher plants endemic to Kinabalu National Park is Nepenthes raja, a giant pitcher plant whose bell can hold more than three litres of water. The park is also home to the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia, which has a diameter of up to one metre and weight of 10 kilogrammes.

The mountains have a fascinating geological history, taking 'just' a million years to form. The mighty Mount Kinabalu is actually a granite massif that was later thrust upwards through the crust of the surface.

Subsequent erosion removed thousands of feet of the overlying sand and mud stone, exposing this massif. During the Ice Age, glaciers running across the summit smoothed it out, but the jagged peaks that stood out above the ice surface remained unaffected, retaining the extremely ragged surfaces. This rugged mountain remains the focal point of the National Park to this day.

For more information, visit www.climbmtkinabalu.com/park.html