The name Pulau Tiga means ‘Three Islands’, but only two of the original three remain in this 15-sq-km park north of Kuala Penyu. Pulau Tiga is the largest island; about 1km to the northeast lies tiny Pulau Kalampunian Damit; and in between are the remains
Category: Malaysian Borneo Sabah
Eight kilometres off the coast of Sabah, at the mouth of Brunei Bay, lies the small, quiet island of Labuan. It’s had its historical moments, especially during WWII, but is now probably best known as a duty-free stopover on the north–south sea routes. Mos
These hot springs (admission RM15; visitors centre 9am-4.30pm) lie within Kinabalu National Park some 43km from the park headquarters and 19km north of Ranau. If you arrive here directly after climbing Mt Kinabalu, you can use your national-park entry tic
Categories
Malaysian Borneo Sabah
The mere mention of the word Borneo conjures up a host of vivid images: thick jungle teeming with wildlife; wild rivers flowing through tunnels of overhanging trees; orang-utans swinging through forest canopy; craggy mountains soaring above the steaming l
Like Sandakan, Lahad Datu is a busy town set on a lovely bay, with a hill at its back and a slightly scrappy water village on its outskirts. This area of eastern Sabah is known for its pirates, who eschew Johnny Depp romanticism in favour of speedboats an
Kudat is a quiet port town in the very north of Sabah, 190km from KK. The surrounding countryside is home to the friendly Rungus people, tribal cousins of the Kadazan, but the town itself displays noticeable Filipino influences, as much of the trade here
Kota Kinabalu, or KK as everyone calls it, is Sabah’s capital and the largest city in the state, sprawling haphazardly, like a faded silver blanket, over reclaimed land down the coast. Originally founded as Jesselton, the city was razed by the Allies not
You might think Kota Belud isn’t much to look at, but every Sunday a huge tamu takes place on the outskirts of this small, sleepy town. The market is a congested, colourful and dusty melee of vendors, hagglers, browsers, gawpers and hawkers, all brought t
Towering above the coastal plain and what’s left of the lush tropical forests of northern Borneo, Mt Kinabalu is the biggest tourist attraction in Sabah and the centrepiece of the vast 754-sq-km Kinabalu National Park. The towns scattered around its base
If you have a bent for the bucolic, you’ll probably want to skip Keningau – this busy service town has a touch of urban sprawl about it, and most visitors only pass through to pick up transport, use an ATM or stock up on supplies. For locals, though, it’s