Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, Malaysia

This guide is to prepare your ascension of Mount Kinabalu and also my feedback on the Via Ferrata available at the summit. Mountain Torq circuits are said the be the highest Via Ferrata in the world.
 

This stunning mountain is one of the highest in South East Asia culminating at 4,095m. And it ranks as 20th highest mountain in the world. It’s also a UNESCO registered site for its rich biodiversity.

I have heard many say that it’s an “easy” summit to climb, because the way up is very well organized and it’s only a 2 days climb. I would like to tamper these rumors; you should not attempt to climb mount Kinabalu if you do not have strong stamina. While it’s not a technical summit to climb, it is stairs all the way up with very steep sections and the way down is exceptionally brutal.

This article is divided in 3 main sections: a simple day by day walkthrough, feedback on the via Ferrata and a small FAQ -like section which answer mostly practical matters. 

What to expect along the hike – a simple walkthrough of each day

You would leave Kota Kinabalu on day 1 quite early, around 6h30 am to arrive for 8am. Then a first stop is at the registration counter of the park, where you get your badges, arrange for porters or pay any remaining fees. If you booked the Via Ferrata, you also have to check in and sign disclaimer forms there as well. The hike already starts at approximately 1,200m above sea level. There is a toilet just by the trail entrance.

Expect to be at the start of the trail for 9 am-ish. 

The beauty of this trail is that every 500m/600m elevation gain will bring a complete change in vegetation. You see a large variety of landscapes, it’s breathtaking. You should absolutely take the time to enjoy the view along the way. 

It starts with jungle, then move to mossy forest continues on with pine trees and ends on more rocky terrains. From the base camp and above it’s mostly bare, with some bush vegetations. It has a little “moon” landscape feeling.

There are toilets at every official rest stop, which are regularly available along the way. Bring your own toilet paper. It’s basic but does the trick. 

Then it’s a slow grind up. Stamina is key, small steps and slow yourself. It’s tempting to go fast for the ones who can. But the next day is actually the hardest. It’s important to manage your energy and fatigue level.

Your final stop of the day is base camp. I reached at 4pm myself, my group was faster and reached there about 1h before. Most arrive between 3 and 6 pm.  Please note that water refill at the main Hut ( Laban Rata Hut ) was chargeable for RM5 per jug, whereas it was free for the Via Ferrata Climbers ( since we stayed in a different hut ). So please bring some small amount of cash with you.

If you are doing the Via Ferrata ( which we did ), you will be staying in a different accommodation higher than the main building where 99% of the other climbers sleep. However, diner will be served in the main restaurant for everyone. 

By choosing the Via Ferrata, you will need to be at base camp for 16h30 for the safety briefing. If you can’t be there on time, you won’t be able to do the Via Ferrata the next day. 

There was hot shower at the lodge, and you sleep in dorm beds. It was clean. Hot tea and coffee as well as water refill were available at all time.

It gets really cold at night and in the evening at the base camp. You are already around 3,200m.

On day 2, You start at 3am for the last climb and to catch the sunrise. It’s pitch black and you walk with your frontal lamp up a steep slope. Some areas require ropes to move up. As you near the summit, the rock gets somewhat smoother. I wouldn’t like to go up on a rainy day, it would be very slippery. 

I missed the sunrise by 30min myself, being quite slow. But my group got there right on time. We were not the fastest but absolutely not the slowest either. We were in the middle bulk. It’s quite doable to catch the sunrise.

The landscape is amazing up there. You can take your turn taking pictures by the summit for some well-deserved bragging rights.

If you are doing the Via Ferrata, for the short one, you will be expected to be around 8am at the checkpoint. If you are doing the long one, the meeting point is almost at the summit. ( it’s marked ) and it starts very early. In general, people who do the long Via Ferrata, don’t have the time to summit. Most of the ones that we met, actually had done the summit before and were coming back for the long Via Ferrata.

My friends and I had chosen to do the easier and shortest one “Walk the Torq”. You will start the activity and should be done by 10 am. Then it’s about 1 more hour down to the base camp where a simple breakfast/brunch awaits. You then pick up your bags and start your descend. Because you have done the via Ferrata, you will be behind almost every climber and will be mostly alone on the way back, which is nice. 

The way down is going to be absolutely miserable for your knees. And if you have done the Via Ferrata, you will be done between 5 and 6 pm. Which means you will have to pay some extra for “overtime” with your guide, at least 1h more. ( It costs us RM60 /guide and we were a group of 6 so we had 2 guides –  no big deal + a little tip because they were awesome – driver overtime start from 7 pm and cost RM80/hour).

Note: There are some restaurants not far from the end of the trail, if you have your driver and finished earlier (basically if you didn’t do the Via Ferrata or don’t mind paying the driver’s overtime), you could also grab food around the trail end before driving back to Kota Kinabalu.

Your transport should be waiting for you to drive you back to Kota Kinabalu. We were absolutely dead and thoroughly starving by the time we arrived there. So please bring loads of snacks, because you will not have eaten from 11am-ish until 6pm and then another 1h30 of drive. We coordinated a pizza grab food delivery to our hotel with our arrival. We demolished those pizza like starving wolves.

Expect minimum 3 days of awkward walking afterwards. Every single staircase will bring its own little brand of daily torture. Forcing yourself to stretch and do easy short walks will help with the recovery, but be kind to yourself and take the adequate amount of rest.  You will be broken after this.

Feedback on the Via Ferrata experience

We did the Walk the Torq via Ferrata which is the shortest one from the two offered. It’s truly the only one that you can combine with going up the summit.  It was a good experience, but in all honesty, it was just too much physically. It was hard on our bodies. It’s also not the famous one, that’s the highest in the world.

The longer one, is the one you want to do if you want the monkey bridges on top of a void or real thrill seeking. And if you want to do this one, because it’s very long, it is most likely that you will not be able to summit. You have a strict schedule and time slots to respect. And the meeting times to start it will be too tight.

If I had to redo it, I would not book the Via Ferrata, I would have enjoyed more time at the summit to bask in my own personal achievement and the beauty that I saw there. Instead, we did stay a little up there, took photos but we didn’t truly rest there. And I was sad about that – but I was also the slowest of my group, and perhaps with a better fitness level, and if you were up there sooner, it could be different for you. I also didn’t enjoy the added stress of needing to be for 4pm at the base camp on the ascent. I reached it just on time.

Another very nice option, if you really want to do the Via Ferrata in better physical conditions,  could be to stay 2 nights at the base camp. On day 1, you climb up, on day 2 you summit and have a long afternoon to really rest there, and on day 3 you do the long via ferrata and descend. I would have preferred this arrangement. I am sure a travel agent or the Via Ferrata company can organize this for you.

The FAQ section 

What to bring with you hiking up Mount Kinabalu ?

Like with all hiking trips, you must bring layers. As you go up, it will get colder. During our day, we had mostly beautiful weather, but when you walk through a patch of cloud, it gets misty and cold. Up there, when the sun is covered, it’s chilling (and when it’s bright, you will be roasting). If there is rain you will freeze. At night temperatures are cold. 

Here is what I would bring:

• 2 pairs of hiking pants ( you could do with 1 if you really want a light pack)

• 2 T-shirts (one for the first day, 1 to sleep in but that you would also wear for the second day). I like thermal light long sleeve shirts myself to avoid the sunburns.

• 2 pairs of socks + underwear

• Hiking boots + 1 pair of sandals where you can keep your socks on (because it’s bloody cold at night during diner – so slippers would leave your feet too exposed in my opinion)

• 1 rain jacket / waterproof layer

• 1 fleece

• Water bladder

• Gloves and warm hat to keep warm especially on day 2 

• Frontal torch light ( an absolute MUST for day 2 sunrise climb )

• Sunscreen and sunglasses 

• Basic toiletries and a towel

• Your back pack and a very small day bag for day 2 just for your water, an extra layer/waterproof jacket and a snack to summit. Since you will come back to the base camp. You can leave most of your stuff waiting for you there for the way back.

• snacks

The sleeping bag, pillow and bag liner were provided by the hut. They were clean. 

Because almost 90% of this hike is stairs, I didn’t find it very convenient to use walking sticks. For the second day to the summit, I would not recommend taking them at all, because you will need your two hands to hold the ropes and climb on the steepest parts. They will get in the way.

Did we suffer from altitude sickness?

We did take Diamox on this hike so we didn’t suffer from altitude sickness. To avoid altitude sickness, it’s usually recommended that you don’t sleep more than 500m altitude higher than the night before. This is the best way to slowly acclimatize when trekking. And obviously on this hike, you do from 1,500m to 3,200m in one day. This being said, we had many friends who climbed without and didn’t feel anything at all. Keep well hydrated and listen to your body.

How was the food from our guide and at the base camp?

The food was simple and you certainly won’t have a culinary epiphany up there. Our lunch on day one was a simple banana, hard boil egg, fried rice and water. 

Diner was a buffet with all the carbs you can dream of, some veggies with some tofu or meat. It was actually quite good. 

You will get some light coffee and toast at 2am available at your hut to just grab something quick. Then when you head down after the via ferrata ( or the climb down to the other hut ), there is a simple late breakfast of sausages, toast, eggs and some noodles. 

Bring loads of snacks to complement the food offered and to sustain you during the hike.

Can we hire porters ?

Yes you can. It would be preferred to arrange porters ahead of time when you book your guide. They will share their rate for your consideration. It was not very expensive but I can’t recall its price now. In our case, we wanted to offload just a few items between each other but not enough to make a bag and we didn’t plan ahead to hire a porter. There are some porters milling around at the registration counter, your guide could help sort this out. For us, because a massive group had hired them all out, there wasn’t any available anymore. But since it was very small, we paid our guides a little extra and they shared the items between themselves. 

Do you need a guide to climb Mount Kinabalu ?

Absolutely and it’s mandatory. You can hire a guide and arrange your climb independently ( hut booking and climb ) directly with the Sabah Park.

We did arrange everything with a very good tour company ( the Via Ferrata, bus transfer, permits and guides ). The name was River Junkie, they are based in Kota Kinabalu. I would gladly recommend them, they were brilliant in organizing before and the driver and guides we had were fantastic. 

Also for Malaysian, they are official MOTAC registered tourist agency, therefore can qualify for our annual domestic travel tax relief.

We paid RM 1,750 per person including the Via Ferrata. But be aware that we did get a discount as we were long term visa holder in Malaysia. For tourists, expect to pay a little more. Plus, we were booking as a group of 6.

It is recommended to book at least 4 months in advance. It’s a popular summit and the number of beds at base camp are limited.

Where did we stay in Kota Kinabalu ?

Plenty of beautiful place to stay in KK, we chose to stay at the Mercure, because they have affordable family suite with 3 bedrooms, which suited us just nicely. For a group of friends going out it was great. It was also walking distance to the pier to go off to the islands for a day trip ( which we did before the hike ) and enjoy some good times by the beach.

We also enjoyed this SPA / Massage on the day after the hike, and it was good. I would recommend them. Eden Reflexology Centre. We went there with a Grab. 

Where to train for Mount Kinabalu ?

You need to train for stairs… endless number of stairs. And work on your stamina.

In Kuala Lumpur, we did up and down multiple times the Bukit Gasing staircase.

In Penang, I found the heritage trail staircase that snake up along the funicular going up Penang Hill a very good one to train on as well.

Your gym stairmaster might become your best friend. Cardio workout will help. Don’t forget to stretch on the evening of Day 1 ( even if I know, you will just want to collapse on a bed – we did stretch and I saw the benefit the next days ).

Mount Kinabalu was an amazing experience, and a personal challenge. The landscapes are to this date one of the most diverse in a single climb that I have witnessed. It’s just stunning. It is indeed an accessible summit for moderate level of fitness, provided that you have strong long stamina and have prepared yourself for walking up and down an endless number of stairs. I would really recommend this experience.