Description of the attraction
Mount Kinabalu is located in the national park of the island of Borneo (another name for the island is Kalimantan) and is its trademark. The park bears the name of its main attraction - Kinabalu.
In Southeast Asia, Kinabalu is considered one of the highest mountains - 4095 meters. Kinabalu National Park is home to many endemic species, both animal and plant species. For example, almost a tenth of all known fern species in the world grow in this park. Almost 800 species of the orchid family have been registered here. In Kinabalu Park, the species diversity of mammals exceeds a hundred, only four species of great apes are noted. The number of bird species numbers 326, 12 species of annelids, also endemic, have been recorded. Due to the widest variety of nature, the mountain and the park around it were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. The landscape of the mountain ranges from lush tropics at the lower level, to mountain forests in the middle and subalpine meadows at the upper level.
Mount Kinabalu is not volcanic in nature. It is one of the youngest mountain systems in the world and continues to grow by five millimeters annually. The first known expedition to explore the region took place in 1895, led by British naturalist Hugh Low. He also had the honor of becoming the first person to climb its summit. The highest point of the mountain bears his name - Lowe Peak. There are other bizarre peaks with unusual names.
Kinabalu, in terms of the complexity of the ascent, is available even to amateurs, subject to appropriate health. Every day about hundreds of tourists make an attempt to climb its summit. Not everyone succeeds: when fog and rain appear, the summit is closed due to slippery slopes and minimal visibility. Climbing, as a rule, takes two days and must be accompanied by a guide.
"Abode of the Dead" - this is how the indigenous people have called the sacred and revered Mount Kinabalu since time immemorial. According to legend, the peak is the home of the departed ancestors, for the pacification of their souls, the life of chickens is sacrificed.
