Kinabalu Park & Mount Kinabalu

Kinabalu Park was gazetted in 1964, making it Sabah's first park, after scientific expeditions to the mountain highlighted its botanical importance. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. UNESCO describes the mountain as a granite intrusion around 15 million years old, uplifted to its present height in roughly the last million years, and estimates the park holds 5,000 to 6,000 vascular plant species, including around 1,000 orchids.

The first recorded ascent to the summit plateau was made in 1851 by the British administrator and naturalist Hugh Low, guided by Lemaing of Kampung Kiau; the highest point was later named Low's Peak in his honour. For the Kadazan-Dusun the mountain is sacred, the home of ancestral spirits, and its name is usually traced to Aki Nabalu, its guardian spirit. On 5 June 2015 an earthquake triggered rockfalls that killed 18 climbers and guides; the Mesilau trail has remained closed since, and the summit route now starts at Timpohon Gate.

The villages on the mountain's flanks, such as Kampung Kiau, are Kadazan-Dusun communities, and many of the mountain guides and porters come from them. The mountain is regarded as sacred, and local communities have long asked visitors to behave respectfully on it. The nearby Kundasang highlands are farming country, known for vegetables and dairy, and roadside stalls sell local produce.