Mt Kinabalu Climb

It'll depend on your fitness level and the weather. On the morning of the summit, you'll need to get to the summit checkpoint by 5pm in order to be cleared by the local rangers for summit. If you do not arrive in time (due to fitness level or other reasons), you will not be allowed to proceed to summit. In addition, there are a handful of days each year where the summit climb is cancelled by Mt Kinabalu Park due to dangerous weather conditions. Cancellations happen if there is torrential rain and it's deemed dangerous for climbers to make the slippery summit climb. Cancellations are rare, and no refund will be issued by Mt Kinabalu Park for any cancellations.

The closest main transport hub to Mt Kinabalu is Kota Kinabalu Airport. Kota Kinabalu Park (where the climb starts) is another 2 hours' drive from the main city center of Kota Kinabalu town. The providers will pick you up from your hotel in Kota Kinabalu town.

The Sabah State Park assigns the official guide who will accompany you up Mt Kinabalu, so the guide is not provided by the provider you choose to book through. But it's a good idea to book a local company to do all the logistical work such as obtaining permits, booking accommodation and arranging transportation as it will save you the headache of doing it on your own.

Mount Kinabalu has a relatively easy hiking route to the summit as you may be able to tell from the photos. To summit, you only need to be healthy and reasonably fit enough for a sustained uphill walk. You do not need to have rock climbing skills. The trail is basically comprised of approx. 50% steps and 50% rocky terrain, including: - 380 flights of steps the first day (climbing a total of 6km in one day) - 180 flights of steps the second day (early morning) - 380 + 180 = 560 flights of steps down on second day to reach the base of the hike If you choose to do the via ferrata options (i.e. either Walk the Torq or Low's Peak), you will need to be a little fitter – even though the absolute distances for the via ferrata activities aren’t long, they do take some time which means that you may be more tired on the way down.