Mount Kinabalu

The summit of Mount Kinabalu stands at 4,095 meters (13,435 feet) above sea level, making it the highest mountain in Malaysia and one of the highest mountains in Southeast Asia.

Yes it's a very beginner-friendly climb! It's basically just a lot of steps - approximately 600 flights of steps in total up and down. To reach the summit, it's a 8.5km trek, and the same distance back down. It takes approximately 6 hours of hiking on the first day, and 10-12 hours of hiking on the second day.

It's suitable for novice hikers with a moderate level of fitness. We would recommend strength and aerobic training at least a month before your climb. Ideally prior to the climb you should be comfortable with 10km of hiking at a moderate pace, with a 8-10kg backpack.

Please note that you'll need to be fitter if you're intending on doing either of the via ferrata routes (which are basically additional activities off the side of the montain after you summit). If you're doing those routes, then you'll need to add an additional 1-4 hours to your climbing time, which will make it more tiring descending the mountain.

You can book a Mount Kinabalu climb through a local tour operator. The local tour operator will procure a climbing permit for you from the park and organise your trip logistics, such as transport to the park.

If you're climbing during peak season, do book your climb at least 2-3 months in advance as there are strict limits on how many climbers are permitted to climb each day. We would also recommend confirming your climb before you book your flights/hotels.

It's actually pretty beginner friendly if you train up! Mount Kinabalu is basically just a lot of steps (600 flights of steps in total!). 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.

If you choose to do the via ferrata routes (see below for more route info), you'll need to be a little fitter.

The absolute distances for the via ferrata activities aren’t long, but doing the activities does take some time, which means that you may be more tired on the way down.

In terms of difficulty, Regular Descent is the easiest, Walk the Torq via ferrata is slightly harder (add 1 hour to the Regular Descent), and Low's Peak via ferrata is the hardest (add 3-4 hours to the Regular Descent).