Kota Kinabalu & Surrounding Area

The first glimpse of Sabah for many visitors in the dramatic view from the plane as it approaches the airport of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital. As the plane reduces height, rice fields, scattered villages, a small coastal town and a lazy river or two spilling out into the South China Sea may come into view. Beyond the long string of sandy beaches, the occasional island is a smudge of green on a deep blue backdrop, while inland, beyond the rice fields, forested hills rise abruptly. With any luck, the awesome granite mountain after which the city is named might be glimpsed as the plane prepares to make its descent.

This book offers an insight into Kota Kinabalu and its surroundings, places which can easily be reached on a day trip by visitors staying in the city (although many of these spots merit at least one or two nights’ stay). Major places of interest in Kota Kinabalu and the rest of the West Coast District are included, ranging as far north as Kota Belud and east to Kinabalu Park, and to part of the Interior District, including Beaufort and the Klias Peninsula.