Mount Kinabalu
(Gunung Kinabalu in malay) is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in
Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is
protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the
highest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the highest mountain in the Malay
Archipelago. Mount Kinabalu is also the 20th most prominent mountain in the
world by topographic prominence.
In 1997,
a re-survey using satellite technology established its summit (known as Low's
Peak) height at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft) above sea level, which is some 6
metres (20 ft) less than the previously thought and hitherto published figure
of 4,101 metres (13,455 ft).
Mount Kinabalu
includes the Kinabalu montane alpine meadows ecoregion in the montane
grasslands and shrublands biome. The mountain and its surroundings are among
the most important biological sites in the world, with between 5000 and 6000
species of plants, 326 species of birds, and more than 100 mammalian species
identified. Among this rich collection of wildlife are famous species such as
the gigantic Rafflesia plants and the orangutan. Mount Kinabalu has been
accorded UNESCO World Heritage status.
Low's
Peak can be climbed quite easily by a person in good physical condition and
there is no need for mountaineering equipment at any point on the main route.
Other peaks along the massif, however, require rock climbing skills.
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