Places to visit in Sabah, Malaysia
19 places to visit in Sabah, Malaysia, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Kinabalu Park, Mount Kinabalu, Sipadan Island and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Sabah volume.
1 UNESCO World Heritage site · 2 Famous places to visit · 16 Hidden gems
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Sabah (1)
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Kinabalu Park
Malaysia's first World Heritage Site, a park set up in 1964 around Mount Kinabalu. Its forests climb from lowland jungle to mountain scrub and hold more than 4,500 species of plants and animals, among them 326 kinds of bird.
Famous places to visit in Sabah (2)
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Mount Kinabalu
At 4,095 metres, the highest mountain in Malaysia and in all of maritime Southeast Asia, rising over Sabah's west coast. Climbers spend a night on its slopes to reach the bare granite summit plateau at dawn.
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Sipadan Island
Malaysia's only oceanic island, formed by coral growing on an extinct volcano and rising 600 metres from the floor of the Celebes Sea. More than 400 species of fish live around its reef wall, and divers rank it among the finest sites anywhere.
Hidden gems in Sabah (16)
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Atkinson Clock Tower
The oldest standing structure in Kota Kinabalu, a timber clock tower alone on the bluff along Signal Hill Road above the seaside city. It began as a memorial and was first called the Atkinson Memorial Clock Tower.
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Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
A centre next to the orangutans at Sepilok that cares for, rehabilitates and releases Malayan sun bears, the smallest bears in the world. It was set up in 2008 by the wildlife biologist Wong Siew Te.
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Danum Valley Conservation Area
438 square kilometres of lowland rainforest in Sabah, left largely undisturbed. Bornean orangutans, gibbons, clouded leopards and more than 270 kinds of bird live here, and jungle treks, river swims and night walks lead into it.
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Gaya Island
The largest island of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, 1,483 hectares of forested ridges just across the water from Kota Kinabalu. Its backbone rises to about 300 metres, with beaches and resorts in the coves below.
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Gomantong Caves
A cave system inside Gomantong Hill, the largest limestone outcrop in the lower Kinabatangan. Swiftlets nest high on its walls, and their edible nests are gathered by collectors climbing rattan ladders and ropes.
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Kinabatangan River
Malaysia's second longest river, running 560 kilometres from the hills of south-west Sabah to the Sulu Sea. Its lower reaches wind through riverine forest, oxbow lakes and mangrove, where boats pass proboscis monkeys and hornbills.
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Kota Kinabalu City Mosque
The city's second main mosque after the state mosque, in Likas on the edge of Kota Kinabalu. It is built beside a lagoon, and when the water lies still around it people call it the floating mosque.
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Mabul Island
A small island off the south-east coast of Sabah that has been a fishing village since the 1970s. Its nearness to Sipadan brought the divers in the 1990s, and resorts on stilts now share the shore with village houses.
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Mantanani Islands
Three islands off the north-west coast of Sabah, opposite Kota Belud: Mantanani Besar, Mantanani Kecil and Lungisan. Divers come for the reefs, and the surrounding waters are known for their dugongs.
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Mari Mari Cultural Village
An open-air museum outside Kota Kinabalu that keeps alive the traditions and history of northern Borneo's indigenous peoples. Its houses represent five communities: the Kadazan-Dusun, Murut, Rungus, Lundayeh and Bajau.
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Sabah Museum
The state museum of Sabah, on 17 hectares at Bukit Istana Lama in Kota Kinabalu. Its main building has a longhouse-style roof, and its galleries cover the peoples, history and natural history of the state.
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Sandakan Memorial Park
A quiet park on the grounds of the wartime prisoner camp at Sandakan, remembering the prisoners who died on the marches to Ranau. It also recognises the suffering and sacrifice of the local people, and a memorial service is held here each 15 August.
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Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
A centre about 25 kilometres west of Sandakan where orphaned orangutans learn to live in the forest again. From the viewing platforms you can watch them swing in through the trees at feeding time.
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Tip of Borneo
The northernmost point of Borneo, a rocky headland in Kudat where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea. A globe monument marks the spot on the rocks above the waves.
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Tunku Abdul Rahman Park
Five islands lying 3 to 8 kilometres off Kota Kinabalu, among them Gaya, Sapi and Manukan, in a park that is two-thirds sea. They were once part of the Crocker Range on the mainland until rising seas cut them off.
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Turtle Islands Park
A marine park of three islands, Selingaan, Little Bakkungan and Gulisaan, in the Sulu Sea north of Sandakan. Green and hawksbill turtles come ashore on their beaches to lay eggs, and the hatchlings are released back to the sea.
Collecting in Sabah
What are the best places to visit in Sabah?
LOQAH lists 19 places in Sabah. The best known include Kinabalu Park, Mount Kinabalu, Sipadan Island, Atkinson Clock Tower and Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Sabah?
19, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Sabah?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Sabah before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Sabah and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
More in Malaysia
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.