Sabah "Land Below The Wind" takes up the northern
part of the world’s third largest island, Borneo. Sabah is
the second largest state in the Federation of Malaysia, has the South China Sea on its western flank, and the Sulu Sea on the east.
Towards the south east is the Celebes Sea.
The state capital, Kota Kinabalu is a relatively new town as the original was destroyed during World War II. After World War II, the British returned and turned Sabah into a Crown colony. In 1963 Sabah gained her independence and joined the Federation of Malaysia. Sabah’s charm, grandeur, excitement and sheer variety have to be seen to be believed. Its beautiful beaches, abundant marine and coral life, tropical islands, spectacular scenery, the awesome Mt. Kinabalu, its 31 indigenous peoples, and its plant and animal life, will amaze and please even the most experienced tourist. Which is hardly surprising, considering that Sabah is fastgaining
a reputation as Borneo’s Paradise.
No trip to Sabah can be considered complete without a trip to the Kinabalu National Park, just about an hour’s drive from the state capital, Kota Kinabalu. Southeast Asia’s highest mountain, Mount Kinabalu, a vast jagged granite massif rising to 4,101 m, is the focal point of the whole
Park which covers an area of 754 sq km.
During its heyday as a timber centre, Sandakan once claimed to have the most millionaires in the world. It was also once the capital of the state (when the state was a colony and known as British North Borneo). Devastated by Allied bombing at the end of World War II, Sandakan lost
its status as the capital when it went to Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) immediately after the war. The town lies on a narrow strip of land between steep hills and the waters of the Sulu Sea. It bears little of the scars of the wartime years, but still has much of its colonial past - St Micheal’s and All Angels, which is very much a typical English country church. Another link with the colonial past is found in the Agnes Keith home, an American who lived there from the 1930s until Japanese Occupation in 1942. Her book on life in the prewar days popularised the old seafarer’s name for Sabah in its title "Land Below the Wind" (referring to the state’s location just below the typhoon belt).
Visitors to Sandakan should not miss the opportunity to make the world famous Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary. Here’s where one comes in close contact with the remarkable ‘Wildman Of Borneo’, the Orang Utan.
Sabah Tour Packages
Tour Name:
KINABALU PARK SAFARI
Duration:
2 Days & 1 Night
Details:
Depart 08:30am, drive 2 hours overland (88km) through padi-fields and Dusun villages over the ridges of the Crocker Rang to the foothills of
Mt. Kinabalu at 5,000 ft, to arrive at the park headquarters at Kundasang...
More detailed information on each of the regions that make up the Island of Borneo is available by clicking on the location map above or the links provided below.
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