Kinabalu Park boasts one of the richest collections of flora in the world, covering an area of 754 square kilometers (291 square miles), making it larger than the island of Singapore. It was designated as Malaysia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2000.
The park is located about 1.5 to 2 hours’ scenic drive from Kota Kinabalu. According to UNESCO, Kinabalu Park features a wide range of habitats, from tropical lowland and hill rainforest to tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest, and scrub at higher elevations. It serves as a Center of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia and hosts a vast variety of species, with flora from the Himalayas, China, Australia, Malaysia, and other pan-tropical regions.
The park contains over half of Borneo’s mammals, birds, amphibians, and invertebrates, many of which are threatened or vulnerable. The park’s impressive biodiversity includes more than 5,000 to 6,000 plant species, including delicate orchids, towering trees, and the world’s largest flower, the Rafflesia, which can reach up to one meter in diameter (The Official Tourism Website of Malaysia) .