Itinerary:- 4 days / 3 nights (Package B4)
Day 1 Home - Kota Kinabalu
Arrive at Kota Kinabalu airport, transfer to hotel at city centre. Free at leisure. Overnight Grandis Hotel.
Day 2 Kota Kinabalu - Poring Hot Spring
Depart Kota Kinabalu to Poring Hot Spring. Enroute visit Nabalu Market, Desa Cattle Farm, Kundasang town. Arrive at Poring, free at leisure. Overnight Poring Chalet. (breakfast included)
Day 3 Poring Hot Spring
After breakfast, free at leisure. We recommend you to do the following trail: -
Kipungit Waterfall & Bat Cave Trail – start the trek by crossing the bridge next to Sabah Park Ticket Counter (Park fee RM3). You will be greeted with refreshing sound of water cascading down the river. Walk pass the giant bamboo forest and the hot spring area and visit the Butterfly Farm (fee RM2), an open garden with lots of flowers where the butterflies are free to roam. There is a butterfly enclosure with hundreds of butterflies in different colours and shapes flying around. The farm has a nursery and a hatchery for research, education and preservation of these endangered species.
A twenty-minutes walk up the hills will lead you into another whole new adventure – Poring Canopy Walkway (fee RM2), with 158 meters long and 41 meters above the ground. Observe the tropical rain forest from the canopy to enjoy the tree canopy and you see birds and butterfly flying below you.
Continue to Kipungit Waterfall, a 20-minutes hike from the canopy is a good place to swim and is also known for its natural free fish SPA therapy. Just soak your legs in the cool water and stay still to let the small fishes come and bite the dry skin on your feet.
Next you need to register before ascending 247 meters to Bat Cave area to learn about the habitat of wild bats. The terrane is lowland dipterocarp virgin forest, hilly, tropical birds and small mammals can be sighted. It takes about 25 minutes to get to the bat cave and it is well worth it. After resting, backtrack and return to Sabah Park Ticket Counter. Hike distance 3 km. Hike time 2.5 hours.
After a long trek, you may like to consider the following: -
As the name implies, Poring Hot Spring’s Sulphur hot water pool helps to reduce stress by relaxing tense muscles as well as promote good sleep and treat skin irritations and allergies. Open air tub (Free), Enclosed indoor bathtub (fee rm15 per hour), Enclosed indoor Jacuzzi (fee RM20 per hour).
Other places of interest: -
Poring Orchid Conservation Centre (fee RM5). Located next to the accommodation buildings, this is the place for orchid lover to view the magnificent and beautiful orchids which are native to Borneo. There are about 1,200 different species of orchids at this center, making it the largest orchid's collection in Sabah. Here you can view the rare Rothschild’s Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum Rothschildianum) or known locally as 'Sumazau Orchid' which is reputed to be one of the most expensive orchids in the world and also other famous species such as Renanthera Bella, Phalaenopsis gigantea and many more.
Gardens (fee RM2) Located next to the accommodation buildings, there are a few theme gardens here. Firstly, is the Tropical Garden, where you can enjoy the peaceful surrounding of the tropical rainforest and see some deer that is in the garden. There is also an aviary in the Tropical Garden with some native birds. In the Ethno Botanical Garden, you can view some useful and medicinal plants as well as jungle fruits that are planted there. In the Bamboo Garden, you can see and get to know the difference between the various species of bamboo.
Rafflesia Flower (fee RM10) – Occasionally, this largest flower in the world may bloom and be sighted on private land outside the Park. The bloom hollow at the centre and white and red-spotted, has five petals. It takes about nine months for the flower to bloom from seed to pod to flower, and it can only last for just a few days to a week. A Rafflesia flower can grow up to a metre in diameter, and the biggest can weigh up to 7kg.
Restaurants at Poring – There are many eateries that serve delicious local cuisine at very reasonable prices just outside the Park. We recommend the Rainforest Restaurant inside the Park that serves local and Western cuisine at reasonable prices and have a great view of the swimming pool and the river.
Overnight Poring Chalet. (breakfast included)
Day 4 Poring Hot Spring - Kota Kinabalu
After breakfast, depart to Kota Kinabalu. Transfer to your hotel or airport. (breakfast included)
Include – Accommodation, transfer, entrance fee and meal as stated.
Exclude – Airfare, meals not stated, expenses of personal nature.