Mt. Kinabalu

Northern Borneo's Mt. Kinabalu stands 13,455 feet tall, and is the tallest mountain in South East Asia. One of the youngest mountains in the world, Kinabalu was born only a million years ago, when geological forces thrust this gigantic ridge of granite up through the softer surrounding rock.

Kinabalu boasts a stunning mixture of flora and fauna. Among the rich, diverse plant life are nearly 1,200 species of wild orchids, not to mention unusually plentiful numbers of Rhododendrons, pitcher plants, mosses, figs, and ferns. The most common animal found in the area around Kinabalu is the Mountain Treeshrew, a small, resourceful creature that eats fruits and insects.

In the rainy season, the slopes of Kinabalu transform into stirring displays of rivulets and waterfalls. As water pours off the mountain, it flows over layers of sandstone and limestone, carving out labyrinth-like caves deep beneath the ground.