Summit Trail
The trail to the summit takes a minimum of 2 days and 1 night. It is best to arrive as early as possible at the Park Headquarters on the first day. Register. Meet your mountain guide and take the Park's transportation to the power station for the start of the summit trail. You will need an average of 5 hours trekking uphill to get to your mountain hut or rest house for the night. These accommodation facilities are located at two altitudes, Laban Rata at 3,272meters and Gunting Lagadan at 3'323 meters and serves as overnight rest areas prior to the ascent to the summit.
The next morning you wake up at around 2.00a.m and continue the ascent up a stretch of bare rock face to the summit with the aid of your torchlight. The idea is to get to the top in time to watch the sunrise at 6.00a.m as well as to enjoy the magnificent view and take some snapshots before you make the descent to the Park Headquarters. You can be back in Kota Kinabalu by evening the same day if you wish. Most people, however, take a leisurely trip of 3 days or even more.

Bird Watching
For birdwatchers, the Kinabalu Park can be a paradise indeed. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded to be found in the Park with many of them being endemic to Borneo. An early morning walk at sunrise, along the main road at Park Headquarters, will give you a splendid introduction to birds such as the gray drongo, the Malaysian treepies with their extra long tails, the common green magpie, the bright blue indigo flycatcher and the strange calls of the chestnut-capped laughing thrush very easily seen picking moths off the street lamps. Bird watching along the trails at the higher altitudes is also rewarding as some uncommon birds can be sighted.

Guided Nature Walks
At around 11.00a.m every morning, a guided walk with a park ecologist is conducted for the convenience of local and foreign visitors. The walk follows an easy trail in the forest to suit all ages. Lasting about an hour, it is a good introduction to the ich flora found on Kinabalu.

Apart from the guided nature walks, a 20-minutes slide show on the flora and fauna of Kinabalu with an emphasis on the summit trail is shown daily at 2.30p.m in the mini-theatre at Park Headquarters.

Mountain Garden
Adjacent to the Kinabalu Restaurant at Park Headquarters is the Mountain Garden. This garden was specially designed to give visitors a chance to see some of the rare plants found on Kinabalu. It has an incredible collection of native orchids, including the famed slipper orchids and medicinal plants used by the local people. Some of the more unique pitcher plants that grow at higher altitudes like the Raja, Villosa and Lowii varieties are also cultivated in the garden. The garden is open daily to visitors with tours being conducted at 9.00a.m, 12.00noon and 3.00p.m daily. An entrance fee of RM2 per person is charged and this includes a guided walking tour by a park staff.
There is a souvenir shop next to the main entrance of Kinabalu Park which sells a good collection of local handicrafts, tee shirts, post cards, books and other items for those who wish to take home mementos of their visit to Kinabalu.