Explore Sabah
Sabah’s trunk highway hurries through the northern suburbs of KK to the more pastoral environs of Tuaran. From here, the atap houses of the Bajau water villages, Mengkabong and Penimbawan, are only a stone’s throw away. Just outside Tuaran, the main road forks, with the eastern branch heading towards Gunung Kinabalu National Park and Ranau, then onwards to Sandakan.
Continuing north instead, the main road arrives at bustling Kota Belud, where a weekly tamu attracts tribespeople from all over the region. Beyond, the landscape becomes more colourful: jewel-bright paddy fields and stilted wooden houses line the road for much of the way up to the Kudat Peninsula, with Gunung Kinabalu dominating the far distance.
On the way to Kudat, the first administrative capital of the East India Company, it’s possible to stay at a Rungus longhouse in Kampung Bavanggazo. North of town the area known as the Tip of Borneo has quiet beaches and a few guesthouses. Remote islands reached from the peninsula include Pulau Banggi and Pulau Mantanani.
Read More-
Kota Belud
Kota Belud
For six days of the week, KOTA BELUD, 75km northeast of KK, is a busy but undistinguished town; arriving tourists usually head straight to the jetty for Pulau Mantanani. Early on Sunday, however, the town springs to life as hordes of villagers congregate at Sabah’s largest weekly tamu. Fulfilling a social as well as commercial role, the market draws Rungus, Kadazan/Dusun and Bajau indigenous groups.
Though the market’s popularity among KK’s tour operators means there are always a few tourists, you won’t see many souvenirs for sale: instead you’re far more likely to come across dried fish, chains of yeast beads (used to make rice wine), buffalo, betel nut and tudung saji (colourful food covers used to keep flies at bay). Arrive early – if you’re coming from KK, set off by 8am at the latest.
Kota Belud’s annual tamu besar, or “big market”, usually held in October, sees cultural performances, traditional horseback games and handicraft demonstrations in addition to the more typical stalls.
-
Pulau Mantanani
Pulau Mantanani
Popular with KK tour operators as a day-trip destination, Pulau Mantanani is actually a collection of three tiny islands 40km off the coast from Kota Belud (from where you can take a boat) that also holds a few resorts. It’s a lot of travel for a single day, but a lovely place to stay for a night or two; snorkelling, kayaking and scuba diving are available by arrangement.
-
Kampung Bavanggazo
Kampung Bavanggazo
Although the shift to modern housing means that few traditional Rungus longhouses survive, a couple have been constructed in KAMPUNG BAVANGGAZO, 98km north of KK, to give tourists a chance to spend the night. In addition to room-only prices, it’s possible to book a package including dinner, breakfast and a tribal dance performance – call a couple of days ahead, to make sure that a performance is scheduled. Other activities include an early-morning jungle trek.
- Kudat
-
The Tip of Borneo
The Tip of Borneo
Promoted as a tourist attraction in recent years, the thin promontory known as the Tip of Borneo (Tanjung Simpang Mengayau) has seen limited development but retains a great deal of charm. It’s easy to see what keeps visitors coming: cliffs drop away to steep, forested hills and waves crash onto the golden sandy beaches. While it’s well worth a visit – or, better, a night or two – if you’re in the vicinity, whether it’s worth a special journey all the way from KK is more debatable.
At the tip itself, Sabah Tourism has built a car park where steps lead down to a viewing area and a monumental globe. It’s busiest at the weekend, when local families visit; no buses or minivans come this way, so you’ll need to use your own transport, or a taxi.
-
Pulau Banggi
Pulau Banggi
The island of Pulau Banggi, 40km north of Kudat and accessible by daily ferry, is the largest in Sabah. It’s mostly flat but has lovely beaches, including one close to the jetty at the main settlement Karakit, and is worth a visit just for the boat ride and an amble on the beach. There are few tourist facilities; to dive the reefs here, for example, you’d need to make arrangements with a tour company in KK.
