3 Days Best of Kota Kinabalu & The Kundasang Highlands.

Arrive at Kota Kinabalu International Airport and meet your driver-guide for the start of your Sabah highland journey. The first stop — before leaving the outskirts of KK — is Rumah Terbalik, the Upside Down House: one of only five in the world, the first in Southeast Asia, where every room is inverted and the roof sits at ground level. It is deliberately disorienting and entirely enjoyable. Continue inland to the Jambatan Tamparuli, a 100-metre hanging suspension bridge slung across a jungle river gorge near the town of Tamparuli. The bridge sways with each step, the river races below, and the jungle canopy extends on both sides — a brief but vivid taste of Sabah's interior wilderness. From Tamparuli, the road climbs into the foothills toward Pekan Nabalu and the Nabalu Craft Market, a hilltop market run by Kadazandusun and Rungus indigenous vendors selling handwoven textiles, beaded jewellery, native orchids, mountain vegetables and Sabah honey — the best handicraft market before reaching the highlands. The final approach to Kinabalu National Park headquarters at 1,558 metres gives the first close encounter with the mountain: the summit towers 2,500 metres above, and the transition from lowland tropical heat to crisp mountain air is immediate. Your driver-guide leads a guided nature trail through the park's primary montane rainforest, where pitcher plants cling to the undergrowth and giant oak trees draped in moss filter the afternoon light. Check in at your Kundasang hotel in the late afternoon and spend the evening in the cool highland air — dinner is at your own cost in the Kundasang town area, which has a good range of simple restaurants specialising in fresh highland vegetables and barbecued local meats.

Rise before dawn for the Sosodikon Hill sunrise experience — your driver will collect you from the hotel early enough to ascend the 400-metre hill in time for first light. The path is straightforward and takes approximately ten minutes to the summit, where Mount Kinabalu's granite peak catches the first rays of the morning sun above the cloud-filled Kundasang valley. Return to the hotel for breakfast before the day's highland exploration continues. The morning heads to Desa Cow Farm (Ladang Ternakan Desa), set at around 1,800 metres elevation near Mesilau with Mount Kinabalu as an improbably dramatic backdrop. The Jersey dairy cattle grazing on the green paddocks, the cool highland mist, and the mountain filling the horizon give the farm its reputation as 'Little New Zealand of Sabah' — a description that undersells how remarkable the landscape actually is. Bottle-feed calves, taste the farm's fresh dairy products, and spend unhurried time in one of Sabah's most photogenic settings. Continue down to the Bombon Marakau Village for river fish therapy at the natural spa pools along the Marakau River, where small doctor fish provide the traditional nibble-exfoliation experience in clear mountain water. The Ranau Rabbit Farm near the town of Ranau is the next stop — unexpectedly charming, with dozens of domestic and ornamental rabbit breeds and the highland valley as a backdrop. The road then descends from the highlands back to KK, passing through the Ranau Valley and stopping at the distinctive PPNS building in the KK waterfront area before proceeding to the Sabah State Mosque's Floating Mosque on the edge of the sea — named for its appearance of floating on the water at high tide, it is among the most architecturally striking mosques in Malaysia. End the day at Tanjung Aru Beach, KK's most celebrated sunset spot, where the water faces due west toward the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park islands and the sun drops behind the sea in vivid tropical colour. Return to the KK city hotel for the night.

The final morning in Kota Kinabalu is a curated sweep through the city's most rewarding heritage stops before the airport transfer. After breakfast, begin at Museum Negeri Sabah — the Sabah State Museum and Heritage Village — an institution that presents the full natural history and cultural heritage of Sabah's indigenous peoples, including the Kadazandusun, Bajau Laut, Rungus, and Murut communities. The Heritage Village section reconstructs traditional longhouses and village structures from Sabah's major ethnic groups, and the museum's natural history collection includes specimens of the pitcher plants, proboscis monkey skulls and Rafflesia displays from the Kinabalu Park ecosystem. From the museum, continue to Jamilah Jewellery in the city centre — the best-known Sabah pearl jewellery retailer, where South Sea pearls and Sabah freshwater pearls are sold at competitive prices with certificates of authenticity. The Filipino Market (Pasar Filipina) near the Waterfront is Sabah's most vivid open-air bazaar: a covered market of Filipino vendors selling pearl jewellery, dried seafood, batik fabric, and the fresh shellfish that defines KK's coastal food culture. Sabah Choco House is the destination for artisanal Sabah cocoa chocolate — the state is a significant producer of premium cacao and the chocolates here make excellent gifts. The final stop is a Sabah Layer Cake (Kek Lapis Sarawak-style) specialist bakery for the colourful layered pastry that has become one of Sabah and Sarawak's most popular food souvenirs. Transfer to KK International Airport for your return flight to KL — arriving home with a full memory card, Sabah chocolate, pearl jewellery and plans to return for Sipadan.