Kinabalu National Park

Kinabalu National Park, national park in eastern Malaysia, in the state of Sabah, established in 1964. It occupies an area of 745 sq km (288 sq mi) around Mount Kinabalu (Gunung Kinabulu), the highest mountain in Southeast Asia at 4,101 m (13,455 ft). The lower slopes are covered by mountainous forests. At 1,800 m (5,900 ft), the vegetation changes to mossy forests, which extend up to the timberline (2,700 m/ 9,000 ft). A variety of plants, many unique to the park, can be found here, among them the pinhead orchid; the giant pitcher plant, which can hold up to 2 liters (4 pints) of water; and one of the world's largest flowers, the rafflesia, whose red petals reach between 50 and 70 cm (20 and 28 in) in length and which blooms for only four days every year.

The name Kinabalu comes from akinabalu, a word in the language of the native people, the Kadazans, which means “sacred place of the dead.” According to their legends, a young girl waiting on the mountain for her lover, a prince, was struck by lightning and turned into stone. The lines of white quartz in the granite slabs of the mountain are said to be her tears.