Kinabalu Park, established as one of the first national parks of Malaysia in 1964, is Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO in December 2000 for its "outstanding universal values" and the role as one of the most important biological sites in the world with more than 4,500 species of flora and fauna, including 326 bird and around 100 mammal species, and over 110 land snail species.
Located on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, it covers an area of 754 square kilometers surrounding Mount Kinabalu, which at 4,095.2 meters, is the highest mountain on the island of Borneo.
The park is one of the most popular tourist spots in Sabah and Malaysia in general. In 2010, the park received 611,624 visitors, including 47,613 climbers.
The site has been identified by UNESCO as a Centre of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia, as it contains representatives from at least half of all Borneo’s plant species and is extremely rich in species with elements from China, Australia, the Himalayas, Malaysia and pan tropical floras.