Luxury Hotels in Ranau, Kinabalu National Park

Ranau is a small town in a district which is in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. Ranau is actually bordering to Sandakan Division towards the East side. From the capital state of Kota Kinabalu, Ranau is actually 108 kilometers away to the East. Although Ranau is bordering to Sandakan, it has a good 227 kilometers distance between them.

Ranau is located on a hilly geographical structure. They are famously known as the largest producer of highland vegetables in Sabah itself. Some of the vegetables are cauliflower, salads and broccolis. Due to its geological location, the highland agriculture is one of the major industries besides tourism. This is due to Ranau being at 1,176 m above sea level.

As for the people in Ranau, it consists mainly of the Dusun community. The remaining would still consist of Malay race, Chinese and Indian. After all Malaysia is known for the multiracial citizens. The people in Sabah speak Bahasa Melayu as their main form of communication however they would have a dialect of their own which makes the language a little bit different. Moreover for smaller towns like Ranau with their own ethnicity, they might have a more different dialect to the whole language.

How to Get There

By Plane

One can take a local flight such as Air Asia or Malaysia Airlines and Firefly and fly to Kota Kinabalu. From there, you will need to take a smaller flight to go to Ranau. This means that the visitors would have to take two separate planes to reach the town.

By Car

From Kota Kinabalu, visitors may drive to Ranau via the Jalan Ranau – Tamparuli or Route 22. The distance is 108 kilometer away. The driving time will take around 2 hours and 47 minutes or 3 hours depending on traffic.

By Bus

Visitors can actually take a bus from Kota Kinabalu to go to Ranau. They may take the bus from Padang Merdeka Station, Kota Kinabalu. The time varies from 7 am to 5 pm. For one way it will cost around RM15 only. The time will take around 2 hours for the bus to reach the destination.

Tourist Attractions

Mount Kinabalu

Without a doubt this is definitely the highlight of Ranau that should be visited by those who come here but of course if they have the strength. It would be to climb the tallest mountain in Malaysia and also South East Asia, the Mount Kinabalu. This mountain is 4095 m above sea level. It has 5000 to 6000 plant species on the mountain. For an average climber it will take two days to climb and back down the Mountain. It has two trails for climbers to choose from. There are stops in between the route for climbers to recharge. There are also guides that will definitely assist with the route and making sure no issues arises when climbing as some of the climb would need to begin as early as 2 am to catch the sunrise when you are at the peak. For the climbing packages, it can start from MYR 1200 which includes accommodation as well.

Poring Hot Spring (PHS)

Nearby Kinabalu Park there is a Hot Spring. It is actually around 40 kilometres from Kinabalu Park. Here visitors can soak in the natural hot spring and let the muscles relax. This will surely make the pain disappear. The hot spring is made of sulphuric minerals. Therefore it is said to have healing properties. Many of the locals come here to enjoy the spring.

Kinabalu Park

This park is actually the first World Heritage Site. This is the park where Mount Kinabalu is located. It also holds as much as 5000 vascular plant species and has around 90 mammal species besides other creatures there as well. There are also other activities such as Rock Climbing, Paragliding as well as mountain expedition for those who do not want to climb the tallest mountain in the country.