Kundasang is a

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

and town in the district of

Ranau Ranau Town () is the capital of the Ranau District in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 87,500 in 2023. The federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat is Ranau (federal constituen ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

that lies along the bank of

Kundasang Valley Kundasang Valley () is a valley where the Kundasang town is located in Sabah, Malaysia, primarily in the highlands of Sabah southeast side of Mount Kinabalu. Environment The valley were known to be located at the intersection of regional fa ...

within the

Crocker Range The Crocker Mountains () form a range that separates the West Coast and Interior divisions of Sabah, Malaysia. At an average height of , it is the highest mountain range in the state. It is named after a 19th century British administrator of ...

, which neighbours

Pekan Nabalu Nabalu () or known as Nabalu Town is a small town located near the foothills of Mount Kinabalu within the Kota Belud District along its tripoint border with Tuaran as well as Ranau districts in Sabah, Malaysia. Several restaurants located with ...

in nearby

Kota Belud Kota Belud () is the capital of the Kota Belud District in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 8,392 in 2010. It is roughly at the midpoint of the federal highway connecting the state capital, ...

district. It is located about 6 kilometres away from

Kinabalu National Park 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 importan ...

, 15.6 kilometres from Ranau town centre proper and is renowned for its vegetable market which is open seven days a week. It is the closest town to

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...

and has a panoramic view of the mountain. It is populated mainly by the native Ranau Dusuns who are mostly Muslims since the colonial rule with a large significant Christian minority (especially in the Bundu Tuhan village where its native Dusun populace are mostly

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

owing to Christianisation of the tribe during colonial rule from animism by the

Mill Hill Missionaries The Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM), officially known as the Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill (), is a Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1866 by Herbert A. Vaughan. History The society was founded in 1866 by Herbert A. ...

in today's

Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu The Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu (Latin language: ''Archdioecesis Kotakinabaluensis''; Malay: ''Keuskupan Agung Kota Kinabalu''; Mandarin: ''哥打京那巴鲁总教区'') is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Churc ...

although the vast majority of Christian Dusuns in Ranau are from the

Sidang Injil Borneo The Borneo Evangelical Church or SIB () is an evangelical Christian denomination in Malaysia. The church was organised in 1959 from the work of the Borneo Evangelical Mission. Reach Claiming more than 500,000 members, the SIB church is the la ...

church) and a small population of

Chinese people The Chinese people, or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with Greater China, China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by ...

(mostly

Hakkas The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

including those of

Sino-Native The Sino-Native, often referred to simply as Sino, represent a population with a diverse background resulting from marriages between the Malaysian Chinese, Chinese community and Orang Asal, indigenous people in Sabah. They are distinguished by ...

descent). Notably, almost all the shops are operated by locals. At an elevation of almost 1,900 m (6,200 ft), it is the highest settlement in Malaysia. Kundasang is also famously known as the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

of Borneo for its unique mountainous geographical terrain almost similar to New Zealand. The Desa Cattle Dairy Farm is located within Kundasang.

Attractions

Kundasang War Memorial and Gardens

Kundasang War Memorial commemorates the 2,428 Australian and British prisoners who died during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

at the

Sandakan POW Camp The Sandakan camp, also known as Sandakan POW Camp (Malay language, Malay: Kem Tawanan Perang Sandakan), was a prisoner-of-war camp established during World War II by the Empire of Japan, Japanese in Sandakan in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Thi ...

, and the casualties of the three infamous forced death marches from

Sandakan Sandakan () formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of the sta ...

. It also serves as a tribute to the many local people who risked their lives while aiding the prisoners of war. It has four gardens representing the homelands of those who died. ANZAC Memorial Services and private Memorial Services are welcomed with prior arrangements. The Memorial is open to visitors with minimal entrance fees charged. An access road with ramp allows easy access for wheelchair users.

Vegetable wholesale stalls

Beside the main road vegetables wholesalers can be found in a long row of wooden stalls ( Malay: ''gerai''). Bulk buyers come from all over the state of Sabah,

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

and even

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

for the fresh harvest. Pick up trucks are seen laden fully with harvest from the farms nearby the valley and delivered to the stalls. Passing tourists and travellers also stop by the road for shopping at a good bargain with the stalls are open seven days a week.

Golf course

Mount Kinabalu Golf Club is located near the border of Kinabalu National Park at an altitude of approximately 2,000 metres above sea level. Mountain Golf Club

Villages

There are several small villages in Kundasang.

Education

There are 13 primary schools and 2 secondary schools in Kundasang.

References

External links

*
Kundasang Town

Places of Interest (Chinese)
{{Authority control Towns in Sabah