Tourist Places to Visit in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Tourist Places to Visit in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Formerly called as Jesselton, Kota Kinabalu is the capital city of state of Sabah situated towards the eastern part of Malaysia. As Mount Kinabalu is situated on the western part of the state, the city came to be called as Kota Kinabalu. Kota Kinabalu is a major tourist destination in Malaysia and is also known for housing one of the prime industrial and commercial centers in east Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu covers a total area of 351 sq kms and its coordinates at 5.58’ degree North Latitude and 116.05’ degree East Longitude.

Kota Kinabalu History:

The word Kota Kinabalu is said to be derived from Malay word ‘Kota’ meaning fort or city as there existed a fort long time back. It is also said that due to the presence of Mount Kinabalu, the city was named as Kota Kinabalu. In the late 1800, the place was supposed to be inhabited by English people who established small colonies in this region. The place was destroyed by British army during II World War and in later years it was taken over by Japanese army and it also came under severe bombings in the year 1945. In the year 1963, a separate state called Sabah was formed and Jesselton was made its capital. In the year 1968, Jesselton was renamed as Kota Kinabalu and became the capital city of state of Sabah.

Places of interest in Kota Kinabalu:

Kota Kinabalu has lots of attractions for the tourists which are listed below. They are:

Mount Kinabalu
South Sea Sanctuary
Mari Mari Cultural Village
Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre
North Borneo Steam Railway
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
Kinabalu National Park
Sutera Harbour Golf Club
Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park
Floating Mosque
Sapi Island
Manukan Island
Sabah State Museum
Mamutik Island
Tanjung Aru Perdana Park
Tabin Wildlife Reserve
Lok Kawi Wildlife Park
Kota Kinabalu City Mosque
Mount Kinabalu Golf Club
Kota Kinabalu City Bird Sanctuary
Signal Hill Observatory Platform
Water World Theme Park

Shopping, music, entertainment and sports in Kota Kinabalu:

Kota Kinabalu is well known for shopping malls and markets where the tourists can shop for anything ranging from flower bocaques to computers. Tourists can shop for traditional ethnic products, souvenirs, pets, artificial flowers, foodstuffs and hand woven handicraft items.

Kota Kinabalu also offers variety of entertainment stuff to the visitors like amusement parks and movie theaters. There are several cinema theaters having doldy digital surround effect and movie halls having 3D effects.

Kota Kinabalu is also known for conducting many sporting activities like soccer, badmington, tennis, golf, squash, gymnasium and hockey.

Kota Kinabalu is also renowned for Jazz festivals where many international artists come and give live performances which attract large of people.

Connectivity to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia:

Kota Kinabalu is well connected by all modes of transport like land, rail, air and water very efficiently. The city is well linked by many Highways, Expressways and Bypass to rest of the cities. Regular bus services are available from Kota Kinabalu to nearby places and city suburbs on regular basis. Besides mini buses and vans are the other modes of local public transport. Kota Kinabalu is also well served by railway link which carries commuters, travelers and cargo services. Kota Kinabalu International Airport provides good air connectivity to many domestic as well as international destinations.

Hotels in Kota Kinabalu:

There are many luxury hotels situated in Kota Kinabalu providing fantastic world class accommodation facilities to the tourists visiting the place all round the year. The hotels provide all latest amenities and hospitality services besides serving authentic Malay cuisines and curries. List of hotels located in Kota Kinabalu are: