Tag Archives: Mesilau

Standing on the peak of Maragang Hill

Why You Should Climb Maragang Hill

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Can you believe that you only need to hike 1.6 Kilometers (about a mile) to the peak of Maragang Hill, for one of the most spectacular views of Mount Kinabalu (the highest mountain of Malaysia)? I felt a bit guilty when I conquered Maragang Hill, so easy that it’s like cheating. The closer you are to Mount Kinabalu, the more stunning her scenery, and Maragang Hill is probably the hill nearest to Mount Kinabalu.

The peaks of the Eastern Plateau of Mount Kinabalu can be seen on Maragang Hill, which is named after the Red (or Maroon) Leaf Monkey endemic to Borneo.

With a height of 2,232 Metres (7,323 Feet) and located in Mesilau (of Kundasang, Sabah), Maragang Hill is a gigantic stairway for climbers to meet our giant mountain up-close. Maragang is the Dusun (Sabah’s native) name of Red or Maroon Leaf Monkey (Scientific Name: Presbytis rubicunda), an elusive monkey endemic to Borneo. You can see Red Leaf Monkey as a “hill monkey”. Unlike other primates which avoid high altitude, Red Leaf Monkey is adapted to the highland habitats. In Jan 2021, four Maragang were spotted in Panalaban (3,272 Metres above sea level!!!) of Mount Kinabalu and the discovery went viral.

Maragang Hill is near the border (light green line) of Kinabalu National Park. The distance between the highest peak of Mount Kinabalu and Maragang Peak is only 5 KM!

About the Climb

Climbing Maragang Hill requires very little preparation and the trip takes only half-day. You only need to book the tour in advance. The hiking distance to the peak of Maragang Hill is only 1.6 Kilometer one way. You can reach the summit in an hour if you are really fit. Normally most people take 1.5 hours to reach the top. Yes, 2,232 Meters sounds high, but the climb starts at 1,835 Metres above sea level, so you only need to move up 397 Meters to conquer Maragang Hill.

The height of Maragang Hall is 2,232 Meters (7,323 Feet), and the climb starts at 1,835 Meters above sea level.

Time Table

The following is the standard schedule of the climb:

  • 6:00am Registration at the admin office (in Mesilau)
  • 6:30am Transfer to the starting point
  • 6:45am Safety briefing by your guide
  • 7:00am Start climbing
  • 8:30am Reach the peak of Maragang Hill
  • 10:00am Descend to the starting point
  • 11:30am End of climb

Sunrise Hike starts at 3:00am but the flow is the same.

My Climbing Experience

I was climbing Maragang Hill with 4 friends last month. We didn’t want to drive 3 hours in midnight to rush from Kota Kinabalu (KK) to Mesilau, so we spent a night in Kundasang, which is only 15 minutes away from Mesilau by car. Next day we waked up around 5am to prepare for the climb. It was so windy and chilling in the morning. Though it’s only 20°C (68°F), I wore three layers of clothing (two T-shirt and a jacket) to keep warm. You can watch the walkthrough video below if you don’t want to read further.

We arrived the registration center (admin office) of Maragang Hill in Kampung Mesilou before 6am. After parking our car in the village, we registered, made payment, met our guide, and signed the indemnity form. Funny thing is, it wasn’t windy at Mesilau.

Registration Center and Admin Office (orange building) for climbing Maragang Hill, with Mount Kinabalu at the background.

The paper work only took us a few minutes. Then we and our guide were transferred by a 4-wheel drive to the starting point about 4 KM away. On the back of the truck, we had an open view of the scenic mountain and countryside views along the way. We passed through Mount Kinabalu Golf Club and the lovely pine tree road.

We were transferred by 4-wheel drive to the starting point of the climb for Maragang Hill.

Our vehicle reached the starting point of our climb within 15 minutes. The place is not far away from Mitraville Meditation Centre (慈观法林). There is a toilet for climbers. A mountain guide is assigned to my group because nobody is allowed to climb without a local guide, for your safety. A guide can take care up to 5 climbers.

Moving to the starting point of the climb and reached a viewpoint in one minute.

After a short briefing by our guide, we started our 1.6-KM hike at 6:23am. We reached the peak at 8:10am, after 1 hours and 47 minutes, slightly longer than the average 1.5 hours. This is because we went slow and stopped many times to take pictures.

The trail is a bit steep in the beginning, but don’t worry, only a few sections are slightly challenging.

The first 200 Meters of the climb is quite steep but not difficult. In fact, I prefer to call this as hiking, as there was almost no climbing at all. There are support such as boardwalk, ropes and wooden steps at some steep sections. It is not tough, even to people who are lack of exercise.

We can see Mitraville Meditation Centre from the higher ground (note the white stupa).

Most of the time we walked under the cover of canopy, which protected us from harsh sunlight. The cooling temperature reduced the fatigue and dehydration of our overheat muscles. 500ML of drinking water is sufficient, which is half the amount of my hike in lowland.

We reached the 200-Meter trail marker after 15 minutes.

After 500 Meters of hiking, our bodies were getting warm, so everyone took off their jacket. There was no leech (pacat) in our trail. But my sweat attracted a few buzzing and annoying blood sucker, deer flies. They hovered around me, trying to land on my skin for a feast. They lost interest and left when I stopped sweating profusely.

We walked under the shade of dense trees most of the time.

At 6:56am, we took a short break at a gazebo, which has a toilet behind it. You can refill your drinking bottle with untreated water from the big water tank there (not recommended though).

About 20% of the summit trail to Maragang Hill is relatively flat.

In general it’s an undulating terrain, with flat ground in between. Whenever I was about to get exhausted, a gentle slope or ridge would come next and allowed me to catch my breath.

It took us less than 30 minutes to reach the 500-Meter mark.

We reached trail markers labelled with 200 M, 500 M, 1 KM, and 1.3 KM, which show the distance we have covered, at 6:38am, 6:51am, 7:21am and 7:51am respectively. For me, they are morale boosters.

The resting gazebo after 500 Meters. There is a squat toilet hut behind it.

The vegetation on Maragang Hill is tropical montane cloud forest, similar to the high altitude forest of Kinabalu park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its plant diversity. Most trees in montane forest are shorter than 15 Meters. It’s also known as cloud forest because it’s frequented by mist, and characterized by tree trunks and branches blanketed with ferns, mosses, liverworts, epiphytes and other moist-loving plant.

Group photo in Tropical Montane Forest of Maragang Hill. I’m the uncle in blue short-sleeve T-Shirt lol.
The tropical montane forest (or cloud forest) near the peak of Maragang Hill looks like a garden.

To be specific, Maragang Hall is dominated by Ericaceous Forest thrives between 1,800 and 2,400 Meters. Red Leaf Monkey loves to feed on the nuts from the oak trees here. The gnarled and stunted forms of Leptospermum and Dacrydium plant turn the forest into a strange garden. If it’s flowering season, you would see native orchids and wild rhododendron blooming along the trail.

Pengimpaan Point is translated as Imagination Point.

Occasionally we stopped to give way to the descending climbers who return from their sunrise hike, which started at 3am. I was told that the sunrise hike was fully booked (40 slots) and it’s more popular than standard day hike, which had only 11 climbers that day. We already plan to do sunrise hike in the future before we finish our normal hike.

We met other climbers returning from sunrise hike. One of them carried a toddler on the back.

At 7:47am, we came to a long boardwalk that looked like red carpet. A few minutes later we passed by the 1.3 KM marker, and finally we reached the peak after another 20 more minutes. We walked out of the dense bush and greeted by the majestic Mount Kinabalu.

Passing by the 1 Kilometers marker, the peak of Maragang Hill is only 600 Metres ahead.

All of us rushed to the platform and took selfie with Mount Kinabalu like crazy, as if we saw a superstar. What a brilliant idea to build 2-Meter raised platform above the summit shrubs, so there is no tall shrub obstructs our 360 degree view.

The longest boardwalk is after 1 KM. Look like a red carpet to the peak.
The 1.3-Kilometer trail mark tells us that there are only 300 Meters left. “Dekat Sudah” means “Almost there” in Malay language.

There are three platforms connected to one another by 20 Meters of boardwalk, forming a U-shape walkway. Each platform offers different viewpoint of the mountain and its vast landscape. The second platform gives us a panoramic view of Mesilau and Kundasang from Maragang Hill.

Reaching the peak of Maragang Hill after 1.5 hours of climbing

Only on Maragang Hill, climbers can have a good look of the jagged peaks on Eastern Plateau such as Red Rock Peak, Lion Head Peak, King Edward Peak, Mesilau Peak, and Mesilau Pinnacles. Red Rock Peak is the most prominent due to its crown shape.

Hiking only 1.6 Kilometers to get this view? It’s a steal!

It’s a sea of green carpets the foothill of Mount Kinabalu. The lush rolling hills are dotted with flowering trees. I noticed some exposed rockface in the forested slopes, the scars left by landslide in earthquake of 2015. Sad but our mother mountain will recover.

The raised platform on the peak of Maragang Hill gives you a 360 degree unobstructed view of the surrounding mountains and forest.

To have better chance of seeing Mount Kinabalu in clear view, it’s advisable to reach the peak of Maragang Hill before 8:30am. In most days, the mountain would be enveloped in dense fog after 9am. Probably that’s why many climbers opt for sunrise hike, so they can get up here as early as possible, and the starry sky is also a bonus view.

We are lucky to have this nice group photo because of the clear day and no other climbers around.

You can fly a drone on the peak as long as it doesn’t fly inside the boundary of Kinabalu Park administered by Sabah Parks. Maragang Hill is managed by Mesilou Ecotourism Association (META) of the local community. They claim Maragang Hill is the highest community nature reserve in Malaysia.

View of the third platform. The signage says “Maragang Hill 2,232M. The best view comes after the hardest climb”.

Loop Trail

In most cases, climbers choose to descend from the same trail. To explore more, we went for the loop trail (Ascending 1.6 KM to the peak and Descending 2.7 KM via different route), which is more challenging and longer than the ascending trail.

Descending route of the loop trail, which is about 2.7 Kilometers

The descending trail is less pristine and looks like a regenerated secondary forest in good condition. The trail is steeper and narrower, with many rope support. Some interesting flora and fauna are spotted on the way down, for example, mushroom and fungus, liana vines, trilobite beetles (Duliticola sp.) feeding on rotten wood. We heard calling of montane birds such as Crested Yuhina, white-throated fantail, Mountain Barbet, Barber and Trogon, and also a wreathed hornbill flied over the canopy.

Interesting flora and fauna on the descending (loop) trail of Maragang Hill. The crimson fruits in top left are earth figs (Ficus malayana). This species is one of the most common figs in the mountain forest of Kinabalu Park and Crocker Range. The dark fungus in lower left is Dead Man’s Finger (species: Xylaria polymorpha). Lower Right: We saw many trilobite beetles (Duliticola sp) feeding on rotting wood.

Our guide asked us to watch out for Fire-lipped Keelback (Scientific name: Rhabdophis murudensis), a rare snake endemic to Sabah. When threatened, it can exude a white milky venom from the back of its neck as a defensive mechanism. I wished to see one though.

A clean and cold river in loop trail of Maragang Hill.

My group descended at 9:16am and arrived the ending point at 11:54am. 800 Meters before the ending point, you will cross a small and crystal clean river and exit through D’La Sri Cottage after 15 more minutes.

The loop trail of Maragang Hill hiking ends at D’La Sri Cottage.

A few advices to those who want to try loop trail:

  • Carry at least 1 Litre of drinking water to stay comfortable and hydrated.
  • Bring some energy snacks with you. You will need these.
  • Loop trail is not suitable for climbers with knee problem.
  • You will use rope to descend a lot so gloves are necessary for soft skin.
  • Hiking pole can help you to move down easier.

How to Book

Maragang Hill is highly rated and should be in the bucket list of Mount Kinabalu fans. Walk-in is not advisable, especially during weekends, as the daily limited slots of 80 to 200 climbers can be fully booked. You can book the tour in advance at maraganghill.com.my or text / Whatsapp them at +60 17-8952753.

There are two types of hikes:

  1. Day Hike (starts at 6am)
  2. Sunrise Hike (starts at 3am)

The starting price for Day and Sunrise Hike are RM115 (about USD27) and RM155 (about USD36) respectively. FYI, you can save a lot more by group booking. You can have up to 5 climbers per group (to share the same guide), and you only top up RM15 for each climber. For example, if you climb alone in Day Hike, you pay RM115. But if you have 5 climbers in your group, the total price is RM175 per group, after dividing the cost among yourselves, each of you only pay RM35.

The boardwalk on Maragang Hill is well-maintained. There are about 150 Metres of them in different spots.

Besides guiding service, the price has included return transfer (usually by 4-wheel drive) for moving climbers between registration office and starting point. Certificate is optional and cost RM5.

A 4-wheel drive picked us up at the ending point

You need to pay RM30 deposit to secure your booking (and settle the rest in registration office before climbing). However, currently their website doesn’t accept payment by credit card and Paypal. You need a bank account (e.g. Maybank, RHB, CIMB, AmBank, UOB) to bank-in the deposit via FPX.

The descending route of loop trail is long and steep

Booking Loop Trail

By default, climbers use the same 1.6-KM trail for ascending and descending (they call it Normal Trail). You can request for Loop Trail when you check-in at their registration office before the climb. There will be an additional fee of RM30 to RM70 per group, depending on the group size. You can check out the price in their website.

Campsite near the peak of Maragang Hill (Picture from the Facebook of Maragang Hill)

Lastly, they have a campsite with basic amenities near the peak, in case you want to camp on the hill for stargazing. You can message the operator via their Facebook page (@MaragangHill) if you need more information.

Things to Bring

  • Cash
  • Mykad / Passport / Identification document
  • Face masks
  • Warm Clothing (e.g. windbreaker, jacket). Temperature ranges from 15°C to 22°C (59°F to 72°F).
  • Extra clothing for change after climb
  • Sunscreen
  • Hiking outfit & gears (e.g. hiking pole, gloves, hat, hiking shoes)
  • Backpack (best with rain cover)
  • Drinking water and energy snacks
  • Raincoat
  • Camera
  • Phone & power bank
  • Toilet paper
  • Personal medicines if any
  • Optional: LED headlamp (for sunrise hike), sunglasses, selfie stick, tripod

How to get there

Book the climb in advance. Before you climb, you need to report to the registration office of Maragang Hill (GPS: 6.012919616415158, 116.59744029807099 [see Location Map]) in Kg. Mesilou, which is 97 KM away from Kota Kinabalu city (KK). This location is highly accessible by highway and paved road.

Climbers can find many great spots to take photos with the beautiful montane trees.

If you don’t want to drive nearly 3 hours in early morning from KK to Mesilau, you can spend a night in Mesilau or Kundasang, which offers variety of accommodation. The accommodation nearest to the registration office is Sulap. After registration, they will provide the return transportation to the starting point (GPS: 6.033364907654647, 116.58989023443904 [see Location Map]).

If you love climbing and hiking, you may check out my article on 10 Breathtaking Hills and Mountains of Sabah.

Photos taken in Mesilau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

DESA Cattle Dairy Farm and Milk of Sabah

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DESA is a household name in Sabah because most Sabahans grow up drinking milk from Desa Dairy Farm, which produces nearly one million liters of fresh milk annually. But Sabah people feel affection for Desa milk because of more reasons. You will know why if you visit Desa Dairy Farm in Mesilau, which is about 100 KM away from Kota Kinabalu City (KK). In fact, this farm has become a well-known tourist attraction. Throngs of tourists go there every day to enjoy the delicious dairy and beautiful scenery.


Pic: The fresh milk made in Sabah. They also produce goat milk.


Pic: meeting my “milk mother” in Desa Cattle Farm


It took me about 2 hours to reach Desa Dairy Farm in Mesilau by car. The green pasture with grazing cows at foothill of Mt. Kinabalu is a sight to behold. Doesn’t the place look like grassland of New Zealand? No wonder locals call it the New Zealand in Sabah. To see Mt. Kinabalu, you need to be there before 8:30am because the mountain will be covered by dense fog.


The scene is so breathtaking that many tourists taking selfie and photos. FYI, many photographers also come here to use Mt. Kinabalu as the background for wedding shots of their customers. Photo taking is free outside the fence. The photography permit fee is RM100 (≈US$27) for you to enter the farm for better camera angles. In case you worry that the cows will charge at people who wear red dress. No, they won’t. lol


Pic: the entrance of Desa Dairy Farm (ticket booth at the right). It is open to visitor who purchases a ticket.


Good Mooorning milk cows and welcome to the Moo-Moo Land of Sabah. The farm is 199 hectares in size and most cows are Holstein Friesian cows imported from New Zealand, the highest milk producers of all cattle breeds. It’s quite cool and windy here (about 20°C / 68°F) so you better put on a jacket or fleece to keep warm.


Cows are amazing. They are probably the best workers in the world. They turn grass into milk (and cut the grass). They don’t complain a lot. Instead, they ask for Mooooore.. But that’s why cow has no Mooney because people milk them dry. Ok, it’s a cow pun joke, such life sounds familiar though.


The cows were busy grazing and occasionally staring at tourists with “what you want?” expression. They were all pretty relaxing. I didn’t see any cowboy to look after them. Do these cows know when to clock-in at milking station?

Desa Building

For more things to do, the milk processing plant, milking station, office and shop of Desa is about half a KM from the entrance by gravel road.


Pic: welcome sign near Desa activity centre


Pic: There are many big and beautiful granite boulders in the farm. A lot of tourists like to climb up to take photos, so Desa has to put a warning sign “Climb at your Own Risk” next to almost every boulder.


Desa Dairy Farm is more famous than I think. The Desa activity centre was packed with visitors and most parking lots were occupied that day. I chit-chat with some tourists and found that many of them are from Peninsular Malaysia, and some of them are from Hong Kong.


Pic: milk processing plant (left) and shop (right) of Desa

The following are the activities you can do at Desa. Family and student groups would find the tour educational, and it’s important for younger generation to see and learn how food is made and processed.
Milking Process: 2:30pm – 4:30pm (Daily)
Raw Milk Processing: 10am – 3pm (Tue, Thu, Sun)
Calf Feeding: 9am – 4pm (daily)
Toilet is at left-hand side of the building (RM0.30 per entry).


Pic: Desa T-shirts

There is a souvenir kiosk in Desa building where you can buy T-shirt, postcards, fridge magnet, stickers, etc. with Desa branding.


Pic: funny postcards of Desa


Then a long queue caught my attention. It must be something good, I thought.


Seem like milk is not the only product being sold there, they have different snacks made of the freshest milk such as ice-cream, yogurt and pudding. I drove 100 KM to this place so it would be a shame if I didn’t try one of these dairy food.


Pic: enjoying Desa’s vanilla & chocolate ice-cream in cooling weather of Mesilau. Couldn’t be better!


Pic: Durian ice-cream

Their ice-cream and yogurt were sold out very fast. I wanted to go for second round and there was no more. 🙁


New! (Jul 2015): They have started selling fresh mozarella and ricotta cheese at food kiosk. You also can drop by viewing bay and cheese cellar room to see making of yogurt and cheese.


There is a view room for visitors to see milking process through a big window. Too bad I couldn’t wait a few more hours so I moved on.

Calf Pen / Barn

After seeing and eating something at Desa, probably you want to touch something as well. You can head to calf pen next to the main building.


This year is the year of goat, so it would be auspicious to touch goats. Note what the little lamb is doing (see photo above). The farm also rears saanen goats for their milk.


You can buy grass (RM1 per bunch) or milk (RM1.50 per bottle) to feed the calves. They really know how to milk the money of tourists lol.


Pic: tourists buying grass and milk. Please note the calf may not take your food when they are full, and there is no refund for that. Anyway, they all looked hungry during my visit.


Hold the grass tight while feeding. The calf is quite strong and would pull the grass out of your hand.


Pic: bottle-feeding the young dairy goat. Oh My Goat, it’s so cute.


Next I went to cow barn where I could see hundred of milk cows laying or standing under the roof. Tourists can only see them from a distance (I believe some curious tourists would squeeze their udders if they are allowed to touch the cows, haha). Milking a cow is not as easy as it looks. If you upset the cow, it would kick the milk bucket, and you.


A cow emits nearly 300 Litres (about 80 gallons) of methane a day, which is enough to power up an average size refrigerator for a day. No kidding, cows can turn grass into milk and also bio-fuel. The cows in photo above look dirty because it rained heavily the previous night.


Pic: a cow enjoys rubbing its body against rotating cow brush, which said to make cow healthier and happier thus better milk production.

Ticket & Contact Info

The following is more information of Desa Dairy Farm.

Visiting Hours: 8am – 5pm (Daily)
​Ticket Fee: RM5 (≈US$1.30) per Adult, RM4 (≈US$1.10) per Child / Student (Free if under 6 years old). Prices as of Jul 2015

Company: Desa Plus Sdn. Bhd.
Address (office): Level 3, West Wing, Wisma 2020, 18, Lorong Belia Karamunsing, 88991 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Website: www.desaplus.com
Facebook: Desa-Cattle-Dairy-Farm-Kundasang-Sabah
Tel: +60 88-889562

How to get there

Desa Dairy Farm is in Mesilau and about 100 KM away from KK. Though far, it’s quite accessible if you own / rent a car. There is no bus goes directly to Desa Dairy Farm. However, you can get a bus to Kundasang town, then hire a taxi to go to the farm (you may need to arrange with taxi driver for return trip), which is about 10 KM away from Kundasang.

GPS Coordinates: 6°00’59.0″N 116°35’28.9″E (see Location Map)


Pic: the road to Desa Dairy Farm


Pic: you will see a few direction signs of Desa next to the road in Mesilau


The road to Desa Dairy Farm is mostly on paved road, until you reach the last junction, which is the start of 2 KM gravel road to the farm. The road is not well-maintained but you still can get in easily using standard saloon car. Just drive slowly and carefully.


You may check out my photo album if you want to see more photos.

Photos taken in Mesilau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Little Hut, home sweet home in Mesilau

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Travelers always look for good attractions to visit and nice food to eat. After the tour, we all need a great place to stay. It is cool to be served by 5-star hotel but I prefer accommodation with nice surrounding. For me, Little Hut of Mesilau is special, not just because of its cooling temperature of 13-30°C (55-86°F) and spectacular view of Mt. Kinabalu, its homely atmosphere is something unique in homestay of Sabah.


Located at 1,460 Metres above sea level, Little Hut is only 12 KM away from Kinabalu Park and 3 KM from Mesilau Park, a convenient spot for me to stay a night and to enjoy the refreshing air far away from bustling Kota Kinabalu City (KK).


Pic: at the left is my hut (named Incredible Hut)

I checked into my chalet at 8pm and spent a night in Incredible Hut, a small house that have 3 beds and the only hut without kitchen. The tungsten light of the house looked warm and comfy from outside in the cold and windy evening, I really couldn’t wait to get in.


Pic: ground floor of Incredible Hut

After I collected the key from their staff, the 2-storey chalet was all mine. It’s like living in your own house, no room service that reminds you are an outsider. You would appreciate the sense of belonging and freedom here.


Pic: Incredible Hut has one bed in ground floor and two on top floor.

The space in Incredible Hut isn’t spacious, just nice for medium size Asian like me. If you are almost as big as Incredible Hulk, you may not be able to move so freely. Please note they have bigger chalets and I only show the photos of the smaller hut.


Mesilau is cool at night but not down to freezing point. The feeling is like being inside an office with strong air-conditioning. Putting on a jacket or fleece is enough to keep you warm. There is no heater (and not necessary) in house. Don’t worry, hot water shower is available.


The interior is simple and decorated with interesting ornaments. Each chalet has TV (with Astro satellite TV) and DVDs to kill your time. But the best activity to do here is to eat some hot stuffs in cold evening together with your friends and family, e.g. BBQ or steamboat. Little Hut can rent you the equipment but you need to bring your own food, which is readily available in Kundasang town only 6 KM away.


Pic: guess what is inside the treasure chest?


Pic: Toilet paper, shower gel and shampoo are provided. You need to bring your own towel and toothpaste.

Poetic Dream Houses

I had a very good night sleep in Little Hut. When everything lit up by the sunrise, I started to see the beauty of Little Hut. Seem like they “gardenize and villagize” every corner to give an idyllic and nostalgia touch to their place. They also insert some humorous elements for you to discover here and there.


Pic: Little Hut in the morning


The morning view of Mt. Kinabalu is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t know I could see it from Little Hut.


Pic: the view of Mt. Kinabalu and Little Hut. Note the small farm in foreground.


Pic: The little farm + garden in Little Hut is planted with variety of vegetables and flowers such as roses and spring onions. Housewives find this farm intriguing and are excited to tell their children what are those plant.

If I show the photos above to others without saying the location, most would think these are taken in countryside of European countries.


Pic: balcony of Hut Attack


Pic: village and farm view from the balcony


Pic: funny direction signages just to make you smile.


Pic: backyard of Little Hut


Hey, come and meet Miyao, the chubby and friendly 3-color cat of Little Hut. She acts like the owner of Little Hut and loves to hang out with people.


Pic: The Cat Residence. Miyao also has her own Little Hut, but she always looks for a chance to sneak into your hut, probably she enjoys the warm cuddling offered by the guests.


Pic: Miyao lazes around and as relax as the guests.


Little Hut is in Kampung Mesilou Village and surrounded by village houses.


You can take a stroll around the village, a friendly neighbourhood where you can explore around and say Hi to the locals.


Pic: the plantation in village. The property of Sabah city is super expensive nowadays, so I’m kind of envious of the big land they have here. I believe that’s the concept of Little Hut, which allows city people to experience the peaceful rural life once in a while.

The Chalets

Little Hut has a total of 5 chalets, each with different size, theme and amenities, so it’s important that you select the right hut prior to booking. You can visit their website for more photos and details.


Pic: from left: Unbreak My Hut, Incredible Hut, Bizza Hut, Hut Attack. Not seen in this photo is Hut Leluyaa, which is behind Bizza Hut.


Pic: Little Hut uses pun for naming their huts. The names are just for fun and don’t mean anything, so don’t be serious about them.

The following table is a summary of the chalets for your quick reference:

Hut Rate (per day per hut) Remarks
Incredible Hut Mon-Fri: RM150 (≈US$42)

Weekends, Holiday*: RM180 (≈US$50)

 Accommodate up to 3 people, suitable for small group of friends and family. No kitchen
Bizza Hut Mon-Fri: RM250 (≈US$70)

Weekends, Holiday*: RM300 (≈US$83)

 Accommodate up to 5 people, suitable for family and group of friends. Kitchen available. Good viewpoint for Mt. Kinabalu
Unbreak My Hut Mon-Fri: RM150 (≈US$42)

Weekends, Holiday*: RM180 (≈US$50)

 Accommodate up to 2 to 3 people, suitable for couple. Blue & white Greece theme. Kitchen available.
Hut Attack Mon-Fri: RM280 (≈US$78)

Weekends, Holiday*: RM330 (≈US$92)

 Accommodate up to 5 people. Kitchen available. View of Kg. Mesilou village and mountain range
Hut Leluyaa Mon-Fri: RM210 (≈US$58)

Weekends, Holiday*: RM250 (≈US$70)

 Accommodate up to 2 to 3 people, suitable for couple. Kitchen available. Farm and village view

Rate as of Feb 2015. Please visit their website for latest rate and updated details.
*Public Holiday & School Holiday

Though Little Hut has no restaurant, most chalets have a kitchen with cooking utensils for you to cook, or you can rent BBQ rack and steamboat from them (food not provided).

Contact & Booking

You can book the accommodation with Little Hut up to 6 months in advance by e-mail or phone. You need to pay 50% deposit to secure your booking. The chalets could be full during peak season so it’s better to book earlier.


Tel: +60 16-8601416 (9am-8pm)
E-mail: littlehutmesilou@gmail.com / shiaohan@hotmail.com
Website: littlehutmesilou.blogspot.com
Facebook: mesilou
GPS Coordinates: N 6.014536° E 116.599023° (see Location Map)

Getting there

Little Hut is in Kampung Mesilou Village, about 100 KM away from KK (see Location Map). There is no bus going directly to Little Hut, so you need to get there using your own car or hire a taxi at Kundasang town. Most of the time you will drive on paved asphalt road until you reach Kampung Mesilou. After the village, turn to the 3rd junction at the left (which has two tyres as marker), then you have to drive carefully on the narrow concrete road, which you will reach Little Hut near the end (estimated 600 Meters).

I strongly advise you to go there during daytime so you can see the small road or signages clearly. If your car has low body and you can’t see the road clearly in the dark, the bottom of your car would hit the big rocks. You can find detail picture guide and map in their website and Facebook.

Photos taken in Mesilau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo