sunrise Archives - MySabah.com

You are a lucky one if you wake up every morning excited about going to work. Well I can’t offer you a dream job, but I can share a gorgeous sunrise view that is worth waking up for. Make an appointment with Nuluh Lapai, a small hill of only 186 Meters (610 ft) high in Tuaran. In Sabah native language, Nuluh means hill, and Lapai means going up and down.

Nuluh Lapai is easy to hike, the only difficulty is to get off your bed early in the morning, before sun does. As Nuluh Lapai viewpoint is facing the morning sun, everything in front of you will be painted golden by sun ray during sunrise. For now, only some locals and photographers know about Nuluh Lapai, so it is not a tourist attraction yet.

The sunrise view of Mount Kinabalu from Nuluh Lapai hilltop

(Note: some articles say Nuluh Lapai is 1,164 Meters (3,819 ft) in height. That’s definitely incorrect. No normal human can conquer a 1,000-Meter peak in 30 minutes.)

Fun hike to Nuluh Lapai with friends. The guy in red shirt is me. (Photo by Chin Lee Ling)

Best Time for Sunrise Viewing

In Tuaran district, sunrise begins between 5:58am and 6:32am. You can find out the exact time of sunrise in this web site or your favorite weather forecast apps. 30 minutes before the sunrise, the horizon already starts to light up, so you are better be there as early as possible so you won’t miss the beginning of the magic moment.

Nuluh Lapai is a 32-minute drive away from Kota Kinabalu City (KK), and you need about 30 to 40 minutes to hike to the peak. To catch the sunrise (assume it starts at 6am), you have to depart from KK before 5am, reach Nuluh Lapai entrance by 5:30am, then walk up to the peak for another 30 minutes. For those who don’t want to work out or wake up too early, Mengkabong Bridge, which is only 3.8 KM away from Nuluh Lapai, is an alternative spot for a breathtaking sunrise view (no hiking required).

Group photo with tyre landmark of Nuluh Lapai (Photo by Chin Lee Ling)

“Climb up on some hill at sunrise. Everybody needs perspective once in a while, and you’ll find it there.” – Robb Sagendorph

Trails

Depend on your fitness, it takes about 30 to 40 minutes to reach the top of Nuluh Lapai. There are two jungle trails lead to the peak:

Short Trail at the left, only 980 Meters, shorter but steeper
Long Trail at the right (behind the hut), 1.2 Kilometers, farther but easier

Trail mark of Nuluh Lapai. Left is the short but steep route (980 Meters), right is the long and easy route (1.2 Kilometer)

You can have more fun exploring by doing loop trail, i.e. ascend and descend via different trail. The trail is narrow soil path flanked by dense shrubs, trees, and fern. You will pass by some rubber and fruit trees and hear loud 3D surround sound by cicada. There are more morning hikers during weekends if you need more people around to feel safe. No leech (pacat) is present in the trails.

The steep sections are just tiring instead of challenging. The overall feeling is like climbing the staircase of a 30-floor building, but with flat ground in between. A pair of good hiking shoes will help. You will sweat a lot so carry a bottle of drinking water with you.

LED Headlamp or torchlight is a must for the sunrise hike in the dark. Hands-free headlamp is convenient but the light would attract bugs flying to your face and mouth. You would need insect repellent, as mosquitoes are active during dawn. The walk-through video below will show you everything in detail.

The Peak of Nuluh Lapai

Once you reach the clear area on the peak, you will forget about your tiredness, and enjoy the peaceful morning and fresh air. In good days, Mount Kinabalu will show her face. Slowly the cloud catches the warm-orange rays of the rising sun. The honeyed light casts long tree shadows in the flowing morning mist.

Watching sunrise over Mount Kinabalu from Nuluh Lapai

The local community plants some flowers on the peak, making Nuluh Lapai a beautiful viewpoint.

It’s a victorious feeling to enjoy one of the best sunrise views in Sabah, while others are still snoring on their beds. However, stunning sight is not guaranteed. A rainy or really cloudy day (90%+ cloud cover) could screw the scenery. Anyway, you have nothing to lose, just treat this trip as an exercise, and try again next time.

A triangulation station (or trig point) on top of Nuluh Lapai. This structure is commonly seen on the hills of Sabah and is used for surveying.

An arcus cloud, or a roll cloud at the Dalit Beach of Tuaran

There are some wooden benches and an atap hut shelter for visitors to rest and relax. A primitive squat toilet is available near the peak. The local community also plants some flowers such as frangipani, cosmo, periwinkle and marigold on the hilltop, turning this area into a small garden decorated with pink, yellow, purple, orange and white colors.

A nice resting hut after the hike. Even dog enjoys the peaceful morning on Nuluh Lapai. The dogs around there are accustomed to hikers.

To cure your thirst and hunger, you can buy light snacks or drink from a bamboo stall there, which opens from 6:30am to 10am on weekends. These hawkers also help to keep the flowers bloom and free from overgrown weeds. You don’t need to pay any entry fee for Nuluh Lapai, but you can show your support by buying something from them, or put some money in their donation box. Or you can follow their Facebook page @NuluhLapai.

Hikers enjoy the sunrise view of Mount Kinabalu

For such a wonderful sunrise, what I really want are a cup of hot coffee and sunny-side up egg as breakfast lol.

How to get there

Nuluh Lapai is 25 Kilometers from KK and is highly accessible by highway. The entrance of Nuluh Lapai is just next to the Jalan Sulaman road in Tuaran and opposite to Gayang Seafood Restaurant (GPS Coordinates: 6.1148512700105275, 116.15705236503005, see Location Map).

Entrance of Nuluh Lapai (see arrow) is just opposite to Gayang Seafood Restaurant

Starting point of the hiking trails to Nuluh Lapai

Note: Part of the highway in Tuaran is currently under construction, so watch out for bumps and potholes when you drive in the dark. Parking lot is not available, but you can park your car at the roadside. Please note that the road from Tuaran to KK is quite congested from 7am to 9am during weekdays.

Morning light beams through the trees of Nuluh Lapai (Photo by Chin Lee Ling)

Next time, give a big smile when someone say “Good Morning” to you, because morning is such a beautiful thing.

Hiking girls from Sepanggar, which is near to Nuluh Lapai

Photos taken in Tuaran, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

In year 2000, Mengkabong River Bridge (or Jambatan Gayang) is constructed to connect both sides of the Mengkabong River in Tuaran. Probably a bonus by accident, this longest bridge of Sabah also connects us to the perfect sunrise view of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain of Malaysia. When motorists cross this bridge, they would have a 330+ Metres (1,080 ft) of enjoyable ride because of the beautiful scenery.

Mengkabong River Bridge is a popular photography spot for Sabah sunrise

Best Sunrise View of Mount Kinabalu

Mengkabong River Bridge is a landmark and attraction well-known among Sabahans, who have seen its amazing sunrise photos many times in photography contest, tourism calendar, social media, etc. The high vantage point of Mengkabong River Bridge allows photographers to fit Mount Kinabalu, sunrise, rolling hills, mangrove forest and river into one frame.

Breathtaking sunrise over Mount Kinabalu at Mengkabong River Bridge

In most days you have a good chance of seeing Mount Kinabalu in the morning. Just standby on the bridge by 5:30am or earlier, before sunrise starts between 5:59am and 6:33am. The sun rises from different spots in different time of the year, creating more variation of sunrise view. I did a Facebook Live Stream there for fun too.

Another sunrise shot of Mount Kinabalu at Mengkabong

Fishing and Mangrove

Mengkabong River is an estuarine fish habitats where fresh water from river mixes with the saltwater from the South China Sea only 2 Kilometres away. The lush mangrove forest and brackish water of this river provide important feeding, spawning and nursery sites for some palatable marine fishes. Crabs and prawns grow bigger in such environment too.

Mengkabong River is where saltwater and freshwater meet. Crabs and prawns grow well in such brackish water.

During high tide, sea fishes follow the current to forage in Mengkabong River. Therefore, the bridge becomes a hot area to catch high-valued marine fishes such as barracuda, snapper, grouper, sea brass (selunsung / siakap), trevallies and Jack fish. Local anglers love to erect a few fishing rods at the jetties under the bridge.

Mengkabong River Bridge is over 300 Metres long. Note the jetties and fishing platforms at lower left and the floating fish farm at the right.

Before sunrise, the fishermen from nearby water villages has started their day fishing in Mengkabong River. You can bargain with them and buy their fresh caught for a good price on the spot.

Mengkabong River is a famous fishing spot. You can pay a small fee to use the sheltered fishing platform at the jetty.

Do take some moment to appreciate the mangrove forest in the river there. The net ﬁsheries contribution from 1 ha of mangrove forest amounted to US$846 year (RM3,500 per year). According to a study by Omar et al, in 2017, Sabah had about 378,195 hectares of mangroves which covered about 60 per cent of total mangrove areas in Malaysia (and 7.6 percent of the global mangroves)!

You can buy fresh seafood from the fishermen on the spot in Mengkabong River. The tiger prawn is sold for RM15 each.

Firefly and proboscis monkey, the residents of mangrove wetlands in Borneo, also attract thousands of tourists and generate a lot of income for Sabah every year. Mangrove forest are really our money trees.

Note: There might be crocodile around there, so do not wander mindlessly on the river bank or swim in the river.

Cycling

Cycling is a popular sport of Sabah now, thanks to our scenic countryside. Mengkabong River Bridge is one of the favourite routes of cyclists, without doubt, is due to the spectacular sunrise.

Hundred of cyclists cross this bridge every morning. They would get off their bicycle in the middle of the bridge and selfie with Mount Kinabalu, to show the world how beautiful their lives are.

You have a good chance of seeing Mount Kinabalu from the bridge if the weather is good

The view of Mount Kinabalu is the highlight for cyclists here

Sunset Tour

If the sunlight is strong, you could have a nice sunset view of Mengkabong River after 6pm, with the sky of Mount Kinabalu being illuminated by pinkish or reddish color of sunset from opposite side, a phenomenon called alpenglow. The colors are less intense but a preference for those who are not early bird and always miss the sunrise.

Large area of mangrove trees in Mengkabong River

Personally I would recommend you to join the sunset tour below that can send you to Dalit Beach at river mouth of Mengkabong River for a magnificient sunset view. (This is not a sponsored post. I don’t get paid to promote this.) This tour is managed by Kinabalu Heritage Tours, a licensed travel agent owned by my friend.

Tour Package: Mengkabong Fireflies & Sunset River Cruise with BBQ Seafood Dinner

Duration: 3 hours
Departure Time: 4:00pm (Every Friday / Saturday / Sunday / Public Holiday)

Mount Kinabalu and the mangrove forest of Mengkabong

Tour Info & Activities

Mengkabong Village is part of the Tuaran district and home of the Bajau Sea Gypsies Malay Fishing Village. Experience the memorable and educational river tour about the importance of Mangrove forest with beautiful natural scenery along the river where water streams peacefully and see sea real-life one of our famous indigenous tribe Bajau fisherman lifestyle who still live in water village (i.e. house build on stilts and connected by narrow wooden planks) formerly known as the Sea Gypsies. Experience our local ways of crab catching activities during the cruise and visit the local Oyster and Fish Farm before heading to the river mouth to catch the spectacular view of sunset on the white sandy beach. After the tour, enjoy our BBQ SEAFOOD Dinner before returning to your respective home.

Tour Fare Inclusive: Land Transport, River Cruise, Fun Fishing using hand lines, Crab Catching, High Tea, Dinner and English Speaking licensed tourist guide

Promotion Rate!!! RM50 per person (Minimum 4 people). Rate is valid until 31 Dec 2021. You can book now travel later.

Tourists watching sunset at Dalit Beach, where Mengkabong River meets the sea

The tour is on deep discount now. I’ve taken the tour before. It’s fun and I even saw “Blue Tears” (Bioluminescent Sea) in the river. The sea water glowed when it’s disturbed by a wave breaking or a splash in the water by our boat at night.

The following is their contact for booking tour:
Hotline: +60 13-6068333 (Whatsapp available)
Company: Kinabalu Heritage Tours & Car Rental Sdn. Bhd.
KKKP/PLN (Tour License No.): 5189 (683895-A)
Address: Lot E–2-7, Block E, 2nd Floor, Tanjung Aru Plaza, Jalan Mat Salleh, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Phone: +60 88–318311
E-mail: info@sabahborneotours.com
Facebook: KinabaluHeritageTours

Fiery sunset at the river mouth of Mengkabong River

How to get there?

Mengkabong River Bridge is about 29 Kilometres away from Kota Kinabalu City (KK) and highly accessible by highway (about 35 minutes by car). The bridge is never closed, so you can visit anytime, and you don’t need a tour company to bring you there. Just depart from KK at 5am, set your destination as “Mengkabong River Bridge” in Waze, Google Map or other navigation apps.

GPS: 6.14165, 116.15459 (see Location Map or Street View)

View of Mount Kinabalu from Dalit Beach, at the end of Mengkabong River

Once you arrive, park your car at roadside before or after the bridge, and walk up to this bridge. There are lampposts on the bridge to lit the way. The 5-feet-wide pedestrian lane on the bridge can keep you safe from busy traffic, but always keep an eye on incoming bicycles that use the same space as cycling lane.

After sunrise, you can drop by Tuaran town nearby to have the famous Tuaran Fried Noodle as breakfast. Please note the highway from Tuaran to KK is quite congested when people rush to work in the morning of weekdays. It’s also advisable to check weather forecast of Tuaran in advance, so you won’t waste your time and disappointed by the bad weather. Toilet is available in the building behind the jetties.