From Kinabalu Park Headquarters to Laban Rata
- Take your breakfast buffet at Balsam Buffet Restaurant before the climb to Laban Rata
- Keep yourself hydrated during the climb. Bring along 1.5 litre of water, may be in three 500ml mineral water bottles. It should be sufficient.
- The restaurant will prepare lunch box for you to bring for the climb. The lunch box consists of sandwiches, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 fried chicken, 1 apple & 500 ml mineral water. It is quite heavy as we are also bringing 1.5 litre of water. I took out water, sandwiches and apple, packed them into my backpack and left everything else including the box behind. We had our lunch at somewhere 4KM to 5KM.
- In my backpack, there were also energy bars and banana. (Also, SLR camera, raincoat, altitude sickness pills, three 500ml bottles, etc. It was heavy. :-P )
At Laban Rata
- Laban Rata's restaurant serves reasonably decent buffet dinner. (Hey, you are in a mountain, don't expect 5 stars hotel's food.)
- In the restaurant, you can refill your water bottles with drinking water. Yes, it is free, you don't have to buy water.
- They serve hot water, cold water, coffee and tea in the restaurant
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| Simple buffet at Laban Rata Restaurant |
From Laban Rata to summit and back to Laban Rata
- Take your buffet supper at Laban Rata Restaurant at 2am before the climb to summit
- Keep yourself hydrate during the climb. It is still a 5KM - 6KM up and down hill walk that may take 6 hours. I still think 1.5 litre of water in your backpack is a must.
- Bring along energy bars. It can be cold and tiresome.
- Don't forget altitude sickness pills.
- Take your breakfast at Laban Rata Restaurant when you are backed from summit. The breakfast buffet closed at 10am. After that you can still order A la carte.
From Laban Rata back to Kinabalu Park Headquarters
- Take your lunch/ teatime/ dinner at Balsam Buffet Restaurant. So leave Laban Rata early after your breakfast.
- Remember to refill your water bottle before going downhill
More general tips on food and drinks
- Bring energy bars, breakfast bars OR banana for every trip. You need energy bars, something to munch when you are tire. But don’t eat too much during the journey.
- Don’t eat and walk. It can be very tiring.
