Qualla: Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park

Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mx. Granger, CC0. From an aerial view over Kota Kinabalu, the five islands arrange themselves across the South China Sea like stepping stones leading away from shore. Mamutik, Sulug, and Manukan cluster together so closely that, from certain angles, they form what locals say resembles a smiling face. These islands -- Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Mamutik, and Sulug -- were not always islands at all. About a million years ago, they were ridgelines and hilltops of the Crocker Range, connected to the Borneo mainland by the same sandstone and sedimentary rock that still forms their cliffs and caves. Then the ice melted, the sea rose, and the mountains became an archipelago.

Image: Mx. Granger | CC0

Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park: Fragments of a Mountain Range

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Atlasmotor, CC BY-SA 3.0. The geology tells the story plainly. Exposed sandstone outcrops along the coastlines of these islands reveal cliffs, caves, honeycombed formations, and deep crevasses carved by wave action into rock that once sat well above sea level. The islands are underlaid by folded sandstone...

Image: Atlasmotor | CC BY-SA 3.0

Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park: Gaya: The Big Island

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Scipio66africanus, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Bajau people named it Goyoh, meaning "big," and at 15 square kilometres, Gaya earns the title. It is the largest island in the park and the closest to downtown Kota Kinabalu, covered in dense virgin tropical forest that has been a forest reserve since 1923. Several ridges ris...

Image: Scipio66africanus | CC BY-SA 4.0

Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park: Five Islands, Five Characters

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dcubillas, CC BY-SA 3.0. Each island has carved out a distinct personality. Manukan, the second largest, is the most popular with Kota Kinabalu residents, offering developed facilities including chalets, restaurants, a diving centre, and even a desalination plant. Sapi Island -- "Cow Island" in Malay -- ...

Image: Dcubillas | CC BY-SA 3.0

Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park: From Api-Api to National Park

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mx. Granger, CC0. The human history of these islands begins with the British North Borneo Company, which established a trading settlement called Api-Api on Gaya Island in 1882. The settlement later moved to the mainland and was renamed Jesselton after Sir Charles Jessel, the company's vice-chairma...

Image: Mx. Granger | CC0