Two Mt Kinabalu climbing routes named as "Ranau" and "Kota Belud".

By Olivia Miwil

olivia@nst.com.my

KOTA KINABALU: Two new trails to the Mount Kinabalu peak will be named as Ranau and Kota Belud routes, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.

He said both routes would split from Laban Rata at the 3,300m mark and end at the peak of the mountain which was last measured at 4,095m.

"The Ranau route, which I would describe as 'beautifully challenging' is expected to be opened to public in Dec 1.

"The other route, which is also under construction, is attributed to Kota Belud district. The mountain stands between the border of Ranau and Kota Belud," he said after the launch of Google Street View imagery of Sabah's numerous local attractions here yesterday.

The new routes are opened after the original trail was badly damaged by the June 5 earthquake measuring at 5.9-Richter scale.

Masidi added he was satisfied with the current work progress of both trails building which followed the consultation from international firms . The building of those trails are being exclusively built by mountain guides.

Despites there are two trails, the climbing daily capacity is still remained at 190.

Earlier, Masidi thanked Google for sharing the virtual tour on places of interest in Sabah to the world.

"The effort of showcasing the views helps to pique interests for people to come to Sabah in future.

"Mount Kinabalu, which is featured in one of special collections in Sabah, brings nostalgic moment to everyone as it was captured before the earthquake," he added.

The special Sabah Google collections also include 360 degree view on other attractions such as Kapalai island, Mabul island, Mantanani island, Simpang Mengayau, Rainforest Discovery Centre, Orang Utan Sepilok Centre and Mari-Mari Cultural village.

Lead of Street View Operations Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand,  Nhazlisham Hamdan said the team had covered 80 per cent of East Malaysia and would be expanding the areas in near future.

"We will go beyond the roads to map all places as long as it is accessible via human and has approval from private land owners".

Present was Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai.