In 1994 a group of British soldiers were found close to death after more than three weeks stranded in the one mile-deep chasm that drops away from the summit of Mount Kinabalu.

The soldiers were part of a 10-strong team who wanted to be the first to explore the mountain’s infamous gaping abyss. It's named Low’s Gully after British explorer Sir Hugh Low, who likened it to “a devil’s cauldron” when he peered over the edge in 1851.

Malevolence dogs the gully. Legend among the indigenous Dusun people says a dragon guards the entrance to Low's Gully, itself the resting place for the souls of dead tribespeople.

Sabah locals say the army mission failed because the soldiers neglected to appease the mountain spirits. An expedition four years later, which started with an animal sacrifice, was successful.

Multimedia

• Climbing Borneo's Mount Kinabalu

A head for heights in Borneo

Jeremy Lazell spent the night 180ft up in the canopy of the Borneo rainforest

• Tough monkey love in Borneo

Love at first sight in Borneo

No need to trek through jungle to see orang-utans. Get up close and personal with a walk on Malaysia’s mild side

The world's 50 best walks

From a grade-one pub stroll to a grade-five yeti hunt

Related Internet Links

• More ideas for active and adventure holidays

Related Links

• Drugs, sweat and tears on Kilimanjaro

• Climbing Mount Fuji: land of the rising sun

Myths and folklore still pervade at Kinabalu today – I was spared the white cockerel sacrifice (it's held annnually on behalf of all cimbers), but countless guidebooks warned me against excessive joviality while climbing the mountain, and even at the top a group of excited Borneo cadets were reprimanded by other climbers for hollering with joy.

At 4,095m (13, 435 ft), Mount Kinabalu may be some 1,800 metres shorter than Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro - the more popular mountain challenge among adventure-minded Brits - but Malaysia’s highest peak makes up for in mystique what it lacks in metres above sea level.

Kinabalu is in Malaysian Borneo, an island of exoticism and myth, where rumours still persist of head hunting tribes deep in the island’s dense forest, home to some of the world’s last orang utans and where up to 50 new species can be discovered every year.

It’s for the wildlife that many tourists come to Sabah, but also to see Kinabalu, the mountain whose jagged silhouette adorns the postcards and guidebooks of the region. Whether you’re sunning yourself on the beaches of Pulau Gaya, opening the curtains of your Kota Kinabalu hotel or watching the Sabah coastline disappear from the back of a dive boat, the hulking mountain is ever-present, inviting you to scale its peak for the chance to look back over the vistas it dominates.

You can’t climb the mountain on a whim, however. The Lonely Planet isn’t far wrong when it says climbing the mountain is the easy part – there’s a mountain of administration to overcome first.

You are not allowed to attempt a two-day climb without first confirming a reservation at Laban Rata, the mountain refuge at 3,273metres. Most climbers spend the night here and leave the summit shortly before dawn hoping to boost their chances of catching a clear sky at sunrise.

It’s possible to attempt a day climb but the likelihood is that you’ll reach the summit late in the day when it’s almost certain to be shrouded in rain and mist.

There’s also the permit to obtain – plus a mountain guide and insurance are mandatory. These cost around around £45 per climber in total, depending on the size of the group.

Times recommends

• Oasis of the Seas: the Times review
• The 20 best new year party places to stay
• Green Spaces 2009: are you the winning writer?