Photo by Thesupermat2, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
🇲🇾 Malaysia · Sabah, Borneo
Photo by Thesupermat2, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
🇲🇾 Malaysia · Sabah, Borneo
♨ Temperature
42°C
⛰ Altitude
550 m
⚗ pH
7.1
💧 TDS
320 mg/L
🌊 Flow rate
—
📅 Established
1970s
✓ Verified on 2026-07-22
Poring Hot Springs lie in the forested lowlands of Kinabalu National Park, about 40 kilometres south of the granite summit that gives the park its name. The springs emerge from a geothermal fracture system and are channelled into individual private and communal open-air pools. Water temperatures range from 38 to 45°C. The surrounding rainforest, protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, shelters over 5,000 plant species including Rafflesia, the world's largest flower. Elevated canopy walkways allow visitors to look down over the hot spring terraces from above the tree canopy, while the sounds of the jungle — hornbills, cicadas, the slow drip of rainforest humidity — frame every soak.
| Sodium | 42 mg/L |
| Bicarbonate | 180 mg/L |
| Silica | 28 mg/L |
| Chloride | 38 mg/L |
| Calcium | 14 mg/L |
Poring is part of Kinabalu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, recognised for extraordinary plant diversity and endemism. The park is sacred to the Kadazan-Dusun people, who consider Mount Kinabalu the resting place of ancestral spirits. Traditional rituals — the Magavau ceremony — continue to be performed at the summit by indigenous spiritual leaders.
The Kadazan-Dusun regard Kinabalu as a sacred ancestor site. Poring's hot springs have served as places of communal rest after forest journeys for generations, a function they still fulfil today. The canopy walkways above the springs offer a rare dual perspective — thermal immersion from below, forest canopy from above — that encapsulates the ecological richness of Bornean jungle wellness.
As part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Poring operates under Sabah Parks regulations limiting visitor numbers and requiring environmental assessments for infrastructure changes. The geothermal water flows naturally without pumping, and waste management is managed by the park authority.
Websitewww.sabahparks.org.my
AddressKinabalu National Park, Sabah, Malaysia