Suspension bridge
An entrance over the river.
CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0
An open-air heritage village on the bank of the Moyog River at Penampang, set up in 1996 on the very spot where Monsopiad, a legendary Kadazan-Dusun warrior, lived some two to three hundred years ago. His descendants run it to keep his memory and their people's culture alive. You cross a suspension bridge over the river, then wander among traditional houses of bamboo and palm thatch, seeing old farming and hunting tools and the ways rice was pounded and traditional foods prepared. A special house displays skulls said to be those of Monsopiad's enemies, from an old headhunting tradition that ended long ago. Traditional dance shows run several times a day, including the bamboo dance, in which visitors sometimes join. The full package for a non-Malaysian adult costs about fifty-five ringgit including the tour and the show, with cheaper tour-only options, and it opens from nine to five. It is about half an hour's drive from the city, so pair it with Mari Mari Cultural Village or the Sabah Museum, and ask about show times before you go.
An entrance over the river.
Daily shows.
Old houses and tools.
Kuai, Penampang, about sixteen kilometres from central Kota Kinabalu
Monsopiad is a heritage village on a real site run by one warrior's descendants, while Mari Mari shows the houses of several Sabah peoples on an organised forest tour.