The Orchid Conservation Centre is known and recognized worldwide as the major for its indigenous Borneo Orchid’s collections and is reputedly to be the largest in this region.
It has some 400 species of the 1,500 orchid species identified in the Island of Borneo including some rare and endangered species such as the Elephant Ear Orchid ( Phalaenopsis gigantea), Rat Tail Orchid ( Paraphalaenopsis labukensis, P. denevei ), Slipper Orchid ( Paphiopedilum sanderiaum, P. lowii & P. stonei ), Giant Orchid (Gramatophyllum speciosum) and the Rose Orchid (Dimorphorchis rossii) are among the pride of the Orchid Conservation Centre.
Some called Orchid Conservation Centre as Native Orchid Garden becauce all of the orchids are native species, not hybrid.
Why Orchids? What is Orchid all about & what makes them so special? There must be a lot of questions than answer, but once you enter into this two acres garden all of your question will be answered. Most orchids are highly evolved plants and the majority of them are epiphytic on trees while some are terrestrial.
They have green leaves for photosynthesis and roots that captured nutrients from the leaf litter caught on tree trunk and branches, or in the case of Bulbophyllum beccarii, in cup-shaped leaves of the plant itself, roots than grow and ramify the leaf litter collected there, to extract nutrients.
How To Get There?
The Park is accessible by vehicle through 200 km of sealed road from Kota Kinabalu. The journey from Kota Kinabalu to Tenom takes about 3 hours, journeying through the mountainous Crocer Range and down to the Tambunan Valley, passing through quaint, traditional Kadazandusun villages, continuing on to Keningau and finally, Tenom.
One can also make the journey from Kota Kinabalu to Beaufort, by train through the scenic Tenom Gorge and return journey by road via Keningau, Tambunan. Hired taxi or bus is available at the Bus Terminal near the Padang Merdeka in the city. The taxis or buses depart daily from Kota Kinabalu to Tenom between 6.00 am to 5.00 pm. If you choose to travel by bus or train, you have to change buses at Tenom town which is about 15 km from Sabah Agriculture Park.
Recently, Malaysia Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen yesterday announced a total of RM300,000 aid to Sabah Agricultural Park to organize the first Tenom Orchid Festival next year and to upgrade signboards to identify the plants in the park. Is, if you are orchid lovers, keep tab on the Tenom Orchid Festival 2013. It si not about the indigenous Borneo Orchid’s collections alone but for the hybrid species as well.
Some of the native orchids are worth thousands of Ringgit, so it is very special feeling to see some of very expensive flowers in the world. Oh ya, if you are interested to stay in the park, two chalets and one hostel are available for you to stay.
Apart from Orchid Conservation Centre, places worth checking around the park are:
2 comments:
Hi lady mariah, may I know how frequent are the long distance buses to Kinabalu Park from Padang Merdeka? I plan to leave KK town after lunch time as my climb up the KK mountain only starts the following day.
Thanks,
if not mistaken the the last bus will leave at 2pm. br there before 2pm.
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