The Kinabalu Association occurs notably on Mt Kinabalu and also on less imposing mountains to the east. Mt. Kinabalu, at 4,101 m, is the highest mountain in Southeast Asia. It has a summit with isolated peaks and pinnacles rising steeply above a general plateau level of 3,650 to 3,800 m.
Its topography result from the presence of an ice-cap during the Pleistocene period and glacial features include cirques, hanging valleys, valleys with U-shaped cross-section, markings such as striations and grooves and steep cliffs probably representing ice falls. There are many steep cliffs particularly on the western side of the mountain where they are up to 1,500 m high. The mountain is formed of acid igneous rocks, notably hornblende adamellite and biotite granodiorite.