Desa Dairy Farm

Desa Dairy Farm sits on a slope above Kundasang at around a thousand metres, where the altitude gives temperatures cool enough for Friesian cattle to be kept productively - unusual in Malaysia - on some two hundred hectares of planted pasture. The visual result is rolling green hills with black and white cows and Mount Kinabalu behind, which is why the local nickname stuck and why the place fills with photographers at weekends. Visitors can watch milking at set times, feed calves from bottles, and buy the farm's milk, yoghurt, gelato and cheese at the shop, which is the main draw for families. It is a working commercial dairy operated under a state agency rather than a theme attraction, and the visitor part is a sideline to the milk business.

History

The dairy farm at Kundasang has been working since the 1980s, at first supplying boxed milk to government schools and selling across Sabah (Wikipedia, Desa Dairy Farm).

What to look for

• Friesian cattle on green pasture - temperate dairy farming at altitude.
• Kinabalu behind the hills - the mountain over the pasture on clear mornings.
• Milking and calf feeding - at scheduled times through the day.
• Farm dairy products - milk, yoghurt, gelato and cheese from the shop.

When to go

All year; early morning before cloud covers Kinabalu. Two hours.

Good to know

It is small and an hour or two covers it. Weekends are crowded with photographers. The access road is steep and narrow. Cloud hides the mountain from mid-morning most days.

Nearby

Kundasang, the war memorial and Kinabalu Park are all close.

Key facts