Kimanis–Keningau Highway



Kimanis–Keningau Highway is a state highway in Sabah, Malaysia, connecting the town of Kimanis to Keningau. It also acts as an alternative for Federal Route 500 from Kota Kinabalu to Tenom which is nowadays somewhat under-use. The 53 km highway began as a main logging road before being upgraded to a full two-lane highway. The highway was opened to traffic in 2006.

Even though the highway is relatively short and is in very good condition, it is notorious for its very steep gradients along the way, ranging from 10% to about 25%, making the Kimanis–Keningau Highway as the steepest highway in Malaysia. As a result, climbing road lanes are provided at steep sections.

A gravity hill induced by optical illusion is located 11 km from Keningau. It is reported that at the gravity hill, there is a slope which appears as a downhill slope, but is actually an uphill slope.

Rest and restaurant stops
There are at least three popular stops along the highway:


 * Jabatan Perhutanan Station
 * Dimie Mountain resort
 * Oyong Restaurant

These stops are popular for motorists especially lorries, buses and tourists. The punishing steep gradient made it necessary for the lorries to make frequent stops and replenish their water-cooling tanks. From the high vantage point of Dimie Resort there is a panaromic view of the Brunei Bay and the Klias Bay to the west and glimpse of the Keningau Plain. The Liawan river and the Pampang river, which flow into the Keningau Plain, arise from the divide provided by the Crocker Range.