Marai Parai or Marei Parei is a plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

 on the northwestern side of Mount Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...

, in Malaysia. The mountain can be climbed from this side, although few parties attempt this route. The first recorded ascent of Mount Kinabalu via Marai Parai was done in 1987.

Marai Parai is a Dusun

Dusun

Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Due to similarities in culture and language with the Kadazan ethnic group, a new unified term called "Kadazan-Dusun" was created. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group...

 name derived from the resemblance of sedge

Cyperaceae

Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...

 plants, which are very common on the plateau, to hill padi

Paddy field

A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...

.

The site is also home to several famous pitcher plant

Pitcher plant

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...

 species, including Nepenthes rajah

Nepenthes rajah

Nepenthes rajah is an insectivorous pitcher plant species of the Nepenthaceae family. It is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Nepenthes rajah grows exclusively on serpentine substrates, particularly in areas of seeping ground water where the...

, Nepenthes burbidgeae

Nepenthes burbidgeae

Nepenthes burbidgeae , also known as the painted pitcher plant or Burbidge's Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant with a patchy distribution around Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Borneo.-Botanical history:...

, Nepenthes lowii

Nepenthes lowii

Nepenthes lowii , or Low's Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is named after Hugh Low, who discovered it on Mount Kinabalu...

, Nepenthes edwardsiana

Nepenthes edwardsiana

Nepenthes edwardsiana , or the Splendid Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo...

, Nepenthes fusca

Nepenthes fusca

Nepenthes fusca , or the Dusky Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is found throughout a wide altitudinal range and is almost always epiphytic in nature, primarily growing in mossy forest....

, and Nepenthes tentaculata

Nepenthes tentaculata

Nepenthes tentaculata , or the Fringed Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant with a very wide distribution across Borneo and Sulawesi...

.