Kota Marudu is a tiny district of Kudat Division

Kudat Division

Kudat Division is an administrative division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It occupies the northern tip of Sabah. With an area of 4,623 Square kilometers , it is the smallest of the five divisions of Sabah....

, Malaysia with approximately 19.17 square kilometres of land and a population in 2000 of more than 58,841 people, made up mainly by 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...

 (Kimaragang, Tobilung & etc.), Rungus, Bajau

Bajau

The Bajau or Bajaw , also spelled Bajao, Badjau, Badjaw, or Badjao, are an indigenous ethnic group of Maritime Southeast Asia...

, Orang Sungai

Orang Sungai

The Orang Sungai are a group of indigenous people native to the state of Sabah, Malaysia. Groups of communities live along the rivers of Kinabatangan, Paitan, Labuk and also Kudat. also Lahad Datu-External links:*...

, Suluk, and Chinese

Malaysian Chinese

Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...

 (mostly Hakka and Hokkien).

Located in the northern region of Sabah, bordered by the districts of Kudat

Kudat

Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....

, Kota Belud

Kota Belud

Kota Belud is a town located in West Coast Division, in the center of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 72,337 in 2000, almost evenly divided between ethnic Dusun and Bajau with a sizeable proportion of Chinese ethnicity...

, Pitas

Pitas, Sabah

Pitas is a town and a district in the Kudat Division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the northern part of the Borneo island. Its estimated population in 2006 is 38,600. The ethnic composition is mainly ethnic Rungus and Orang Sungai ....

, and Beluran

Beluran

Beluran is a town and a district located in the Sandakan Division, in the east Sabah, East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 70,900 in 2000. Beluran town is located about 88 km from Sandakan town. Telupid, a sub-district of Beluran, is located about 100 km...

. It takes roughly 2 hours journey drive from the city of Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...

 over a distance of 130 km. You can also make an excursion to Kudat from Kota Marudu, which takes about 1½ hours by road. Kota Belud is merely an hour away.

Kota Marudu was formerly known as 'Bandau', which derives from the Kadazandusun world 'Mondou'. According to the local folklore, mondou is believed to be a buffalo-like creature feared by the local residents. The district was eventually re-named 'Kota Marudu', after a famous fort built by the famous local warrior Shariff Osman on Marudu Bay to protect the area from British colonisation.

Among the places of interest in Kota Marudu include the famous Sorinsim Waterfall, located 40 km from the main town and Taman Sagabon, an agriculture research station at the Buyut lake. You can find South East Asia's biggest solar power station in Kota Marudu.

One may enjoy the district's celebration of the annual Maize Festival in honour of the agricultural product's contribution to the socio-economic development of Kota Marudu. The line-up activities includes a variety of exhibitions, competitions, traditional sports, and the crowning of Maize Fashion Queen!