Mount Silam ( ms, Gunung Silam) is a mountain in

Lahad Datu District The Lahad Datu District ( ms, Daerah Lahad Datu) is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Tawau Division which includes the districts of Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Tawau. The capital of the district is in ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Description

Mount Silam is high and overlooks

Darvel Bay Darvel Bay or Lahad Datu Bay is a bight (large bay) on the east side of Sabah, Malaysia. It is the largest semi-enclosed bay on the east coast of Borneo and faces the Sulawesi Sea. Administratively, it is within Tawau Division, with Lahad Datu Di ...

on the

Celebes Sea The Celebes Sea, (; ms, Laut Sulawesi, id, Laut Sulawesi, fil, Dagat Selebes) or Sulawesi Sea, of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by ...

. The geology is characterised by

ultrabasic rock Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed ...

Rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

covers the mountain from altitude to the summit.

Flora

Mount Silam is home to the endangered tree '' Madhuca silamensis''. It is also home to a number of pitcher plant species including ''

Nepenthes macrovulgaris ''Nepenthes macrovulgaris'' (; from Greek ''macro-'' "large" and Latin ''vulgaris'' "common, usual"), or the serpentine pitcher-plant,Phillipps, A. & A. Lamb 1996. ''Pitcher-Plants of Borneo''. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu ...

'' and ''

Nepenthes tentaculata ''Nepenthes tentaculata'' , or the fringed pitcher-plant,Phillipps, A. & A. Lamb 1996. ''Pitcher-Plants of Borneo''. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. is a tropical pitcher plant with a wide distribution across Borneo and Sul ...

''.

Tourism

The Tower of Heaven () is a observation tower that was built as a tourist facility at the top of Mount Silam in 2012. The tower has panoramic views that include the Darvel Bay islands. The complex includes nature trails and tourist accommodation.

References

External links

Climbing Mt. Silam with Sabah Crabs
Lahad Datu District Silam {{Sabah-geo-stub