KOTA KINABALU: Three sites at the Crocker Range Park (CRP) have been identified as potential destinations for tourists seeking something more off the beaten path, also known as 'dark tourism'.
Dark tourism destinations are usually identified as areas with a grim past such as war sites, prisons, slavery places, graveyards, memorial parks and places with significant historical events.
CRP research and education coordinator Betty Tan Lan Hwa said two of the potential products at the sprawling 139,919-hectare range are located at the Ulu Senagang substation.
"In 1992, there was a private British aircraft which crashed on the hillside of Tinutuan. It is said that seven onboard died at the scene.
"The plane wreckage, which is now overrun with shrubbery, and the pieces of wood believed to have been used to carry the bodies were still there when park staff visited in 2017," she said, adding the site is about nine kilometers or a day's walk from the Ulu Senagang substation.
Tan was speaking to the press during a virtual sharing session on the proposal of a dark tourism hub at the Sabah Parks site.
The second, she said, is the Pinamansok waterfall, which is about 700 metres from the same substation, found in 1975.
"There is a stone that bears the features of a human face and another stone with a mortar-shape with a 20-cm deep hole that is always filled with water.
"According to ancient belief, if the water is disturbed, it will cause floods or disaster," she said, adding that a flood took place when a ranger removed the water last year.
The last site is the salt trail from Inobong substation in Penampang to Malungangan substation in Tambunan.
"It has existed since World War 2. People from Penampang and Tambunan escaped into the forest during the war. It later became a trade route among people in the interior and coastal areas.
"Around the 18th century, (traditional priest) Bobolian Aki Sogunting held a reconciliation ceremony to stop the headhunting wars among the natives to ensure peaceful trade along the trail," she said, adding that there were many more stories revolving around the route.
Tan added that the 34-kilometre long salt trail was developed in the year 2000. Sabah Parks is offering the Inobong-Terian-Buayan- Kionop and Tikolod route four-day package to tourists.
As for other sites to be developed as dark tourism destinations, she said more research has to be done.
On Sept 15, the Sabah government announced that it was looking at tapping into the dark tourism industry as a new product and preserve history in the state.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the package has the potential to attract domestic and international visitors.
Previously, Sabah Parks had also shared potential dark tourism sites at Taman Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Pulau Tiga and Kinabalu Park among others.