The most interesting aspect of the Kudat area is its local people, the Rungus, a sub group of the Kadazandusun family. Many still live in longhouses and hold on to their traditional lifestyle, and some adhere to their own, ancient spiritual and animistic beliefs. The Rungus have generally managed to retain more of their traditional ways than most other tribes in Sabah. Of course, their longhouses with their typical, outward slanted walls tend to be come more modern, but in Kampung Bavanggazo you can find an authentic, palm-thatched longhouse where visitors can spend an unforgettable night. In Bavanggazo you can meet and mingle with the local people and admire their elaborate traditional costumes. In the not too distant past, the Rungus women used to wear brass coils around their arms, legs and neck, and many strings of colourful glass beads and semi-precious stones Chinese traders brought to the area hundreds of years ago. Their costumes are intricately woven from home-spun cotton, and the men wear an elaborate turban-like headgear. Although it is nowadays rare to find people who still don a complete set of the traditional outfit outside festive days, it is quite common to find ladies who still wear their heavy arm coils, and elder men with their colourful headgear.
The Rungus are renown for their skilled basketry, fine bead work and weaving, and many local souvenirs on offer throughout Sabah are manufactured by the Rungus in Kudat.
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