RANAU (Malaysia) — A footage capturing a mesmerising "golden halo" on one of the peaks of Mount Kinabalu in Ranau, Malaysia, has gained significant attention on social media and gone viral.

The photographer of the picture, Mr Daverond Dolius, 23, said that the reflection of sunlight was seen at the peak near the Gurkha Hut area.

Gurkha Hut is one of the peaks and trails often used by experienced climbers aspiring to scale taller mountains than Mount Kinabalu for high-altitude training (HAT). Other peaks on the Kinabalu mountain range include Alexandra, Victoria, and Oyayubi Iwu.

For now, the HAT area only covers the Gurkha Hut.

"It is a genuine incident, and I have a video of it. I shot the picture from the Low's Peak Summit, referring to a point that most climbers usually manage to reach.

"It happened during sunrise about 6am. There were about 100 climbers during that time. A climber whom I guided also took a picture of it," Mr Daverond, who is from Kota Belud and has been a mountain guide for six years said.

His original post has been shared 370 times and picked up by several social media platforms.

When asked about his opinion of the image, Mr Daverond said he would leave it up to the public to interpret it.

Netizens have commented that the "golden halo" looks like a traditional headgear known as a "Sigah" from Sabah’s native Kadazandusun tribe; some described the image as a golden dragon, necklace and even a patch of fur on a sun bear’s chest. NEW STRAITS TIMES