Tourist Attractions In Labuan

For visitors to its shore, Labuan offers plenty to take their minds of commerce and finance. The pride of Labuan, for its resident Muslim population is the An’Nur Jamek Mosque. Built for the grand sum of US $11 million, the mosque avant-garde design reflects the island’s progressive attitude. Tourists can spend hours wandering in the Botanical Garden that dates back to the days of the British Empire, indulge in the delights of romantic dive sites, swim between shipwrecks or play a taxing game of golf on the small (9 hole) but tough golf course.

Japanese forces occupied Labuan for three years during WWII and the beautifully landscaped Allied Forces War Memorial with its neat rows of tombstones evokes memories of those grim days. Situated on the outskirts of Labuan Town, at Tanjung Purun and maintained by the Commonwealth War Commission, the War Memorial is the resting place of the 4000 Allied soldiers who died at the hands of the Japanese in South Asia. On the island’s west coast is the village of Layang Layang, the place where Japanese surrendered in 1945;close by is the war memorial dedicated to Japanese troops.

The island lies swathed in the deceptively tranquil waters of the South China Sea - deceptive because in its depths lie the barnacle encrusted skeletons of innumerable ships that came to a sorry and untimely end in these sparkling clear waters. The plentitude of shipwrecks have made Labuan a regional centre for wreck diving with tours operated by locally based specialised diving companies. One of the many little islands that are part of Labuan is Pulau Papan, barely a few minutes from the mainland. The island of Papan has some fine beaches and plenty of opportunities for deep-sea fishing, scuba diving, surfing and swimming.