Labuan Geopark

Geology and landscape

Labuan was recognised as a National Geopark on 16 December 2021. The designation covers the whole federal territory, about 401.65 square kilometres including its waters, and the official register lists 16 geological sites and 8 cultural sites. The rocks tell a story between roughly 15 and 35 million years long.

At a glance

What a geopark is

A geopark is a defined area whose landforms and geology are treated as heritage worth protecting and explaining, in the same way a national park protects habitat. The idea is that the rocks, the coast and the quarries are part of what you came to see, not just the setting the attractions sit in. In Malaysia the national geoparks are recognised under a federal programme, and two areas, Langkawi and Kinabalu, additionally hold UNESCO Global Geopark status.

How Labuan was recognised

Labuan National Geopark was recognised on 16 December 2021, at the first National Geopark Committee meeting of that year, under the National Geopark Development Programme led by the federal Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. The announcement gave the area as 402 square kilometres. Lenggong in Perak was recognised at the same meeting.

The groundwork was earlier. In May 2019 the National Geopark Steering Committee, led by Professor Datuk Dr Ibrahim Komoo, evaluated seven sites on the island. Officials from the Department of Mineral and Geoscience Malaysia took part, and Labuan Corporation worked with researchers from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on the assessment. As of 2024 Labuan was one of ten national geoparks in Malaysia.

Source: Recognition date, committee, ministry and the 402 km² figure from The Borneo Post, “Labuan recognised as national geopark”, 21 December 2021. The May 2019 evaluation, the steering committee and the agencies involved from Malay Mail, 5 February 2020. Inclusion among ten national geoparks from Malay Mail, 17 November 2024.

The numbers

The official geopark site gives the area as 40,165 hectares, about 401.65 square kilometres, including territorial waters, of which the land is 9,452 hectares, about 94.52 square kilometres. News reports at the time of recognition rounded the total to 402 square kilometres. The land figure matches the 95 square kilometres given for the territory in tourism material.

Source: Areas, site counts and age range from the Labuan Geopark official site of Perbadanan Labuan, read 22 October 2026.

What the rocks are

Labuan is a sedimentary island. There is no volcanic rock here and no mountain core: what you are standing on is layer after layer of sand and mud laid down in the sea and then lifted, tilted and cut back by the waves. That is why the coastline is the geology. The exposures are in the cliffs, the points and the shore platforms rather than inland.

The Belait Formation is the unit most visitors see. At Tanjung Batu, officials assessing the site described sandstone and claystone of the Belait Formation, more than 15 million years old: very light grey sandstone at the base, overlain by thin siltstone and claystone layers. The visible features there include tafoni, the honeycomb hollows weathered into rock faces, hummocky and trough cross stratification, and sea caves.

Source: Belait Formation, the age of more than 15 million years, and the Tanjung Batu features from Malay Mail, 5 February 2020.

Other guides also name the Temburong and West Crocker formations for Labuan. Those names appear in the geology literature listed on the official geopark site, but we have not been able to confirm from a primary source which formation is exposed at which visitor site, so we do not assign them to individual sites here.

More than rocks: the three kinds of site

The geopark register is organised into three groups, not one. This is worth knowing, because it means the designation covers places you would otherwise file under history or nature.

• Geological sites. 16 of them, from the Kuraman sand spit to the old mine workings at Lubok Temiang. See the site register.
• Biological sites. The mangrove and coastal habitats, including the Kina Benuwa mangrove system, and the reefs around the offshore islands inside Labuan Marine Park.
• Cultural sites. 8 of them, and they are places most visitors already have on their list: Labuan War Cemetery, Peace Park, Surrender Point, the Chimney Museum at Tanjung Kubong, the water villages at Patau-Patau and Bebuloh Laut, and the lighthouses on Pulau Kuraman and Pulau Papan.

Source: The three site categories and the lists of geological and cultural sites from the Labuan Geopark official site of Perbadanan Labuan, read 22 October 2026.

The wildlife side

The recognition announcement described the geopark as taking in the Kinabenuwa mangrove forest, the coastal forest at Tanjung Kubong, a wildlife sanctuary on Pulau Ular, and the marine park islands of Rusukan Besar, Rusukan Kecil and Kuraman. Bird species named in that announcement include swiftlets, the Pacific reef egret and the crimson sunbird. The Kina Benuwa mangrove system, on the lower Kina Benuwa River, is the island’s major wetland and its longest and widest river system.

Source: Habitats, Pulau Ular and the bird species from The Borneo Post, 21 December 2021. The Kina Benuwa river system from Tourism Malaysia, Labuan Map & Guide (updated December 2023).

How to see the geopark

Self-guided, with a car

This is how most visitors do it. The sites are free to enter and spread around the coast, so a hired car and half a day covers several of them. Nothing is walkable from town. Work the coast in one direction rather than crossing the island repeatedly. See the site register for how they group, and getting around for transport.

With a guide

Guided geopark tours can be arranged locally, and a guide is worth it for the coal mining sites and the rock exposures, where the interest is in what you are looking at rather than the view. Labuan Corporation has run training for tourism operators on the geopark sites. Ask at your hotel or contact Labuan Corporation.

Timing

• Go at low tide for the coastal sites. The shore platforms, the trace fossils and the tafoni at the points are exposed at low water and covered or hard to reach at high water.
• Go in the morning for the coast. It is cooler, and the light on the rock faces is better before midday.
• Avoid the day after heavy rain for the inland and mine sites, which get muddy.
• Check the sea state before any boat trip to the island sites. See best time to visit.

Not all sites are set up for visitors. Some are on private land, which the 2020 assessment noted as something still to be negotiated. Interpretive signage is uneven. Treat the register as a map of what is geologically interesting, not as a list of attractions with car parks and ticket desks.

Why it matters for a visit

The practical value of the designation is that it joins things up. The Chimney stops being an isolated curiosity and becomes part of a coal story that starts with the rock itself. The Kuraman sand spit stops being a photograph and becomes a landform you can watch change. The long west coast beach, the cliffs at Tanjung Batu and the old workings at Lubok Temiang are the same story at different points. If you have two days on Labuan, the geopark is the thread that ties the island together.

Labuan Geosites: Map and Guide

The official Labuan Geopark register lists 16 geological sites and 8 cultural sites around the island and its offshore islets. This page lists them, groups them by where they are, and sets out a route that takes in the main ones in a day.

The 16 geological sites

These are the sites named on the official geopark register. The Malay name is the one used on the register; the English description is ours. A sand spit is a tongue of sand built out from the shore by currents. Tafoni are the honeycomb hollows weathered into a rock face. Trace fossils are the burrows and tracks left by animals in soft sediment rather than the animals themselves.

Source: The 16 site names and their register listing from the Labuan Geopark official site of Perbadanan Labuan, read 22 October 2026. The age and features at Tanjung Batu from Malay Mail, 5 February 2020.

Some other guides to Labuan list eight geosites rather than sixteen. The official register as published by Perbadanan Labuan lists sixteen geological sites, which is the list reproduced above. If you see a different number, check the date of the list you are reading.

The 8 cultural sites

The geopark register also covers cultural sites, and most of these are already on a visitor’s list for other reasons.

• Labuan War Cemetery. The largest Commonwealth war cemetery in Malaysia, with 3,908 war dead.
• Peace Park. The memorial garden at Layang-Layangan.
• Surrender Point. Where the Japanese 37th Southern Army surrendered on 10 September 1945.
• The Chimney Museum at Tanjung Kubong. The museum at the island’s best known landmark.
• Kampung Air Patau-Patau. A working stilt village over the water.
• Kampung Air Bebuloh Laut. The second of the two water villages.
• Pulau Kuraman lighthouse. On the island with the sand spit.
• Pulau Papan lighthouse. The colonial lighthouse on the closest island to town.

Source: The eight cultural sites from the Labuan Geopark official site of Perbadanan Labuan, read 22 October 2026. War cemetery burials and the surrender date from Tourism Malaysia, Labuan Map & Guide (updated December 2023).

How the sites group on the ground

Sixteen sites sounds like a lot of driving. In practice they fall into five clusters, and you can see a cluster without crossing the island.

• The north, around Tanjung Kubong. The Belait sandstone and the coastal landscape at the point, the Chimney and its museum, the coal tunnel and shaft, and Labuan Bird Park at the northern tip about 16 km from town. The densest cluster, and the one to do first.
• The north west, around Tanjung Layang-Layangan. Three sites at one point: the cross bedding, the erosion landscape and the sea arch. Peace Park and Layang-Layangan beach are here too, which makes this the natural late afternoon stop.
• The east, around Tanjung Batu. The Belait sandstone, the tafoni and the sea caves, next to Tanjung Batu beach and a short distance from the war cemetery.
• Inland and the south. Bebuloh Darat, Lubok Temiang, Simpang Sweetman, Ganggarak and Tanjung Punei. These are the least visited and the least signposted. Several need local directions.
• Offshore. The Kuraman sand spit, the reef limestone on Pulau Burong and Pulau Rusukan Besar. These need a boat. See island hopping.

A geopark day by car

1. Early morning · North to Tanjung Kubong
   Start with the Chimney and the museum while it is cool, then the coal tunnel and the coastal rock at the point. If the tide is low, walk the shore platform.
2. Late morning · Labuan Bird Park
   A short distance further north at the tip of the island. More than 700 birds in three domes connected by four tunnels. A natural break before the drive back down the coast.
3. Lunch · Back into town, or a beach stall
   The town centre has the widest choice. See food and dining.
4. Early afternoon · East to Tanjung Batu
   The tafoni and the sea caves, and the war cemetery nearby if you have not seen it.
5. Late afternoon · North west to Layang-Layangan
   Three geological sites at one point, then Peace Park and Surrender Point.
6. Sunset · Stay on the west coast
   The long beaches face west. The 9 km stretch from Batu Manikar to Sungai Miri holds a UNEP Clean Beach Award from 2008. End the day here.

Source: Bird Park size and distance, the 9 km beach stretch and the 2008 UNEP Clean Beach Award from Tourism Malaysia, Labuan Map & Guide (updated December 2023).

Practical notes

• Entry. The geological sites are open coast and free to enter. Most are unstaffed, with no ticket desk and no fixed opening hours.
• Tide. Low tide is better for every coastal site. At high water the shore platforms and trace fossil surfaces are covered.
• Footwear. Wet rock, sharp edges and loose sand. Covered shoes with grip, not sandals.
• Water and sun. There is no shade on the points and no shop at most sites. Carry water. See safety and health.
• Access. Some sites sit on private land, and the 2020 site assessment recorded this as still to be resolved. Do not cross fences or enter compounds.
• Signage. Interpretive panels exist at some sites and not at others. Download or screenshot this page before you drive, because mobile coverage is not uniform around the coast.
• Getting around. None of this is walkable from town. See getting around Labuan and the island map.

Site conditions, signage and access can change, and some locations are hard to find without local directions. Labuan Corporation administers the geopark. Contact them or ask at your hotel before setting out for the inland and southern sites.

Kina Benuwa Mangrove Eco-Tourism

Kina Benuwa is a mangrove forest on the lower Kina Benuwa River, the longest and widest river system on Labuan. The conservation area extends over 97,604 hectares.

The river system

Kina Benuwa Eco Tourism is located on the lower Kina Benuwa River, the longest and widest river system on the island. The river is formed by Sungai Bangat from the north and Sungai Bedaun from the west.

Why it is protected

The area is a conservation zone set up to protect a fragile ecosystem and the range of species it supports.

Getting there

Kina Benuwa Eco Tourism can be reached by taxi from the town centre.

Source: Tourism Malaysia, Labuan Map & Guide (updated December 2023).