Discover Tawau

Explore Tawau through a range of themes: city history, cocoa, the market and nearby nature destinations. A historic tower, insights into cocoa processing and a hands-on chocolate-making option sit alongside hiking trails, waterfalls and geological formations. At Tawau Tanjung Market, meanwhile, the offerings vary by floor and type of goods. When planning your trip, you can consider which of these themes matter most for your stay.

City history at Tawau Town Padang

The Belfy Bell Tower stands on Tawau Town Padang. Prisoners of war built it in 1921, with financial support from Japanese businesspeople. The construction history thus links a specific year with details about who built the tower and who financed its construction. If you factor city history into your choice of destination, the tower offers a clearly defined historical point of interest, distinct from the cocoa and nature themes.

Cocoa and trails at Teck Guan Cocoa Village

The Cocoa Heritage Gallery & Museum at Teck Guan Cocoa Village offers educational videos and exhibits on processing raw cocoa beans into cocoa powder. At the Chocolate Making Station, visitors can make their own chocolate hands-on. The two offerings have different focuses: the gallery centres on the processing journey, while the station is about making chocolate yourself. So if you are weighing an educational insight against a practical activity, the options already differ in their respective focus. The visitor offerings at the museum and Chocolate Making Station may change.

On the Cocoa Culture Spring trails, visitors can hike to a waterfall and see columnar basalt formations on the Balung River. Two specific natural features are highlighted: the waterfall as the hiking destination and the basalt formations along the river. This adds a landscape dimension to the cocoa-related themes at the village. Similar-sounding names are easy to distinguish: the formations on the Balung River are part of the Cocoa Culture Spring trails; columnar basalt is also found in the village of Balung Cocos, less than an hour from Tawau.

Nature nearby

Tawau Hills Park is located near Tawau. A 14 km hiking trail there leads to the park’s highest peak, Mt. Magdalena, passing through lowland forest and lower montane forest. Several aspects come together when considering this route: its stated length, the summit destination and the forest types along the way. The 14 km provides a specific planning reference; Mt. Magdalena identifies the destination, and the two forest types describe the landscape along the route.

The rivers in the park form several waterfalls; Table Waterfall has created a natural swimming pool. This means the same park offers different ways to experience nature: the trail leads to the summit through lowland and lower montane forest, while the rivers and waterfalls provide further landscape features.

Goods by floor at Tawau Tanjung Market

Tawau Tanjung Market can also be explored floor by floor. The ground floor offers fresh fruit, Keropok amplang, dried crackers made in Indonesia and other fresh produce. The first floor offers non-perishable dried goods, including salted dried fish, dried anchovies and dried prawns. This comparison helps you view fresh produce and non-perishable goods as distinct market offerings. The market’s offerings may change.

Discover more destinations: Tambunan, Kundasang, Kuala Penyu, Semporna, Menumbok, Kota Kinabalu, Kota Belud, Kinabatangan

For the overall travel guide: Sabah.