Known as the capital of the Lahad Datu District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, the town is surrounded with cocoa and palm oil plantations. Besides that, it is also a valuable timber exporting port and the city even has its own airport for domestic flights.

Back in the 15th century, a settlement is believed to have existed here as excavations have unearthed Ming dynasty Chinese ceramics. Located east of Lahad Datu is the village of Tunku, a notorious base for pirates and slave traders in the 19th century.

It is believed to be the first site in northern Borneo where Islam was first introduced, based on a Jawi manuscript in the Ida’an language dated 1408 A.D. The Jawi manuscript gives an account of an Ida’an man named Abdullah in Darvel Bay who embraced Islam