Explore Sulawesi

Sulawesi Island or Celebes is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. Sulawesi is the world’s eleventh-largest island, covering an area of 174,600 km². The island is surrounded by Borneo to the west, by the Philippines to the north, by Maluku to the east, and by Flores and Timor to the south. It has a distinctive shape, dominated by four large peninsulas: the Semenanjung Minahassa; the East Peninsula; the South Peninsula; and the South-east Peninsula. The central part of the island is ruggedly mountainous, such that the island’s peninsulas have traditionally been remote from each other, with better connections by sea than by road.

The Tangkoko National Park North Sulawesi is a big nature reserve on the northeast tip of Sulawesi island in Indonesia, not too far from Manado city. This park covers more than 8,700 hectares (21,000 acres) of fantastic jungle, and there are hundreds of unique animal species living in the area. The animal you will is see is quite varied, and one can often view Tarsius tarsier (one of the smallest known primates), black tailless monkeys, snakes, spiders and kuskus (marsupials).

Geographically, strait of Sulawesi (Makassar) is known as the border of Wallace Line which separates two different kind of fauna, between the eastern and western part of Indonesia. It has a specific flora and fauna such us ebony wood, hog-deer and maleo bird which has large eggs. The island of Sulawesi divided into six provinces: Gorontalo, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South East Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi. West Sulawesi is a new province, created in 2004 from part of South Sulawesi. The largest cities on the island are Makassar, on the southwestern coast of the island, and Manado, on the northern tip. Meet the Tana Toraja Sulawesi highlanders, with their elaborate funeral ceremonies and beautiful architecture; the Minahasans in the north, who offer spicy dishes made of everything from fish to stewed forest rat; and the lowland and coastal Bugis, Indonesia’s most (in) famous seafarers.

The name Sulawesi probably origins from “sula” which means island and “besi” which means iron, which was formerly known as Celebes were found many deposits of nickel-iron, copper and gold. Sulawesi Island is a fascinating destination owing to its unique landscape, beautiful unspoilt beaches, magnificent mountain area, tradition and culture diversity, rice fields, and tropical forests. One can see and enjoy the uniqueness of this culture such as traditional ceremony, traditional dance, carving, beautiful weaving from cotton and silk, traditional house and the fascinating natural tropical scene. Tropical forests in Sulawesi Island is inhabited by some endemic animal, such as : anoa or dwarf buffalo, babi rusas, which are aberrant pigs, crested macaque (Macaca nigra), tarsiers, the world’s smallest primates including three tarsier species are found pumilus, spectrum, and dianae. Maleo birds, Bear Cuscus.