Sulawesi Island is one of the most beautiful places on planet Earth. It is famous for its bizarre shape: it consists of five peninsulas of equal size, which are interconnected by a large land area with mountainous terrain.
What is Sulawesi famous for? First of all, these are beautiful landscapes that you can admire while standing on the hills and slopes of the mountains. Here you can swim in one of the seas washing the island, and then relax on a warm and clean white sand beach.
Where is the island of Sulawesi? Geographic Details
Sulawesi is located in Indonesia, on the very equator, representing part of the Greater Sunda Islands.
Among all the islands of the world, Sulawesi occupies the 11th place in terms of its territory - its area is 174,000 square meters. km. As for the population, it is also quite large - 16.5 million indigenous people live here.
The Indonesian island of Sulawesi has an internal division into six provinces: West, South, North, Southeast, Central, and Gorontalo. Messagebetween them occurs mainly by water.
Climatic conditions
Sulawesi has an equatorial climate, the air temperature here varies from 26 to 28 degrees. However, here summer does not last forever - in the period from October to March there are heavy rains. Real summer here begins in July, with the arrival of a dry period and heat. However, in general, the climate of the island is great for coming here in any month.
How to get to Sulawesi
Macassar and Manado are the cities of the island where airports are located. You can fly here from any island in Indonesia, as well as from some other countries of the world, and by direct flight. As for the city of Makassar, you can also arrive here by sea - it is here that there is a large port, which is on the route of many tourist ships.
The island also has the possibility of domestic flights on airplanes, since the area of the island of Sulawesi (Indonesia) is large enough, and communication between its provinces is also carried out using air transport. In addition, there are regular buses that run regularly on certain routes, and you can travel by sea using boats and ferries.
Major cities
The biggest cities of Sulawesi are Mamuju, Gorontalo, Palu, Manado and Kendari. Also a big city is Makassar, which is the capital of South Sulawesi. It currently hasthere are many boat manufacturing enterprises, in the past this city was a major trading center in Eastern Indonesia. From here, various varieties of fish and ebony are exported. This city is famous for sea cucumbers grown on its plantations.
Sights of the island
Sulawesi is an island where there are many attractions that you should definitely see when you are here. First of all, this is the famous Fort Rotterdam, which currently houses the Museum of History. Tourists, having visited it, can get acquainted with the main historical facts related to this island. There are also many interesting architectural structures that attract the attention of guests. The buildings erected here are characterized by the colonial style of architecture, especially in the city of Makassar. Not far from Makassar, you can admire the famous tomb and palace of the Govan kings, where you can study the oldest rock paintings left by the ancient peoples on the island of Sulawesi. There are also several beautiful waterfalls near the palace.
As you know, Sulawesi is rich in places where tourists can enjoy water sports. However, the shores of Bunaken and Manado Tua are particularly ideal for diving and snorkelling.
Fans of studying the history and traditions of the indigenous population will certainly be interested in the opportunity to learn new information about the local tribes of the island of Sulawesi. For the category of such tourists, a trip to the South will be incredibly interesting. Sulawesi, where many tribes currently live, who still conduct unusual pagan rites and honor the laws of their ancestors.
The island is famous for its traditions of burial of the dead. Therefore, among the sights there are many places where the deceased Sulawesians are buried in the traditional way. In particular, the most popular of them are: Lemo stone graves, Toraja village, Londa caves, Kete-Kesu village.
Traditional Cuisine
Unusual is the cuisine, which can surprise tourists who arrived on the island of Sulawesi. The difference in culinary traditions in different provinces of the island is clearly noted. Here, traditional dishes are those that are typical of Indonesian cuisine, however, food is also cooked here that can be classified as Minahasa cuisine. The local population is very fond of eating meat dishes, and mainly from pork. Her taste here is also special - it is characterized by spicy and spicy notes. One of the traditional dishes of the island is "ragi" - pork skewers. Also here you can taste nuts of the Kemiri variety and a soup with unusual taste qualities - "brenebon", which also includes pork meat. Many establishments here serve a traditional porridge made from rice and noodles seasoned with a variety of local spices.
Shopping
Shopping is one of the favorite activities of tourists, because every country wants to bring something unusual, which is not available in their native places. Here you can go shopping in small local shops,organized by small entrepreneurs of the island of Sulawesi. At the disposal of tourists there are also a large number of shops, larger in size. Here you can buy decorative elements, traditional for the island, national clothes, amulets and many other things that friends and relatives will be very happy to receive as a souvenir.
Knowing tourists for shopping immediately go to the largest city of Sulawesi - Makassar. It is here that there is a large shopping center Somba Opu, which is a whole street of shops. This place attracts guests of the island not only with a wide variety of goods, but also with the lowest prices on the entire island. Of the goods available here, gold and silver jewelry, fabrics, antiques, products of local artisans, as well as all kinds of small souvenirs are very popular with tourists.
Features of flora and fauna
As for the animal world that is on the island, it is somewhat unusual for Europeans and consists mainly of endemics. All representatives of the fauna here are predominantly large. On this island there is a large black macaque, anoa pygmy buffalo, pigs, deer, and also babirussa - an unusual pig from the island of Sulawesi, the peculiarity of which is that there are fangs on its skull, which, according to local beliefs, pierce human heads.
In the seas surrounding the island, there are many unusual fish that can be seen underwater (lontoa, sail, gobies, half-beaks).
Speaking offlora of the island, it consists of plants that belong to a number of tropical. Ammania, ericaulon, as well as various palm trees and creepers grow here.
Note to tourists
Everyone who wants to go on vacation to the island of Sulawesi needs to know that for such a purpose it is best to go to its northern part, because it is more developed for tourism. It is here that the sea is ideal for diving and underwater travel, here you can see many unusual animals and plants, expand your horizons. In this part of the island, you can easily rent a hotel room, go shopping, and also have fun in a local club or visit some institution.
A few words about traditions
Indonesian traditions are very common on the island of Sulawesi. In particular, many tourists who come here are surprised by the ancient tradition of burying the dead. Here, in honor of the death of an indigenous inhabitant of the island, a real party is held with dances and songs, and even a buffalo is slaughtered to boot. The dead are buried in rocks, on trees, and also in caves, laying them in coffins made of carved, very strong wood. In the village of Kete Kesu, there is a large burial place for children who died in infancy before they even lived a year.
Indonesian tourists are very happy to visit burial sites, but those who come from Europe rarely enjoy traveling to such places. According to Europeans, such excursions are a real extreme, and not for the faint of heart.
All,those who are going to visit the island of Sulawesi can truly enjoy the primitive, untouched by human nature. On the whole island there are 19 nature reserves and 6 national natural parks, which can also be visited - in them you can get acquainted with typical representatives of flora and fauna. Curious tourists with strong nerves can witness the burial ceremony or visit one of the parks with the graves of the dead, of which there are many on the island, and its inhabitants, it should be noted, are proud of them.
Among the locals, many are engaged in crafts and growing crops, of which corn is especially popular.
