The incredible shapes and colours of the fringing coral off the small island of Bunaken have earned it celebrity status among divers and snorkellers around the world. The marine biodiversity here is extraordinary, with more than 300 types of coral and 3000 species of fish. Drift along the reefs and enjoy the ultimate underwater epic. The 808-hectare island is part of the 75, 265-hectare Bunaken Manado Tua Marine National Park (Taman Laut Bunaken Manado Tua), which includes: Manado Tua (Old Manado), the dormant volcano that can be seen from Manado, and climbed in about four hours; Nain and Mantehage islands; and Pulau Siladen, which has some more accommodation options.
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Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi, only came to prominence during the Japanese occupation in WWII. Situated in a rain shadow for most of the year, it’s one of the driest places in Indonesia. Generally the days are hot, and the nights are tolerably cool. Most travellers don’t detour to this part of Sulawesi unless they’re trekking in Lore Lindu National Park or heading on to Tanjung Karang.
In 1844 Manado was levelled by earthquakes, so the Dutch redesigned it from scratch. Fourteen years later the famous naturalist Alfred Wallace visited, and described the city as ‘one of the prettiest in the East’. That was 150 years ago and time hasn’t been kind to the place. Vestiges of the colonial period have succumbed to a swarm of mikrolet and the superb coast has been swallowed by shopping malls. Unattractive though it may be, Manado is a well-stocked base from which to visit the surrounding Minahasan region and islands to the north. It boasts the best wining and dining in North Sulawesi and locals hit the town on weekends.
Makassar – the long-time gateway to Eastern Indo, and Sulawesi’s most important city – can be unnerving, so most travellers immediately head for Tana Toraja. But there’s poetry in this mad swirl. Chinese lanterns dangle and sway from makeshift power lines in the bustling seaside city centre that’s home to some of the best eating in Indonesia. The busy port is stacked and packed with Bugis schooners, and the neighbourhood surrounding it is accented by children playing football on dry docks, as huge trucks are loaded down with endless bananas and a windfall of rice.
The first thing everyone notices about Sulawesi is its strange shape. There must have been some serious tectonic action in this region to produce an island so bizarre. But bizarre is beautiful and in its contortions are its character, with an incredible diversity of people, cultures and landscapes spread across its length and breadth. Great seafarers like the Minahasans and the Bugis helped to shape modern Indonesia as they took to the seas in trade and conflict, but it is the land-locked cultures of the island that are most mysterious. Tana Toraja is spellbinding, home to a proud people hemmed in by magnificent mountains on all sides. The scenery of volcanoes and rice fields is stunning. However, the Toraja’s elaborate death rituals are something else. Cave graves, tau tau (carved wooden effigies of the dead), a buffalo cult, houses shaped like boats and the dead treated like the living – a visit here is out of this world.
Rantepao is the most popular base for exploring the stunning countryside around Tana Toraja. It is in striking distance of most of the major sites and has a good range of accommodation and restaurants. It is the largest town and commercial centre of Tana Toraja and a far better option than the provincial capital of Makale. Rantepao has cool evenings and rain throughout the year – even in the dry season.
Tana Toraja is quite simply unique. A cultural island, hemmed in by mountains on all sides, the Toraja prove there is life after death with their elaborate ceremonies. Take the beauty of Bali, the houses of the Bataks in Sumatra and the megalithic cultures of Sumba and you’re still not even close. Cave graves, hanging graves, tau tau (life-sized wooden effigies) of the dead and buffalo carnage every summer; it’s macabre but mesmerising. This is a world unto itself.