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 plot of land with mountainous terrain.
What is the island of 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 beach of white sand.
Where is Sulawesi Island located? Geographical Information
Sulawesi is located in Indonesia, at the equator, representing part of the Great Sunda Islands.
Among all the islands of the world, Sulawesi is 11th largest 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 provinces, of which there are six: Western, Southern, Northern, Southeast, Central, as well as Gorontalo. The communication between them occurs mainly by water.
Climatic conditions
Sulawesi has an equatorial climate, the air temperature here varies from 26 to 28 degrees. However, summer does not last forever here - heavy rains fall from October to March. The real summer here begins in July, with the advent of the dry season and heat. However, in general, the climate of the island is great for coming here in any month.
How to get to Sulawesi
Makassar and Manado are the cities of the island where airports are located. You can fly here from any island of Indonesia, as well as from some other countries of the world, with a direct flight. As for the city of Makassar, you can also come 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 by air, since the area of Sulawesi Island (Indonesia) is quite large, and communication between its provinces is also carried out by air. In addition, there are regular buses that regularly run on certain routes, and you can move around the sea with boats and ferries.
Big cities
The largest cities on the island of Sulawesi are Mamuju, Gorontalo, Palu, Manado and Kendari. Also a large city is Makassar, which is the capital of South Sulawesi. Currently, there are many boat manufacturing enterprises in the past, in the past this city was a major trading center of East Indonesia. From here, various varieties of fish and ebony are exported . This city is famous for sea cucumbers grown on its plantations.
Island Attractions
Sulawesi is an island where there are many attractions that are definitely worth seeing when you are here. First of all, it is the famous Fort Rotterdam, where the Museum of History is currently located. Tourists visiting 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 have a colonial architecture style, 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 explore the oldest cave paintings left by the ancient peoples on the island of Sulawesi. Also near the palace there are several beautiful waterfalls.
As you know, Sulawesi is rich in places where tourists can enjoy water sports. However, the shores of Bunaken and Manado Tua are especially ideal for diving and snorkeling.
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, it will be incredibly interesting to travel to South Sulawesi, where at present there are many tribes that 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 attractions there are many places where the deceased Sulawesians are buried in the traditional way. In particular, the most popular of them: Lemo stone graves, Toraja village, Londa caves, Kete-Kesu village.
Traditional cuisine
Unusual is the cuisine, which may 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 characteristic of Indonesian cuisine, but they also prepare food that can be classified as Minamas cuisine. The local population is very fond of eating meat dishes, mainly from pork. Its taste here is also special - it is characterized by sharp and spicy notes. One of the island’s traditional dishes is "ragi" - pork skewers. Here you can also taste nuts of the Kemiri variety and soup with extraordinary taste qualities - “brandebon”, which also includes pork meat. Many establishments serve traditional cereal made from rice and noodles seasoned with various local spices.
Shopping
Shopping is one of the favorite activities of tourists, because from every country you want to bring something unusual, which is not 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 is also a large number of shops, larger in size. In them you can buy traditional island decorations, national clothes, charms and many other things that will be very glad to receive as a souvenir friends and relatives.
Knowledgeable tourists immediately go to the largest city of Sulawesi, Makassar, to shop. It is here that there is a large shopping center Somba Opu, which is a whole street of shops. This place attracts visitors to the island not only with a wide variety of products, but also with the lowest prices on the whole island. Of the goods available here, tourists are very popular with gold and silver jewelry, fabrics, antiques, products of local artisans, as well as all kinds of small souvenirs.
Features of flora and fauna
As for the animal world, which is on the island, it is somewhat unusual for Europeans and consists mainly of endemics. All representatives of the fauna are predominantly large. On this island there is a large black macaque, dwarf buffalo Anoa, pigs, deer, as well as babirussa - an unusual pig from the island of Sulawesi, the peculiarity of which is that it has fangs on its skull, which, according to the locals, pierce human heads .
In the seas surrounding the island, there are many unusual fish that can be seen when submerged under the water (lontoa, sail, gobies, half-beaks).
If we talk about the flora of the island, then it consists of plants that belong to a number of tropical. Here grows ammonia, Ericaulon, as well as various palm trees and creepers.
Tourists note
Everyone who wants to go on vacation to the island of Sulawesi needs to know that for this 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 travels, 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, have fun at 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 old tradition of burial of the dead. Here, in honor of the death of the native of the island, they organize a real party with dances and songs, and they also slaughter a buffalo in addition. The dead are buried in rocks, on trees, as well as in caves, laying them in coffins made of carved, very strong wood. In the village of Kete Kesu, there is a large place with the burial places of children who died in infancy, not having lived even a year.
Indonesian tourists are very happy to visit the burial places, but those who come from European countries, travel to such places rarely bring pleasure. According to Europeans, such excursions are a real extreme, and not for the faint of heart.
Everyone who is going to visit the island of Sulawesi can truly enjoy the primeval nature untouched by human hands. There are 19 nature reserves and 6 national nature parks on the whole island, which can also be visited - you can get acquainted with typical representatives of flora and fauna in them. Curious tourists with strong nerves can witness the burial rite or visit one of the parks with the graves of the deceased, which are many on the island, and its residents, it should be noted, are proud of them.
Among the locals, many people are engaged in craft and growing crops, of which corn is especially popular.