The oddly shaped island of Sulawesi offers a startling array of landscapes, steep mountains, deep gorges, fast flowing rivers, highland lakes, lush rain forest, lontar palm savnnahs and white sand beaches. The island also tenders fascinating range of flora and fauna. It has a population of nine million people, whom are equally diverse, speaking more than 40 languages.

South Sulawesi, a province that is rapidly becoming one of Indonesia tourist destination. This is a region of steep volcanoes, fat-flowing rivers, fertile plains, broad savannahs, uneven coast and white sand beaches. It is one of the most heavily populated regions of Indonesia. The staple food is rice, grown in lowland and irrigated paddies; maize and sago are the preferred highland crops. The coastal and lowland regions of South Sulawesi are today inhabited by many Mongoloid-type peoples generally known as the Bugis. It’s generally assumed they settled along these shores well over 1,000 years ago, and since that time, they have had one of the more colourful histories of any Indonesian ethnic or social group.

The Bugis have always been great seafarers and shipbuilders. Ujung Pandang, is a modern city with a population of 700,000, the business and administrative centre of Sulawesi. Like all major cities of Indonesia, the town as undergone its shared of growing pains in recent years. The town flourished as the port and trading center for the medieval kingdom of Goa.

The old fort (benteng) of Ujung Pandang, was one of the eleven Goanese stongholds when it was first erected in 1545. The Dutch conquered it and reconstructed it and renaming it Amsterdam Castle. With its interior church and trading offices, it today stands as one of the outstanding examples of 17th century Dutch fortress architecture. The fort now houses the Ujung Pandang Provincial Museum, with many fine displays of old ceramics, manuscripts, coins, musical instruments and ethnic costumes.

Leang - Leang Caves located at the northeast of Ujung Pandang, contains 5,000 year old blood red henna hand stencils. Tucked away amid the rugged peaks and fertiles plateaus of southcentral Sulawesi live many isolated tripes, who share a common ancestry with the seafaring Bugis, Mandar and Makassar. Coastal dwellers refer to them as the Toraja or highland people . Their homeland is called Tanah Toraja or Torajaland. The Toraja traditional lived in a small settlements perched on hilltops and surrounded by stone walls. Each village is composed of several extended families who inhabits a series of houses called tongkonan, arranged in circular row around an open field. In the middle stands a sacred stone or banyan tree used for ritual offerings, and granaries face of dwellings. The roof of the tongkonan rise at both ends like the bow and stern of a boat; ritual chants compare these dwellings to the vessels that carried their ancestors here. House panels are exquisitely carved with geometric and animal motif executed in the sacred colors of white, red, yellow and black. The roof represents the heavens, and it is always oriented northeast to southeast, the directions of the two ancestral realms, according to Torajan cosmology.

North Sulawesi, is a fertile, snake-like volcanic peninsula out-stretched in the middle of the vast Maluku Sea, more than 1,000 km from the nearest major center. It is one of the most Christainized places in Indonesia. About 2.3 million peple make their home here, more than 200,000 of them in Manado, the pleasant provincial capital. This city is located at the top of the lovely mountainous Minahasa region, with its active volcanoes, clear highland lakes, hot water spring and sandy beaches. Manado doesn’t offer much in the way of urban attraction except for Ranotana market and the quaint horsedrawn carriages, bendi.

Pulau Bunaken is an excellent famous for its sun-drenched and peerless diving and snorkerling. With deep trenches, sheer walls and strong nutrient-rich currents, Bunaken is one of the worlds most beautiful coral environments. With an almost unbelievable variety of teeming sea life, superb visibility and spectacular scenery, Bunaken is the chief attraction of North Sulawesi for divers and non-divers.

Southeast and Central Sulawesi, are rarely visited and have not developed tourist facilities or any significance. Because of their distance from the beaten track, they retain a charm and a traditional lifestyle not found in more developed area. The capital of Southeast Sulawesi is Kendari, whose craftmen are famed for their silver siligree work. Kendari, often appears, when viewed from sea of lying on a lake. The capital of Central Sulawesi is Palu, a trading city located on the west coast at the tip of a deep narrow bay. Palu is also a gateway to the beautiful Lore Lindu Nature Reserve. Most of central Sulawesi takes the form of isolated peaks, rain forest and remote tribal settlements. Palu is a good base from which to explore the nearby ancient seaport of Donggala and the tranquil and crystal lake, Lake Poso or to undertake a trek through Bada Valley with its extraordinary megaliths left by a lost civilisation.