Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah) is a province of Indonesia located in the heart of Sulawesi. It was established on April 13, 1964.

Central Sulawesi is surrounded by Gorontalo in the north, South Sulawesi and South East Sulawesi in the south, Maluku in the east, and the Makassar Strait in the west. Palu is the capital Central Sulawesi Province, which geographically this region located in upstate. Town which seldom has rain known as one of dry town in Indonesia with hot air in the afternoon and nocturnal cold.

PEOPLE AND CULTURE

Like many areas in Indonesia, first natives of Central Sulawesi were a mixed of Wedoid and Negroid races. Malay came later and began to dominate this place. Relics of Bronze and Megalithicum Age can be found here. These days the dominant races here are Palu Toraja, Koro Toraja and Poso Toraja.

HOW TO GET THERE

The area is reachable by flights and by bus or charter car, through South Sulawesi, or North Sulawesi & Gorontalo.

MAKASSAR – PALU : Makassar Daily flight to Palu, departs in the morning – flight time (1h)

PALU – AMPANA : Chartered car to Ampana from Palu about 08 hours.

AMPANA – TOGEAN ISLAND -Ampana “The Gateway to Togians Island”, from here the you reach Tomini bay within Togian Island by charter boat, or public boat

MANADO – LUWUK – Flights are available regularly, departing from Manado International Airport, estimated arrival time at Luwuk is around 12:00 AM flight time (about 1 ½ hrs.)

MAKASSAR – LUWUK  : Flight from Makasar to Luwuk, 3 times a week, Thuesday and Thursday, operated by wings air or Express Air . Departure time: 10:40 AM, arrival time in Luwuk about 12:40 PM. Please check depature dates and times

LUWUK – AMPANA – Chartered car (air conditioned, driver) from Luwuk to Ampana, stuff will pick you up at Luwuk Airport, a short break for lunch available on your request, Luwuk to Ampana (6 hrs.), good road conditions, one way ticket 80 US$ .

PLACES OF INTEREST

TOGEAN ISLAND

The Togians were declared a National Park in 2004. Because a lot of people live from coconuts and not much from fishing, there is still an abundance of fish life.

When crossing Sulawesi from South to North or North to South most travellers now choose for a stopover of at least several days at the Togian Islands. The Togians are a picturesque archipelago of 56 islands and inlets, located in the Tomini Bay. Formed by volcanic activity, the islands are covered by lush rainforest and surrounded by ancient coral reef formations. Both the terrestrial and marine ecosystems teem with exotic wildlife – much of which is extremely rare or endangered.

The reefs and coastal areas provide habitat and breeding areas for hawksbill turtle, the green turtle and the dugong. Togian forests and skies are filled with exotic creatures such as the Togian Macaque, the babirusa, the Sulawesi Hornbill, and hanging parrots. Within this tropical paradise, 37 villages provide bright spots of gaiety and culture of several ethnicities, including the Bobongko, Togian, Suluan and the Bajau.

Population

There are only about 25,000 people in total in the Togians. Pollution is not a major problem out here (yet) and, as evidence of that, remarkably even the piers are clear of floating rubbish. Most of the population live on the main island settlements in small fishing communities on Dolong, Togean and Batudaka.

KADIDIRI ISLAND – Located not far from Wakai, is the center of tourism area in Togean Island. Kadidiri Island is very popular island among tourist because the beach is a real good with snorkeling location and dive. Above the water guests can walk in the surrounding forest for bird-watching, or see the local culture of the Bajo people (Sea gypsies), try fishing local style or simply relaxing and sunbathing in an untouched paradise.

LORELINDU NATIONAL PARK – is a forested protected area on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The area of the national park is 2,290 km² covering both lowland and montane forests with an altitude range of 200 – 2,610 m. Some of its more popular inhabitants include the Red-Knobbed Hornbill and the Giant Civet. 227 bird species have been observed in the park, 77 of which are endemic to Sulawesi. In addition to the rich wildlife, the Bada Valley located in the park also contains stone megaliths dating from ca. 1300. The national park is also an official UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

AMPANA TOWN – A pleasant town with good boat connections to the Togean Islands. The dock and local market are lively places to hang out if you are looking for something to do in Ampana.

BANGGAI ISLAND – Rather remote and deserving at least a few days to explore properly, the Banggai Islands are often overlooked. However, those who do make the effort to come here will be able to enjoy some superb scuba diving, swimming and frequent whale and dugong (aquatic manatee-type mammals) sightings.

PELENG ISLAND – The largest of the Banggai Islands, with home stays being available at the settlements of Salakan and Tataba.

POSO LAKE – The third-biggest lake in the whole of Indonesia, covering an area of more than 74,100 acres /30,000 hectares. Boat trios and hiking trails are the main attractions around the lake.The Lake Poso is locatedin Pendolo features a number of good beaches and opportunities for swimming, next to the boat jetty.

MOROWALI NATURAL RESERVE – Stabilished during the 1980s and around 556,000 acres / 225,000 hectares in size. Tourists visiting the Morowali Nature Reserve will find that this area is best explo red on foot, by using the plentiful trekking trails.

PALU CITY – The city of Palu offers tourists just a few meaningful attractions, such as the Museum Negeri Propinsi Sulawesi Tengah

TANJUNG API NATIONAL PARK – This popular park is around 10,500 acres / 4,250 hectares in size and offers an especially unusual attraction – a burning coral cliff, which remains fueled by naturally formed gas, leaking through the rocks.