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SOUTH SULAWESI

Previously known as Celebes, an orchid shape island  with its total land area 227.000 square kilometers. The scenic sea coasts, rugged mountains and  verdant rice growing plants of South Sulawesi have their own unique fascination.

Its capital city Previously called Ujung Pandang, Now changed to the city of Makassar playing an important rule in the East Part Indonesia ,The gateway to reach Sulawesi Island and other East Indonesia Cities holds several sites of interest, from its spectacular coral reef and blinding white sandy beach offshore to colourful higland  market town  and evocative ruins of vanished kingdoms.

Consist of Four ethnics of groups,TORAJA, is well known for its specific culture such as funeral ceremony and traditional houses which roof like a ship with a bow and stern and beautiful natural color carvings, MAKASSAR, BUGIS and MANDAR, are known as the heroic seafarer with their traditional sailing vessel  make this area full of cultural performance and special natural interest to be explored.

Rich of tourist destination which Put TORAJALAND  as the high light of South Sulawesi, with its fantastic Cultural performance, Natural Tourist Destination, Marvelous Panorama , Trekking witnessing local People life and Rafting at the Saddang River  all could bring you to the unforgettable experience..

CENTRAL SULAWESI

An area of rugged highlands and isolated coastal fishing communities, Central sulawesi is an adventures destinations. Requiring long arduous journeys in four while drive vehicles to covers  BADA VALLEY.

LAKE POSO,a vast crystal clear lake in the geographic center of the island, is the centerpiece of Central sulawesi. Cool and clean, with fresh breezes blowing sail craft across the clear water. lake Poso appeals to all who value calm and tranquility. The surrounding mountainsides are study in vegetal luxuriance with lush primary forest, regimental columns of clove and coffee and terraces rice fields. For snorkels and divers …the magnificent panorama continues under water, with sub merged limestone abutments and ridges mirroring the landscape above the surface. TENTENA, a tidy attractive town, has several basic though comfortable hotels right on the lake shore., ideal for a few days of recuperation after the rigors of overland  through Central sulawesi

The megaliths lie near LORE LINDU NATIONAL PARK one of the most remote and unspoiled reserves in the archipelago. An area of wild and savannah and river gorges , the seldom visited reaches a of the reserve house many of Sulawesi curios endemic fauna such as Anoa dwarft buffalos , and the babirusa , a strange animals known as the pig deed.

Tough dominated by the towering mountains, Central sulawesi is also  marine province, with several ports and two significant island. The Togian in the gulf of Tomini and the Banggai island off the east coast are accessible.

NORTH SULWESI

Isolated from the rest of the  island by the central mountains and lying only a short distance from the Philipine, north Sulawesi is generally known as Manado,after the largest city and capital which offers a completely distinc culture and a way of life.

Blessed with relatively small population and agriculture bounty, the serpentine northern peninsula is among the most prosperous areas of Indonesia.  Small holdings and large plantation of cloves and Palm oil Picture both cash commodities in high demand,cover the coastal hills and inland mountainsides.

A short boat ride  offshore ,the spectacular coral gardens of Bunaken,with an almost unbelievable variety of teeming  sea life  and one of the world’s most spectacular under sea wall formation,is the great attraction of North Sulawesi for divers and non divers.

TORAJALAND

SOUTH SULAWESI,INDONESIA

“The land of full surprises “

Drive about 220 km from the lowlands to the mountain  stronghold  of TANA TORAJA, the land of the King, open up a breath taking new world. The rugged mountain and verdant valley are home  to a people whose love of religious spectacle is equaled only by their hospitality. With majestic panoramas, captivating villages and dramatic ceremonies , Tana Toraja is the undisputed highlight of any journeys to Sulawesi.

Upgraded roads and several star rated hotels have opened the Toraja highland to visitors of all interest, budgets and schedules. The essence of the Toraja beliefs and way of life can be experienced without undue  effort ,as many interesting sites are clustered around the town of Rantepao, easily accessible  by road.

A few minutes from Rantepao, artisan Kete’kesu, a model Toraja settlement ,produce bamboo carvings and other traditional handicraft . The village itself has several a well maintained and TONGKONAN houses and rice barns. Visitors unsure about the propriety of tramping around someone’s village will be relieved to know that Kete’Kesu has been converted  into a living museum with express purpose of displaying Toraja architecture and daily life.

Other villages within sight of the road, often sitting in an emerald sea of rice fields, display the Toraja penchant for baroque architectural adornment.

If the Toraja way of life is interesting ,the way of death is fascinating mix of ritual custom and spectacle. For Toraja, the dead are as much a part society as the living. At Lemo, cliffs rice precipitously from the rice fields like stonework condominium . Crypts carved with prodigious manual labor high into the solid rock house he mortal remains of Toraja nobility. Set amongst the crypts, the striking Tau Tau, wooden effigies representing the deceased look impassively on the world below.

At Londa, a network of coffin filled caves reaches deep into the limestone hill. Visitors expecting a solemn, well kept grotto are often shocked and disturbed by skeletons tumbling out of rotten coffins, skulls and bones arranged, to western eyes, according to some gruesome aesthetic. But the Toraja feel that since their ancestor’s souls are residing in heaven, ensuring continued fertility in farm and field, it is appropriated that their earthly remains be on display for the pleasure of honored foreign guests.

While the valley between Rantepao and Makale provides a glimpse of Toraja life, the real Toraja lies in the surrounding mountains, accessible only on foot. In treks ranging from an easy day to strenuous week ,those with a moderate capacity for adventure can experience authentic Toraja Village life in charming mountains hamlets. Even in the most remote mountain village ,visitors are welcomed openly. Long accustomed to foreigners stumbling unannounced into their settlements, village leaders will generally arrange overnight accommodation with local family for a modest contribution.

TORAJA FUNERAL CEREMONY

Employing intricate cycles of ritual observance punctuated with marvelous pageantry and even bloody spectacle, the Toraja devote much time and effort to the care of their ancestors. The Toraja believe their forebears reside in heaven and participate directly in the welfare of the material world through their blessing . to conduct the souls of the deceased safely into the next world, the Toraja mount elaborate ceremonies which also serve to solidify bonds of mutual obligation among the traditionally suspicious clan groups.

Villages can swell to many times their normal populations as families stage enormous funerals, often years after the loved one has passed away. In the invariably muddy field and pathways hundreds of chickens and pigs are summarily dispatched, while buffalo are slaughtered with great ceremony, young boys jostling to catch spurting blood in long bamboo tubes. Event range from quiet prayers and solemn processions to stirring hymn singing and exciting battles between water buffalo , all conducted in a festive atmosphere of clan solidarity and reunion.

For visitors, his is a magnificent show, as the ever hospitable Toraja will make arrangements to accommodate everyone who attends the ceremonies. Even a young backpacker stumbling into a Toraja Funerals is offered a space in the temporary shelters erected for the occasion. The shelter set aside for tourists is generally in a good location, behind the closest relatives and community leaders, of course, but often far closer to the action than shelters reserved for distant or impoverished relations. A well behaved foreigners is considered an honored quest, whose arrival from a far adds a cosmopolitan elements to the festive occasion.