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The strangely contorted island of Sulawesi sprawls across the sea between Kalimantan (Borneo) and Maluku. Three great gulfs between the narrow, mountainous peninsulas-Bone, Tolo and Tomoni-give the island its characteristics spider shape. The island took it unusual shape about 3 million years ago, when a chunk of land that had split from western New Guinea and drifted eastward, collided with a volcanic island that had formed along a fault line east of Borneo. The force of collision spun the two islands and left them joined in the middle. The great majority of Sulawesi's 227,000 square kilometers is higher than 500 meters. The island has 17 active volcanoes, concentrated in North Sulawesi and the Sangihe Islands. In the past few years, Mt. Lokon and Mt. Soputan near Manado as well as Siau Island's Karangetang have been the most active. Because of its unique shape, no part of the island is more than 100 km from the sea and Sulawesi has 6000 kilometers of coastline. More than 175 small offshore islands are also part of the Sulawesi group. Perhaps some of the best diving (Beside Bunaken Island Groups) in the island remains inaccessible: the Togian Islands in the Tomini bay, famous for displaying in a very small area every known type of coral reef; Taka Bone Rate, the third largest atoll in the world, and the Tukang Besi islands off southeast Sulawesi. Protected by mountains and for the most part walled in by thick jungle, the interior of the island has provided a refuge for some of Indonesia's earliest inhabitants, some of who have managed to preserve elements of their cultures well into the 20th century. The Moslem Makasarese and Bugis of the south-west peninsula and the Christian Minahasan of the far north are the dominant groups of Sulawesi. They have also had contact with the west, but it's the Christian-animist Toraja, of the Tanatoraja district of the central highlands, who attract large numbers of visitors every year. Strange cultures are not the only thing that makes Sulawesi so interesting; the landscape is strikingly beautiful and the island, a transition zone between Asian and Australian fauna, is home to some peculiar animal. The Babirusa, or 'pig-deer', long legs and tusks which curve upwards like horns, while the rare Anoa is a meter- high dwarf buffalo. Few visitors get further than Ujungpandang - Tanatoraja area; travel to other parts of the island. Nevertheless, the Minahasa area of the northern peninsula is interesting and there are stunning coral reefs off the coast of Manado, the chief city of the region. Huge areas of central Sulawesi are almost untouched by tourism.
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Last modified:Wednesday, July 02, 2003 Copyright@RICO Tour Design by Heisje/Rico |
