Sulawesi, Gateway to the East

Sulawesi is a land of contrast. Mountains and volcanoes dominate the landscape, lush valleys ancient burial sites and megalithic remains and colorful dance ceremonies celebrate the afterlife. Magnificent coral gardens hold a multitude of tropical marine life that protects coastlines of virgin-white beaches. It that's not enough of a temptation, Sulawesi's wildlife is like no other you've seen before, for example the anoa (dwarf bufallo) and babirusa.

Adventure & Outdoor Activities

Coastlines that protect virgin white beaches are perfect for fishing, sailing and surfing, diving and snorkeling. Some of the wolrd's most beautiful underwater environments are located in Sulawesi. There's the Bunaken Marine Reserve with white sandy beaches, a dense population of fish, coral and deep underwater gullies and valleys; Lembeh Straits and its WW I shipwrecks and unusual black sand bottoms; the Tigean Islands which host all major reef formations (fringing, barrier, patch and atoll); Wakatobi in the Tukang Besi Archipelago and its fascinating fossil reef formations and a myriad of marine species, such as sperm and pilot whales, spinner, bottle-nose dolphins and dugongs; the sea gardens of Takabonerate National Park, southwest of Selayar Island, which is the third largest coral atoll in the world as well as the Banggai Archipleago, the Makassar Straits, Kapoposang and Selayar islands. See traditional boat building techniques at Cape Bira, Bulukumba, the center of the Bugis shipbuilding industry.