Asia : Southeast Asia : Indonesia : Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) is one of the main islands of Indonesia. With four spindly arms spinning outward, Sulawesi's spidery shape is easily recognizable.
Regions
- Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah)
- Gorontalo
- North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara)
- South Sulawesi (Sulawesi Selatan)
- South East Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara)
Cities
- Gorontalo
- Makassar (Ujung Pandang) — capital of the South and Sulawesi's largest city
- Manado — proudly Protestant capital of the North and the gateway to Bunaken
- Palu
Other destinations
- Bunaken — marine park with some of the world's best diving
- Tana Toraja — highlands famed for their elaborate burial rites
- Togian Islands — diving destination way off the beaten track
Understand
Sulawesi's tough terrain and massive size (174,600 km²) have meant that the island has a wildly divergent set of peoples and cultures, speaking eight major languages and professing Christian, Muslim, Hindu and animist beliefs (not to mention various mixes thereof).
Talk
Get in
By plane
Sulawesi's main ports of entry is Makassar, which has frequent flights throughout the archipelago. Manado acts as a secondary hub, with some interesting connections eastward to Halmahera and Papua. Both cities have direct flights from Singapore on SilkAir and from Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia.
Get around
By plane
The sheer size of Sulawesi and the poor state of its roads make plane the transportation method of choice. Flights radiate out from Makassar and Manado to all points on the island.
By bus
The Trans-Sulawesi Highway winds for over 3900 km from Makassar to Manado. Despite the grand name, the road is narrow, twisty, spottily paved and dangerous.
See
Itineraries
Do
Buy
Ikat weaving is Sulawesi's best-known craft, with different styles all around the island.
Eat
Sulawesi cuisine is quite varied, but the best-known is Manadonese cuisine from the north, an interesting mix of Dutch influences, incredibly spicy chillies and unorthodox ingredients like bat and dog.
Drink
Stay safe
Central Sulawesi continues to be wracked by sporadic ethnic violence, with bombings and violent riots in Poso, Palu and Tentena as militant Christian and Muslim factions battle. South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi have also experienced some unrest. North Sulawesi is generally calm.
Get out
This page was last edited at 04:52, on 23 January 2009 by Jani Patokallio. Based on work by ato, Todd VerBeek, Gobbler and Evan Prodromou, Wikitravel user(s) Episteme, W66LinkBot and Akubra and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.