Sulawesi adventuer tour - tarsier

Timid tarsiers among fiery volcanoes

This Sulawesi adventure tour is brilliant for curious travellers and wildlife enthusiasts. North Sulawesimay be renowned for the fantastic snorkeling and diving around its islands, but the interior of Sulawesi is an area of culture and breathtaking natural beauty. Nestled at the foot of two volcanoes, you'll find Minahasa villages with distinctive wooden houses on stilts and many exotic fruit markets. On the North East of the island you can spot black monkeys, hornbills and rare tarsiers in the dense jungle of the Tangkoko Batuangas National Park.

During this Sulawesi adventure tour you’ll be staying in a simple bamboo cottage close to the park, and in comfortable bungalows set in a colourful flower garden. After your trip, you can continue north to swing in a hammock and snorkel around Bunaken Island.

Duration 3 days / 2 nights

Accommodation

Wooden bungalow near the park and cottage with views of the volcanoes, comfort 2 (see accommodation)

Price

£278 per person - based on 2 people

Includes

Transport, accommodation with breakfast, guide

Transport

Car with driver

Excludes

Other meals, entrance fee Tangkoko Batuangas National Park

Day 1: Manado to Tangkoko Batuangas National Park

After breakfast, you’ll be collected at the hotel for the 2-hour drive to Tangkoko Batuangas National Park, one of Indonesia’s finest and most accessible nature reserves. Here, you'll find dense, green jungle bordered by endless volcanic black beaches, with hornbills flying overhead and monkeys high in the treetops. And don’t forget that adorable tiny monkey with the biggest eyes you’ll ever see - the tarsier…

Once you’ve checked in to your hotel, your guide will be waiting to take you into Tangkoko Batuangas National Park, where your Sulawesi adventure tour will really begin. Trousers and closed shoes are recommended to keep the ants and mosquitoes at bay. Tangkoko Batuangas National Park is full of monkeys and birds, and if you're lucky you might spot a pair of giant eyes staring at you from the bushes. The tarsiers live in groups in the large trees and they usually come out around sunset to nose around and hunt for food.

You’ll stay in a basic wooden cottage with mandi (Indonesian shower) and the restaurant here serves some delicious fragrant rice dishes in the evening.
Sulawesi adventure tour - Tangkoko
Sulawesi adventure tour - Waruga grave

Day 2: Tangkoko to Tomohon

After a satisfying breakfast with toast it’s time to leave this peaceful little place and set off on the 2 ½ hour drive through paddy fields and fruit plantations to the flower city of Tomohon. Tomohon, sandwiched between two volcanoes, is considerably cooler than other cities in Sulawesi thanks to its altitude, and it is known as the ‘vegetable garden’ of Northern Sulawesi for its fertile soil and comfortable climate. Locals flock here every week to do their shopping at the local market.

In the afternoon, your Sumatra adventure tour continues and your guide will take you the rural homes of the Minahasa people. You’ll visit the stone Waruga graves carved out of huge rocks, where the Minahasa bury their loved ones. You’ll also visit a local potter and hike to the spectacular tri-coloured lake, which changes colour from turquoise to blue or deep green depending on the light.

At the end of the day you can cool off under the tumbling Kali waterfalls. You’ll stay in a pleasant bungalow in a beautiful flower garden, with views of the volcanoes from your balcony.
 

 

 

Day 3: Tomohon via Mahawahu to Manado - End of module

After a relaxed breakfast in the garden, it's time to pack your bags again and make your way to Manado with your guide. On the way back to town stop off at a colourful market with smiling women selling fragrant fruit and aromatic spices. 

The next stop on your Sumatra adventure tour is the Mahawahu volcano, where you'll walk up to the crater rim. You'll follow the clearly marked trail gradually uphill and once you get to the top you’ll be greeted by an amazing view across the smoking crater of neighbouring volcano Lokon, flanked by rice paddies. In the distance, you can even spot the Bunaken Islands with their pearly white beaches.

After this climbing expedition it’s a 1 hour drive back to Manado where you'll hop on a boat to go snorkelling with Flippers on Bunaken Island, or fly on to Bali and begin one of our Bali adventure tours.
Sulawesi adventure tour - market


Accommodation images

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