Relatively off the tourist trail, the island of Sulawesi is astounding, from its animist cultures to its stunning islands.
Click on the links below to find out more about individual destinations.
Journey Summary
Starting and ending in Sulawesi's capital Ujung Pandang, we head north on the bus to Tentena, a small village from where we can plan a wonderful three-day trek from Bomba to Gimpu, passing through the monolithic Bada Valley. After exhausting ourselves it's time to head north from the port of Ampana to the undiscovered Togian Islands, where wonderful isolated beaches and scuba diving on wrecked warplanes awaits us. Tearing ourselves away we head south again through Poso and Tentena to Rantepao, the centre of Torajaland and home to the stunning animist culture and amazing funerals of the Torajan people. Finally it's time to return back to Ujung Pandang.
Suggested Itinerary
This journey can be adapted easily to cater for an open-jaw journey from Ujung Pandang in the south to Manado right in the northeast tip of Sulawesi, which avoids retracing the nightmare bus trip through central Sulawesi. The following is only a suggested itinerary.
| Day | Suggested Itinerary |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fly to Ujung Pandang |
| 2 | One day in Ujung Pandang |
| 3 | Ujung Pandang to Tentena |
| 4 | One day in Tentena |
| 5 | Tentena to Bomba |
| 6 | Three days trekking through the Bada Valley |
| 9 | Bomba to Ampana |
| 10 | Ampana to the Togian Islands |
| 11-15 | Five days in the Togian Islands |
| 16 | Togian Islands to Poso |
| 17 | Poso to Tentena |
| 18 | Tentena to Rantepao |
| 19-23 | Five days in Rantepao |
| 24 | Rantepao to Ujung Pandang |
| 25 | One day in Ujung Pandang |
| 26 | Fly from Ujung Pandang |