Northern Sulawesi - province of Indonesia, on island of Sulawesi

Northern Sulawesi consists of the provinces of North Sulawesi and Gorontalo in Indonesia.

Cities

• Manado — the largest city and main gateway to the north
• Modisi – a small town in South Bolaang Mongondow Regency
• Tomohon — cool off in the central highlands
• Bitung — the main deep-water port and access to the Lembeh Strait
• Gorontalo — Gateway to the Togeans

Other destinations

• Bunaken — world-famous diving site
• Tangkoko Nature Reserve
• Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park
• Bangka — group of small islands just off the coast
• Sangihe Islands — Consisting of the islands of Sangir Besar (or Sangir Island), Siau (or Siao), Tahulandang, and Biaro; and the town of Tahuna.
• Saronde Island — popular yachting stopover due its clear water, coral reefs, and pristine beaches.

Understand

Inhabited by the Minahasa, Hulontalangio, Bantik, and Sangirese, much of Northern Sulawesi is a solidly Christian (mostly but not entirely Protestant) enclave in mostly Muslim-majority Sulawesi. A centre of Dutch settlement in colonial times, the region still retains many traces of Western influence. An exception is Gorontalo Province, which is more than 95% Muslim.

Talk

The local language is Manado Malay (Bahasa Manado), also known as Minahasa Malay.

Get in

By plane

Manado has an airport (IATA: MDC) with international flights from Singapore (by SilkAir) and from China (Changsha, Guangzhou, Shanghai-Pudong, Shenzhen) by Lion Air and domestic flights from major cities in Indonesia, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, and Denpasar/Bali.

The airport of Gorontalo (IATA: GTO) mainly serves flights from Makassar in South Sulawesi.

By boat

• Manado has a harbour with ships going to and from the more Northern Islands (Sangir Talaud area).
• Bitung is the major port of North Sulawesi and you can get on board a Pelni ship to sail towards other area's of Indonesia. Some of the larger cruise ships that travel from Australia towards Thailand or other Asian countries also stop at Bitung.

By car or bus

You can travel by car or bus from South Sulawesi towards Manado; however, because of security problems in Central Sulawesi, this is not recommended. So, if you plan on travelling by land, check the local situation first.

Get around

By motorcycle

By car

Rental cars are available in Manado, but like most other areas of Indonesia, hiring a car with driver is advisable because of traffic woes and knowledge of local conditions. That wiggly line on the map may or may not be passable. A bilingual driver with a car in condition may cost approximately Rp 500,000 per day, or self-drive may cost Rp 300,000 per day.

By mikrolet

You won't go far without seeing a torrent of light blue Mitsubishi Colts (aka bemos elsewhere) trolling the streets for customers. Although usually used within towns, you can take mikrolets intercity as well.

By bus

See

Do

Scuba diving is the main draw for tourists to North Sulawesi. Popular diving areas are:

• Bunaken National Marine Park
• Lembeh Strait, for its good muck diving
• Bangka area, for its brilliant soft coral and diversity in dive sites (from beginner to very advanced)
• Taman Laut Olele, good clear water for diving and fairly close to Gorontalo (on Gulf of Tomini)

Go snorkeling or diving to see slowly-endangered whale sharks, which can be found in the edge of Molluca sea near the Botubarani beach about 6 km from Gorontalo every May.

You can also visit the Minahasan Highlands to climb some of the volcanoes in the area. Taxis can be arranged from your hotel in Manado to the town of Kinilow and Tomohon. From there, it is easy to reach the nearby peaks. Also worth a visit is a local market in Tomohon (not for the faint-hearted) where locals sell various delicacies e.g. dog, bat and the rather boring pig (North Sulawesi is largely Christian).

Eat

Minahasan cuisine from North Sulawesi features heavy use of meat such as pork, fowl and seafood. Woku is a type of seafood dish with generous use of spices, often making up half the dish. Ingredients of woku include lemongrass, lime leaves, chilli peppers, spring onion, shallots, either sautéed with meat or wrapped around fish and grilled covered in banana leaves. Other ingredients such as turmeric and ginger are often added to create a version of woku. Foreign colonial influence has also played a role in shaping Minahasan cuisine. Brenebon (from Dutch "Bruin" (brown) and "Boon" (bean)) is a pork shank bean stew spiced with nutmeg and cloves. Roast pork similar to lechon in the Philippines or pig roast in Hawaii is served at special occasions, especially weddings. Other unusual and exotic meats such as dog, bat, and forest rat are also regularly served in North Sulawesi region. Paniki is the bat dish of Minahasa. Manado is best known for Minahasan cuisine, but to see all irregular meat sales, go to Tomohon market, where they display all, dead or alive.

Drink

Being largely Christian in North Sulawesi Province, alcohol is a little easier to find than in some other parts of Indonesia. The local beer Bintang costs Rp 15,000 and 20,000 in resorts. Also worth trying are the local beers.

Stay safe

The ethnic strife in central and south Sulawesi has not really affected the north. The Philippine rebel group Abu Sayyaf are said to operate in the northern islands near the Philippine border, but no attacks or kidnappings have been publicised.

Go next

• Togian Islands - an archipelago in the Gulf of Tomini, directly south of Northern Sulawesi