World Tourism / The Best Places to Visit in Indonesia / The Sulawesi Island
The Sulawesi Island
Reminiscent of the height of an orchid, the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia is the largest island belonging to an area of 174 600 km, the 11th largest in the world relating to the Great Sunda Islands. The Sulawesi Island has an unusual form: it consists of four peninsulas clearly marked, separated from each other by deep canyons, mountains and forests. The central part of joining them is mountainous, so the Sulawesi Peninsula traditionally lives rather isolated from each other, and communications between them are established more by sea than by land. The island is surrounded by the sea of the same name: the Sulawesi Sea and Makassar Strait. Sulawesi is administratively divided into six provinces: Gorontalo, the West Sulawesi, the North Sulawesi, the Central Sulawesi, the South Sulawesi and the Southeast Sulawesi. The Sulawesi Island attracts tourists for its diversity and unusual rituals of local residents. The friendly Indonesians, who inhabit the island of Sulawesi, love the bright celebrations and festivals. During the tours on Sulawesi is possible not only to become parties to these colorful events, but also to enjoy the variety of landscapes, mountain peaks, beautiful valleys and tropical forests. Diving in Sulawesi is considered one of the most rewarding and interesting sports in the world. In the depths of the sea these places are inhabited by countless species of tropical fish and almost all over the beach by beautiful reefs. Dive tours are conducted in four different areas: the Bunaken Marine Reserve is the main object of diving of Sulawesi, the Lembeh Strait in, a group of islands and the coastal waters of Bangka Manado.
Useful Tips
Government agencies on the island of Sulawesi are opened from 8:00 to 15:00 on Fridays and till 11:30 on Saturdays until 14:00 or 15:00. Banks are opened from 8:00 to 15:00 on weekends, foreign banks are not opened on Saturdays. USD and the Euro can be exchanged for the Indonesian rupiah; VISA and Master Card are accepted at ATMs and large stores. Outdoor clothing is unacceptable, especially for religious festivals and temples, it is forbidden to sunbathe (Indonesia is a Muslim country). The use of drugs can be punished by imprisonment to death.
Climate
The climate of Sulawesi is tropical, with an average temperature of about +30 ° C. The rainy season lasts from October to April, and was marked with brief rain storm (Manado is located almost on the equator). The water temperature is of about +29 ° C. It is recommended to drink plenty of water and use a sunscreen with high protection factor, even while swimming and snorkeling. The island of Sulawesi is also known as the reserve traditions. Many different tribes live on the island. Thousands of tourists come here, to admire the stunning lakes, the coral reefs, as well as to visit the most interesting cave burial, museums, and enjoy all the charm of folk ceremonies.
Attractions of the Sulawesi Island
Temple Complex LARA DZHONGRANG
This complex comprises three temples, sanctuaries and it is located at five hours from the town of Prambanan. The most beautiful is the temple of the Lord Shiva. This complex of temples exemplifies the statues of gods, Durga, and Genesha Agashta. A very interesting legend is about the statue of Durga, also called Loro Dzhongrang. According to the legend, the name of Loro Dzhongrang was of a Javanese princess. She had become the wife of a Prince, whom she did not like. The princess agreed to marry him on condition that he builds a church with thousands of articles in the time between the sunset and the sunrise. The Prince accepted the condition and almost built a temple, with the help of supernatural forces, but the Javanese princess decided to cheat, not to marry him. It ignited a fire that the prince took him for a sunrise and did not have time to finish the temple. But the prince and the princess exposed a trick and was very angry with her, thus turning it into a statue. Now, it is considered that this statue is the most beautiful and graceful in the temple.
The Wulong TEMPLE-Dan
At the lakeside Bro, in the northern part of the island of Bali , for several centuries the temple is called Oolong, Dan. The temple was built in honor of the strength of the water in the lake, which is said to be life-giving and nourishing not only humans but also plants and animals.
The Goa Lava Temple
The Balinese temple Goa-Love is the most mysterious of the island. The gloom attached to this place that is at the entrance to hang around the bats. These animals are considered sacred. Goa-lava, literally means the "bat cave".
The BRAHMAVIHARA ARAM Temple
This temple is located on the island of Bali . It is built in traditional Balinese style, with lots of golden Buddha statues. But the highlight of this temple is an interesting thread, which decorated the temple walls.
The Jaya Mountain
The natural wonder, Mount Jaya, is located in Indonesia and it is its highest point. Above the beautiful, tropical forests, stands the magnificent beauty, the snowy peak of Mount Jaya.
The Three Lakes
These quiet lakes are located near each other and are located on the island of Flores, in the crater of the volcano, called Keli Mutu . Two of the three lakes are interesting, greenish, with a third of the lake black-red color. Despite the fact that the lakes are located near each other, they are quite different. This is due to the fact that the magma that erupts from the volcano, sometimes has a different chemical composition.
Others from The Best Places to Visit in Indonesia
The name of Indonesia comes from the Greek names “ indos” and “ nesos” and mean the Great Earth and the east of India, situated in the south-east of Asia, north-west of Australia.
Its islands are situated in the Indian Ocean and Pacific and occupy 5100 km near the equator.
Along the equatorial line there are 400 volcanoes of which 130 are active volcanoes, the most famous being Krakatau and Puncan Jaya with a height of 5030 m.
Indonesia hosts many reptile species such as Komodo, named as the Indonesian national specy, Siluk Arwana and Elang Jawa are rare species of falcon.
Bali, known as “The Morning of the World” is one of the most popular destinations in Indonesia.
It is a location full of mystery and magical stories.
This is known as the island of 1,000 temples and it is considered the land of the Lord.
The island lies in the eastern extremity of the island of Java and is composed of coral reefs and landscapes.
Ubud represents the cultural and the artistic center of Bali, with art galleries and handicraft shops with articles and the south where beaches stretch bordered by palm trees and lush vegetation.
The islands are very beautiful, with large areas of rice crops, volcanoes reaching to the clouds, lush tropical forests and white beaches of the Indian Ocean.
The way of life of Bali is related to religion and dance, paintings and music describing the local life and refers to the essence of the Hindu religion, the struggle between good and evil.
For the people of Bali, dance is the main offering to God and gods.
The dances are accompanied by gamelan orchestra.
During temple ceremonies in order to meet the gods, a group of dancers play around the main altar three times and take in their hands ceremonial objects of different colors, water and fire.
Kintamani is a mountain village situated at an altitude of 1500 m, where the Batur Lake is and you can see the Batur volcano, which is still active.
Here is the Tirta Empul Temple and the Elephants Temple.
The most sacred cave temple in Bali and Indonesia's largest temple is the Temple of Besakih’s Mother.
It dates from the XI century and it is situated at an altitude of 1000 m.
The Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot Tour is where the Taman Ayun Royal Temple Megwi is, the sacred monkey forest near Sangeh where the famous Tanah Lot Temple is on a huge rock surrounded by water.
Jakarta is a modern city, the political , the social and the cultural center of the country, a dynamic city day and night with impressive buildings, skyscrapers, cultural organizations and research institutions.
The city is a mixture between modern civilization and Asian civilization.
The most impressive monument in Jakarta is the National Monument located in the center of Merdeka Square.
The monument is a marble obelisk that has a flame golden top.
The most beautiful museum in Southeast Asia is the National Museum.
This can be seen through collections of prehistoric, archaeological and ethnographic ceramics and a collection of Hindu Javanese art.
Other attractions in Jakarta are: the Old City and the Sasmita, Loka, Adam Malik and the Military Museums.
The Lombok Island is located near the ocean and includes the Medana and Nusa beaches and Tenggara Barat, a province in the eastern part of the country.
It is surrounded by tropical gardens and is famous because of the 1000 mosques.
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