Beautiful Places on South Sulawesi

South Sulawesi

South Sulawesi is an Indonesian province located in eastern part of this country. The capital of this province is Makassar which is the 4th biggest city in Indonesia. South Sulawesi has so many tourism objects, but only some of them are known worldwide. The diversity of its culture and nature is the unique attraction for your holiday. Here is the review of some tourism objects in South Sulawesi.

1. Losari Beach Makassar

In Indonesia, there is only one beach where you can see both sunrise and sunset. That beach is Losari Beach located in Makassar. Besides that, Losari Beach is clean and well organized. The ideal time of visiting this beach is in the afternoon between 3 until 9 pm. Many people come here to enjoy the beach atmosphere, jog along the clean pedestrian, or eat in the restaurants. This beach is getting crowded when the sun rise in the morning or sun set in the afternoon. If you love jogging this place is the ideal place. Fresh air, gentle breeze, red-gold sun, and romantic atmosphere; this beach is a favorite place to spend your holiday in Makassar.

2. Bantimurung National Park

The official name of this national park is Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park South Sulawesi. This tourism object is located in Maros Town which could be reaching in 1 hour drive. Indeed, this place is a favorite tourist destination in South Sulawesi. In 1856-1857 a famous naturalist from England, Alfred Russel Wallace spent his joyful days catching and researching various kinds of butterflies, birds, and rare insects. Among those butterflies, there were the species of Papillo Androcles, one of the rarest and the biggest butterfly in the word which has long tail like swallows. The natural life of these animals has been tourist attraction for years.

3. Samalona Island

Samalona Island is an island in South Sulawesi with 2.34 hectare size. This island is one of the marine attractions which has a lot of visitors from both local area and foreign country. This island’s area is an ideal place for diving, because around the island there are some reefs which are inhabited by various species of tropical fish and other sea biota. Samalona Island is about 6.8 km from Makassar City which could be reached in 20-30 minutes using speed boat. In this location, there are also some simple lodges in form of “rumah panggung,” Sulawesi’s traditional house which could accommodate around 20 persons. Besides that, there are also some local restaurants serving various kind of fresh seafood.

4. Somba Opu Fortress

Somba Opu Fortress was built in 1525 by Sultan Gowa IX. This fortress was the center of spices trading and port, which was crowded by merchants from Asia until Europe. In 1669, this fortress was taken by VOC, and then destroyed until it was submerged by tidal wave. Around 1980, this fortress was found back by some scientists and in 1990 it was reconstructed until this fortress stood firm once again. Now, Somba Opu Fortresshas become a historical tourism object in Makassar. Inside this fortress, there are some traditional buildings of South Sulawesi representing Bugis, Makassar, Mandar, and Toraja ethnics. Besides that, there are also 9 meter cannon with 9.500 kg weight displayed here, and a museum containing historical remains of Gowa Sultanate.

5. Fort Rotterdam

Fort Rotterdam (Benteng Ujung Pandang as it is now called) is an old Dutch colonial fort in Makassar, overlooking the harbor. It is one of the top attractions in Makassar. The current fort was build by the Dutch around the year 1667 but the first defensive structures consisting of a simple dirt wall where built here a century before in 1545 by Raja Tunipalangga. The Dutch Admiral Cornelis Speelman concurred the fort in 1667 and renamed it after his birthplace, Rotterdam. Soon the fort was rebuilt with 6 meter high and 2 meters thick walls. In the inside arose Dutch houses and a church. The fort became the center of Dutch colonial power on the island of Sulawesi.

6. Tana Toraja

Tana Toraja is a tourism object which is widely known for its unique culture. This regency is located approximately 320 km north from Makassar and very famous with its wooden traditional house. That traditional house is called TONGKONAN. Its roof is made from sliced bamboos which are stacked as a roof. However, some of tongkonan now use zinc roof, so it will be more durable. Tongkonan also has strata based on the degree of its owner nobility, like gold, bronze, steel, and brass strata.

This is the review of some tourism objects in South Sulawesi. And you can visit "20 Beautiful Places in Indonesia must be Visited" to know where another place in Indonesia.