| Sulawesi Formally called Celebes. Four long peninsulas radiate from a central mountainous area, giving the island an orchid shape. Its topography is dramatic, from rice fields, rain forests, and mountains to bays where crescents of sugar-white sand gently slip into sapphire water and dazzling coral reefs. The island also inherited plenty of natural power from the "ring of fire" into which it was born, for Sulawesi has 11 active volcanoes. With its pieces sliding together from all over the earth, Sulawesi is the home of many unique species; in fact, two-thrid of its mammals and one-third of its birds are found nowhere else in the world. Included in its rare cast of wildlife are the babirusa (deer pig) and two types of anoa (pygmy buffalo). Pulau Manado Bunaken Tua, are prime spots for trekking and wildlife watching. The earliest human inhabitants were seafaring tribes who sailed through the straits from other parts of Asia and from Australia. The first major settlement was southern Soppeng, which was soon overshadowed by Makassar and northern Manado, both busy trading hubs on the way to and from the Spice Islands of maluku. Makassar in parataicular rose to prominence in the 16th century as the aggressive Bajau "sea gypsies" and Bugis tribes took over the waters. In fact, the Bugis were so feared by Asian and Western traders venturing into the region that they became the basis for the modern-day term "Boogey" Man. As Islam spread through the lower peninsula in the early 1600s, the Dutch began working their way north and inland to a region the Bugis called Tanatoraja, the fabled "Land of the Kings" a secluded, mountainous area where head-hunting, witchcraft, human sacrifice, and elabo funeral rites were practised. Tanatoraja, where traditional clan houses, the carved and painted tongkonan, are built on stilts and topped by massive, curving roofs like a graceful pair of buffalo horns soaring skyward. Off all the rituals, the funeral ceremony is probably the most important. Funerals here are celebrations of life after death rather than a lament for the departed soul. They can take months to arrange, with relatives arriving from all over the archipelago, and can last for days. Palm wine is drunk, feasts are shared, and animals are slaughtered. Wealth is measured in buffalo (it's believed that the dead arrive in the hereafter riding a large white buffalo), the more buffalo sacrificed at the funeral, the more honor to the dead, the family, and the clan. Nusa Tenggara Despite their relatively diminutive size, these arid islands are home to many superlative natural sights. More than 40 volcanoes jut upward from the sea. The explosion of Sumbawa's Gunung Tambora in 1814 was one of the largest in world history, and the 12,221 feet summit of Lombok's Gunung Rinjani still rumbles threateningly from time to time. Flores has 14 active volcanoes of its own. The islands' main wildlife birds and reptiles, such as the famous Komodo dragon. The earliest outsiders were the intrepid 12th and 13th century traders who discovered the islands' treasures of cinnamon, tortoiseshell, and sandalwood during voyages around the Spice Islands of Maluku to the north. Maluku Once known as the "Spice Islands". A region comprising 851 square km of island volcanoes and coral atolls, more than 90% of it underwater. Maluku has for centuries drawn international trade to the region, and is one of the world's best dive areas. Irian Jaya New Guinea, the second-largest island in the world, the western half of which is Indonesia's Irian Jaya. Relatively few visitors make the journey to view the Stone Age Dani cultures of the interior Baliem Valley; even fewer have attempted the rugged slopes of 3,131 feet Puncak jaya, the highest point in the archipelago, or explored the thick, mountainous rain forest and coastal swamps at the island's edges. |
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| Source: @ Indonesia by Stephen Backshall, David Leffman, Lesley Reader, and Henry Stedman of The Rough Indonesia. @ Indonesia by Nigel Fisher and Lois Anderson of Fodors. |
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| Also visit Historical site of Indonesia. |
