About this Destination
Sulawesi is one of Indonesia's most culturally and ecologically fascinating islands — a strangely-shaped landmass whose four peninsulas contain extraordinary diversity. In the highlands of South Sulawesi, the Toraja people have built one of Southeast Asia's most remarkable cultures: their boat-shaped Tongkonan clan houses, elaborately carved and painted in red, black and yellow, are iconic, while their mortuary ceremonies — weeks-long celebrations of life and death with buffalo sacrifice and effigy carvings — rank among the world's most profound ritual experiences.
In the north, Bunaken Marine National Park is consistently ranked among the world's top five dive sites: its vertical walls plunge hundreds of metres into the Sulawesi Sea, draped in coral and alive with reef sharks, giant turtles, and dazzling schools of fish. Sulawesi is also home to the babirusa (deer-pig), the anoa (dwarf buffalo), and the maleo bird — animals found nowhere else on Earth.