Trip to Minahasa Highland

Minahasa highland is a beautiful destination for visitors who love nature. It can be reached by motorized vehicle from Manado city in 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on what village or place that visitors want to go to. Some of the interesting places which tourists can visit are described below: 

The District town of Sonder with its agricultural land

Sonder town - This is a small town that is surrounded by farmlands. Clove trees used to dominate the hills of Sonder. Clove flower was expensive commodity in 1970s to 1980s. Tounelet village has got small forest that is good for birdwatching and butterfly watching.  Sonder as a whole is a great destination for birdwatching in North Sulawesi. Birds that can be watched include Sahul Sunbird, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Cattle Egret, Chestnut Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia, Black-naped Oriole, Sultan's Cuckoo Dove, Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Black-faced Munia, Barred Rail, and a lot more.  Now local farmers gradually replace them with coconut, corn, vannila, and vegetable plants. Butterflies that can be seen include the Blanchard's Wood Nymph, Blanchard's Tree Nymph, Graphium meyeri, Graphium anthedon, and The Sylvia Clipper. There is a hospital in Tounelet village of Sonder town.

In wetland area, visitors could see terraces of ricefields. Some farmers grow tomatoes, long beans, aubergine and other vegetable plants. The rivers have been devided into many small pools and are used for fish farming. There are restaurants that sell fried and grilled fish that is served with various kinds of stir-fried vegetables and sambal (chilli sauce). 

There are farmers in Rambunan village who collect sweet sap of aren tree and heat it using large cooking pans to make palm sugar. 

Tomohon town

Tomohon is another important town in Minahasa highland. A lot of schools could be found there. Tomohon is also the transportational hub of Minahasa region. The famous Mount Mahawu could reached by car or motorcycle from Tomohon. There is traditional market that sells unusual meat to Minahasan people, such as dog meat, snake, ricefield rat, and flyingfox meat. Woloan village that exports knocked-down wooden houses could be visited from Tomohon. 

Kawangkoan is another distric town that is famous for food. Visitors can buy steam buns filled with pork and boiled eggs or black nut paste.

Tondano - This is the capital of Minahasa regency. It is also the location of the State University of Manado. Lake Tondano is located in the south of the town. Restaurants and lodges could be found along the road that circles the lake. The air temperature of Tondano is cool especially early in the morning. 

Lake Tondano in Minahasa regency of North Sulawesi

Langowan

to be continued ....

Butterfly watching in Sonder Town of Minahasa Highland

Sonder is a small district town in Minahasa regency of North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It is a recommended destination for visitors who like to watch and take picture of butterfly. 

Perhaps, a couple of Graphium meyeri meyeri
in Sonder town of Minahasa highland

Tourists who go to Sonder can watch butterfly and other insects in general along the roadsides, riversides, ricefields and dry agricultural lands as well as forest areas. 

Graphium anthedon in Tounelet village of Sonder town

Some butterflies that could be seen in Sonder include: The Common Birdwing, Blanchard's Wood Nymph, Blanchard's Tree Nymph, Clipper Butterfly, Manado's Yellow Tiger Butterfly, and Neptis Ida Celebensis Butterfly. 

The recommended times to watch butterflies are early in the morning and late in the afternoons. Flowers that grow at the frontyard, roadsides, farmlands and forest edges always attract butterflies. 

Blanchard's Wood Nymph

Visitors who want to take pictures of butterflies can bring pocket cameras with zoom lens of several magnifications or camera with telephoto lenses.  

Bringing binoculars is also recommended. The device will greatly enhance the wildlife watching experience of the visitors while they do nature walk around the forest, garden and wetland of Sonder. 

Blanchard's Tree Nymph Butterfly

The butterfly watching tour can also be combined with snorkeling and sightseeing tour in Bunaken and its surrounding islands

If you are interested in taking butterflywatching tour that is combined with birdwatching tour and want me to organize your trip, you could contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. 

Wildlife Watching in Tangkoko Nature Reserve

Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve is a famous destination in the Province of North Sulawesi for wildlife watching tourism. Visitors from all corners of the world go to Tangkoko to watch birds, reptiles, insects and mammals. It is located in the northeastern region of Minahasa peninsula around one and a half ride from Manado city.

According to Wikipedia, the number of species of animals is listed as follows:

• 127 mammals
• 233 birds
• 104 reptiles and amphibian animals

Knobbed Hornbill

There are a lot of species of birds that visitors can watch while walking under the canopy of the trees of Tangkoko. Tangkoko is famous for its kingfishers. Some of them include Green-backed Kingfisher (Actenoides monachus), Ruddy Kingfisher, Sulawesi Lilac Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfiher, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher and etc.

Purple-winged Roller

Visitors can also watch Red-backed Thrush, Ochre-bellied Boobok, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Hornbill, Purple-winged Roller, Oriental Dollarbird.

Because Tangkoko Nature Reserve is located in the coastal area of North Sulawesi, visitors who go there can also watch sea birds such as the Pacific Reef Heron, Great-billed Heron, Osprey, Lesser Frigatebird, Greater Frigatebird, Common Tern, Great-crested Tern, Black-naped Tern, and etc. 

The activity of watching sea birds could be combined with a boat trip to Kalinaun where visitors could watch Great-billed Kingfisher, Pied, Little-pied Cormorant, Little-black Cormorant and etc.

Great-billed Kingfisher

Another important site for general birding in Tangkoko area is the Temboan Hill. It is the place where visitors could watch a lot of species of birds including Finch-billed Myna, Sulawesi Myna, Silvertip Imperial Pigeon, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Hornbill and a lot more. 

Ashy Woodpecker in the rainforest of
Tangkoko Nature Reserve

Other Animals

In addition to birds, we could also see insects, reptiles and mammals. 

Celebes-crested Macaque (Macaca nigra)

Spectral Tarsier in the rainforest of Tangkoko's Nature Reserve

Accommodation

Visitors who go to Tangkoko can stay in the homestays or lodges that are run by local people. 

Booking

If you are interested in watching birds and other wildlife in Tangkoko Nature Reserve as well as other areas in Sulawesi, you could contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Also read:

• Birding and Butterflywatching in Sonder of Minahasa highland
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birds in Minahasa
• Walking Tour in the Farmland of Sonder
• Birding and Wildlife-Watching in Sulawesi

Birds of Sulawesi

Sulawesi is a unique island. It is located in the middle of Indonesian archipelago in the transitional region from the continent of Asia to the continent of Australia. The endemism of birds and other wildlife is very high compared to other islands of Indonesia. I personally have accompanied tourists to a a number of birding sites across Sulawesi.

Birdwatching in Sulawesi

Some Birds from Sulawesi

In South Sulawesi, birding sites that are good for birdwatchers include Karaenta, Ramang-ramang, and Malino highland. There, I saw Black-ringed White-eye, White-necked Myna, Common Kingfisher, Sulawesi Pygmy Hornbill and Red-backed Thrush, and etc.

In Central Sulawesi, Lore Lindu and farmland around Palu are highly recommended. Diabolical Nightjar, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Turquoise Flycatcher, Red-eared Fruit Dove, White-eared Myza, Hylocitrea, Purple-bearded Bee-eater are some of the many birds that we could watch. 

Ashy Woodpecker

For North Sulawesi, more birding sites could be explored including Mount Mahawu, Sonder's forest, Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Mount Ambang, Maleo Sanctuary in Tambun and Dumoga Bone National Park. A lot of kingfishers could be found in Tangkoko. They are Great-billed Kingfisher, Lilac Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher. Other birds such as Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Myna, Finch-billed Myna, and Ashy Woodpecker could be seen there. The mountainous region of Minahasa from Tomohon to Sonder is the habitat of various species of birds such as Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, Black-naped Oriole, Sultan's Cuckoo Dove, Pale Blue Monarch, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Crimson Sunbird, Black-crowned White-eye, Mountain White-eye, Sahul Sunbird, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Slender-billed Crow, Cattle Egret, Little Egret. In general, visitors need to spend at least 2 weeks to explore the birding sites of this island and see birds of Sulawesi. 

Ducula aenea

Flying Routes to Manado

The entry point for taking birdwatching tour in Sulawesi can be Manado city first. There are regular daily flights between Manado city and major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar, Balikpapan and Sorong city. They are served by domestic airlines such as Garuda, Citylink, Lion Air and Batik Air. There is also direct international flight from Singapore to Manado city served by Scoot Air. 

Flying to Manado

Extended Tour to Raja Ampat

Another destination that can be combined with Sulawesi is Sorong city. Visitors can enjoy birdwatching and snorkeling in Raja Ampat or Sausapor town. 

If you are interested in traveling to Indonesia to watch birds and wildlife in Sulawesi, and want me to organize your trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. 

Also read:

• Birding and Wildlife Watching in Sulawesi