NORTH SULAWESI INFORMATION PAGES

Manado - Bunaken - Tangkoko - Minahasa - Sangihe/Talaud - Gorontalo - Togians

The Minahasa Highland

If you want to explore the attraction rich Minahasa Highlands, best is to stay in Tomohon, about 25 km away from Manado. To get an idea about the many things to do in this cool, mountainous area, have a look at the homepage of the Highland Resort in Kinilow, a few km from the center of Tomohon. This is an ideal place to base yourself and explore the area, or just relax for a couple of days. It is very quiet and the cottages, made from palm wood, are spacious and comfortable. Even small things are well taken care of, the food is good and the staff friendly and helpful. All this at a very reasonable price. Recommended!
Other options are Happy Flower Homestay and Volcano Resort in Kakaskasen II. At the other end of Tomohon: Wawo Hotel and Kawanua Cottages.
At the upper end of the scale is the Gardenia Highland Resort with beautiful gardens and surroundings, and excellent food!

-Recommendation-

The Highland Resort is located at the edge of a thick jungle forest of Kinilow, 20 km from Manado and 5 km before Tomohon. It offers a cool respite from the tropical heat of the town, and a quiet venue to relax and enjoy the lush vegetation and birdlife found in the Highlands.
A dramatic feature of the Resort’s location is the towering volcanoes of Lokon and Mahawu. The volcanic soil of the area provides the lush vegetation surrounding the resort and the region produces most of the vegetables and flowers supplied to Manado.

Highland Resort North Sulawesi
Email: mail@highlandresort.info
Tel: (+62) 431 353333
Fax: (+62) 431 353777

What you shouldn't miss: The two easy-to-climb active volcanos Mt. Lokon and Mt. Mahawu and the colored Linow Lake. At Tondano Lake have lunch at the "Danau Tondano Restaurant" near Remboken: it's a lot more idyllic than the Government run resort in Remboken itself. In the meantime more restaurants have opened along the shore.

Like to do some whitewater rafting? Try Waraney, a professional and safe operator. Booking through Manado Safari Tours.

The Volcanological Center in Tomohon is constantly monitoring the three active volcanoes in the area; go there before you climb one of them and get information about the actual state of activity. There are also some photographs from recent eruptions.

At the southern coast of North Sulawesi's peninsula is the Bentenan Beach Resort. If you are looking for something really remote and don't mind a 3 hour drive from Manado on partly bumpy roads it might be worth giving it a try. There is also a dive center but I haven't visited the place since a couple of years, so I don't really know what the actual situation is. If you want to go there it's best to contact them before at info@bentenan.com.

Other links:
About the Minahasa Area
Mt. Lokon - Volcanic Activity Report

-Recommendation-

Cycling in Sulawesi

Cycling in Sulawesi? Yes, why not? There could hardly be a better way to discover remote areas of the island which hardly ever see a foreign tourist. Cycling Southeast Asia is the life-long dream of a semi-retired ex-pat, Rich Fuller, a corporate English lecturer at Apollo Language School, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Rich has lived and worked for 33 years in Asia.
"Our cycling trips are journeys into the hearts of the people we meet. We cycle through quiet, natural regions where the people are open, friendly, and the food is home-cooked with TLC (Tender Loving Care), or if it's a restaurant, it is usually family owned and run. And now you can cycle in Viet Nam or in Sulawesi all year with relatively short notice!"

Cycling Sulawesi
Email: richjf2001@yahoo.com
Telephone: +84 91 366-2445