WILDLIFE TOUR IN TANGKOKO NATURE RESERVE AND MINAHASA HIGHLAND

Introduction

Tangkoko Nature Reserve and Minahasa highland are recommended destination for visitors who love wildlife watching or photography. A lot of unique plants and animals could be seen there. Gursky Spectral Tarsier, Sulawesi Bear Cuscus, Celebes-crested Monkey, and colorful birds such as Green-backed Kingfisher, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot could be watched there.

The trip to Tangkoko is usually combined with trip to Minahasa highland to look for such endemic birds as Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Superb Fruit-dove, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Sulawesi Myzomela, Black-crowned White-eye, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Warbling White-eye, and etc. The usual duration of this trip is 7 days/ 6 nights.

Sulawesi Bear Cuscus, Celebes-crested Macaque, Lilac Kingfisher, Gursky's Spectral Tarsier. — *Wildlife in Tangkoko Nature Reserve*

Participants who are photographers should bring camera with 150-600 mm lens.

Itinerary

The following itinerary should be considered as reference only. It can be customized according to the needs and the available time that the participants have.

Day 1

We will meet you at Sam Ratulangi International Airport of Manado city or a hotel in Manado city. After that, we will organize your transfer by car to Tangkoko Nature Reserve area.
It takes around one and a half hour to reach it. Check into a lodge. You could take a rest for around 2 hours.
If you arrive in the morning, we still have time to enjoy birdwatching in Temboan hill to watch such birds as Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Sulawesi-crested Myna, Green Imperial Pigeon, Black-naped Fruit-dove, Minahasa Racquet-tail, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbill, and etc.

Pale Blue Monarch (Hypothymis puella) — Pale Blue Monarch in Tounelet Slope of Sonder town, Minahasa highland

Day 2

06:00 We will start our trip by entering Tangkoko forest to look for such birds as Green-backed Kingfisher, Lilac Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Malkoha, Spot-tailed Goshawk, Ruddy Kingfisher, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher.
Mammals such as Celebes-crested Macaque, Sulawesi Bear Cuscus could be seen in the forest.
After lunch, we will continue our exploration of the forest along the riverside of Tangkoko to look for more birds such as Little Egret, Barred Rail, Striated Heron, Nankeen Night Heron, White-necked Myna, Green Imperial Pigeon, Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon, Zebra Dove, Blue-backed Parrot, and etc.
At around 17:30, we will go to the site of Gursky's Spectral Tarsier. After that we will return to our lodge for dinner and rest.

Black-naped Oriole, Spot-tailed Goshawk, Finch-billed Myna, Cerulean Cuckooshrike, Knobbed Hornbill — Some birds from Sulawesi Island

Day 3

Rivermouth of Naun River in the coastal area of Northern Minahasa. — A beach near Naun River

If the weather is good, we will go by boat to Naun river to look for Great-billed Kingfisher, White-rumped Cuckooshrike, Pacific Reef Heron, Pacific Swallow, and etc. We will return for lunch and rest.
We will do birding again in the afternoon to look for birds that perhaps we haven't seen well such as Pale Blue Monarch, Black-billes Koel, Sulawesi Cicadabird, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker and etc.
Night birding could be conducted after dinner to look for Sulawesi Scops Owl and Speckled Boobook.

Sulawesi Scops Owl (Otus manadensis) — *Sulawesi Scops Owl in a farm forest near Sonder town of Minahasa highland*

Day 4

We still have time to enjoy birding in Tangkoko area. This time, we will return to Temboan Hill to look for Sahul Sunbird, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Pygmy Hanging Parrot, Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbill, Minahasa Racquet-tail, Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon, and, etc. After that, we could continue to a man-made lake at the roadside to find Purple-winged Roller, Oriental Darter, Yellow Bittern, White-breasted Waterhen, Little Egret, Little Grebe and etc.
After lunch, we will check out of the lodge and continue our trip to Tomohon town. It takes around 2 hours to reach it.
Check into hotel, if there is time, we will explore Lake Linow to watch such birds as Barn Swallow, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, White-breasted Waterhen, Pied Stilt, Collared Kingfisher, and etc.

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<figure></figure><img src= — Lake Linow

Day 5

We will start our tour early in the morning at 06:00. We will go by car to Mount Mahawu. Our target of observation includes: Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Sulawesi Pitta, Black-crowned White-eye, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Superb Fruit-dove, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Warbling White-eye, and etc.
After watching birds, we will do sightseeing by hiking to the crater of Mount Mahawu to see its beautiful landscape.

hiking tour in Minahasa highland to Mahawu volcano — Crater of Mount Mahawu at the outskirts of Tomohon town

Day 6

We will go to an open farmland of Sonder to look for birds such as Sulawesi Myzomela, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Black Sunbird, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Black Kite, Sulawesi Goshawk, Sulawesi Serpent Eagle, Lesser Fish Eagle, Sulawesi Drongo, Hair-crested Drongo (white-eyed), Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon, and etc.
In the afternoon, we will visit Kengkang waterfall to enjoy sightseeing and at the same time look for birds such as Sulawesi-crested Myna, White-rumped Triller, Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon, and etc. The park around the waterfall is the habitay of various species of butterflies including Common Birdwing (Troides helena), Gigon Swallowtail (Papilio gigon), The Clipper (Parthenos sylvia), Lime Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus), and etc.

Kengkang Waterfall and Flower Market in Tincep village — Kengkang Waterfall and Flower Garden in Subdistrict Sonder of Minahasa highland

Day 7

We still have time to do birding and butterflywatching in Mount Mahawu. We could try to find birds which perhaps we haven't seen such as Superb Fruit-dove, Red-eared Fruit-dove, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, and etc.
At around 10:00, we will check out of the hotel and go the the airport. We will say good bye to you. You could fly back to your country or continue your adventure in other parts of Indonesia.

Black-crowned White-eye (Zosterops atrifrons) — Black-crowned White-eye in Tounelet Slope Forest of Sonder town of Minahasa highland

Accommodation

Participants will stay in a lodge or guesthouse near Tangkoko forest and in a hotel in Tomohon town when we do the wildlife and sightseeing tour in Minahasa highland.

Flight Route to Manado city

To take this wildlife tour, participants need to fly to Manado city which is the capital of North Sulawesi Province in the Republic of Indonesia.

You could fly from your country to Jakarta or Denpasar and then continue your trip by taking domestic flight to Manado city. Garuda, Citilink, Lion Air, Batik Air, SuperAirjet, have got regular daily flights between major cities in Indonesia to Manado city
There is direct flight between Singapore and Manado city served by Scoot Air.
There is also direct flight between Manado and Guangzhou served by TransNusa and

flying routes to Manado city — *Flight routes between Manado and major cities in Indonesia*

Land route to Tomohon town and District Sonder — *Land route from Manado to Tomohon and Sonder in Minahasa highland*

Contact

If you are interested in traveling to Indonesia and taking this farnland tour in Minahasa highland, and need a guide to organize your trip and guide you, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.