Minahasa highland is a beautiful tourist destination in Indonesia. It has got volcanoes, hills and slopes, waterfalls, lakes, farms and villages. The best way to explore it is by walking through them.
Mount Mahawu is a good start for visitors who are interested in seeing the rainforest and its birds and butterflies as well as the crater of the volcano. Visitors who walk to its top could see the magnificent landscape view of Minahasa land. Mount Mahawu is located near Tomohon town.
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| The crater of Mount Volcano |
After exploring the volcano, the next recommended trip is walking through the slopes between Tomohon's villages and Sonder's villages. Visitors could see local people in their daily life. Most of the indigenous people of Minahasa work as farmers. They grow food crops such as cabbage, kangkung, fern, papaya (whose fruit, leaf and flower are edible), leilem, spinach, tomato, lemon grass, moringa, spring onion, potato, corn, vanilla and a lot more. When visitors walk along the slopes of Minahasa land, they could see these food crops that are planted among other long term plants such as aren, coconut, avocado, rambutan, duku, and clove.
In Subdistrict Sonder, visitors could see Leilem village that is famous for their wood working home industry. Villagers make table, chair, cupboard and even wooden cart wheel. From Leilem, visitors could continue walking down the slope of Leilem to Rambunan village that is famous for palm sugar home industry. There are more villages that visitors can explore while walking towards Sonder town.
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| Leilem village in Subdistrict Sonder of Minahaaa regency |
In Talikuran village, there are paddy fields. Visitors could walk through it to see terraces of rice fields. Shops and eating houses can be seen in Sonder town.
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| Rice field in Subdistrict Sonder of Minahasa regency |
In Tounelet village, there is Siloam hospital, it is the oldest hospital in North Sulawesi that is run by GMIM church. Villagers grow vegetables and fruits in their farms. Some of them run fish farming and poultry farming. At Tounelet slope, there is a small forest that is the habitat of birds. In the mornings and late afternoons, visitors could watch various species of birds such as Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Sahul Sunbird, Brown-throated Sunbird, Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon, Zebra Dove, Chestnut Munia, Yellow-billed Malkoha, Black-naped Oriole, Cattle Egret, Pale Blue Monarch, and etc.
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| Some of the birds that can be watched in Tounelet slope of Minahasa highland |
If we walk down the slope further to the north region of Subdistrict Sonder, we will reach Tincep village. Huge rice field area could be seen before we enter Tincep. The villagers of Tincep like to grow colourful flowers at the front and side yard of their houses. Visitors could see these flowers along the roadside. There are bougainvillea, canna, dahlia, heliconia, plumeria (frangipani), and etc. Flowers are important horticulture commodities that local villagers in Tincep village sell to Manado, Tomohon, Tondano, Bitung, and other cities and towns in Indonesia.
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| Flower plants along the roadside of Tincep village |
Where is Minahasa Highland and How to get there?
Minahasa is a region in North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It can be reached by car from Manado city which is the capital of the province.
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| Land route between Manado city and Sonder |
Visitors need to fly from their countries to one of the major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya or Denpasar. After that, they could continue their flight to Manado city. Airlines such as Garuda, Citilink, Lion Air, Batik Air, and SuperAirjet provide regular daily flights between big cities in Indonesia and Manado city. There are also international direct flights between Singapore and Manado city that is served by Scoot Air; and between Guangzhou and Manado city served by China Southern Airline.
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| Flight routes to Manado city from Singapore; and other major cities in Indonesia. |
Accommodation
Visitors who want to take multiple day tour can stay in homestays in Subdistrict Sonder or in hotels in Tomohon town.
Booking
If you are interested in taking a hiking tour in Minahasa highland of Indonesia and want me to organize your trip, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or through whatsapp by pressing the following button:
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