Journey Through East Sulawesi - From Remote Jellyfish Lakes to Even More Remote Sea Nomad Villages
Yes, we've been to Sulawesi a couple of times before. But the island is so vast that you either need a great deal of time or several trips to truly get a feel for this fascinating piece of the earth. This time, we were drawn to the remote corners of the central part of East Sulawesi — the Banggai Islands and the Togean Islands.
Sometimes, when travelling through Indonesia, I have the feeling that the actual journey begins long before reaching the actual destination. This trip definitely belonged into that category. What originally started as a route through the Banggai Islands and onwards into the Togean Islands slowly turned into one of those journeys where everyday travel chaos, unexpected encounters, weather, tides, broken equipment, long road journeys and random conversations become just as important as the actual sights. And honestly: I think this is exactly why I enjoy travelling through Indonesia so much. Nothing ever works 100% according to plan. But somehow, things still usually work out - one way or another…
Arrival in Indonesia - A trip with Obstacles OR ‘Business as Usual’
After more than 24 hours of travelling by plane, I arrived once again in Indonesia; this time in Luwuk, Central Sulawesi, and already mentally prepared for the usual small complications that tend to happen on trips like these, as so often in Indonesia, the adventure already starts long before reaching the actual destination. In this case: An ATM swallowed my credit card at Jakarta Airport. The domestic flight schedule Jakarta-Makassar was suddenly changed overnight by the airline, resulting in a transfer time, that felt quite unrealistic. And heavy rain when finally arriving in Luwuk, causing my first attraction intended to visit -a waterfall- being closed due to a landslide or as we say in German, if something was cancelled: ‘it fell into the water’; in this case:literally. In other words: business as usual :-)
Travelling through remote parts of Indonesia always requires flexibility and a healthy sense of humour. A Plan B is not optional — it will occur and is simply part of the experience.
Tompotika: Snorkelling, Earthquakes & Maleo Birds
The actual tour finally started after arriving in Luwuk; even on time. Weather-wise, things were unfortunately not exactly ideal. It rained almost the entire afternoon, roads became difficult and two planned stops had to be postponed. The journey eventually continued towards Tompotika Dive Lodge. Hidden at the edge of jungle-covered hills and directly facing the sea, the lodge offers access to beautiful coral reefs. For non-divers, the reefs around Pulau Satu and Pulau Dua offer extensive hard and soft coral gardens with turtles, reef fish and occasionally reef sharks. The reefs still show small scars from past blast fishing practices, but overall remain in surprisingly good condition. Pulau Dua, by the way, is not just great to snorkel around. I also took a walk around or better to say ‘along the hill top’ while enjoying great views of the surroundings. If weather conditions are right, it's a great place watching the sunset … or sunrise.
For sunrise, however, the hill next to Tompotika Dive Lodge appeared to be a great alternative, as it is reachable by food and offers actually the better view over the bay. With dozens of photos and happy with the beginning of the day I, returned back to my Tompotika Dive Lodge for an extended breakfast with several cups of coffee. I enjoyed that time, as I was the only guest that morning, just surrounded by super friendly staff. At one point during breakfast, the furniture itself suddenly began moving gently. What initially felt like sea legs from too many boat rides turned out to be an actual earthquake somewhere offshore. Yet nobody around seemed remotely concerned. Nobody interrupted breakfast. Nobody ran outside. Nobody even looked up. Life simply continued. That calmness perhaps says a lot about daily life in Indonesia.
From the village, by the way, it is also not all too far to the conservation area of one of Sulawesi’s most fascinating endemic bird species: the Maleo. Maleos are large ground birds found only on Sulawesi and considered endangered. They bury their eggs deep inside naturally heated volcanic or sun-warmed sand. Visiting their nesting grounds early in the morning provides a rare opportunity to observe these remarkable birds in the wild. Not every day guarantees large numbers. Sometimes only a handful appear while monitor lizards wait nearby hoping to steal eggs. But even on quieter days, the experience remains scientifically and culturally fascinating. And if you are a keen observer of your surroundings, you will find along the way trees in rainbow colour - simply amazing!
The Banggai Islands: Indonesia’s Next Rising Destination?
My first overnight stay in the Banggai region was in the small fishing village of Leme-Leme on Peleng Island — which locally already counts as a ‘town’. The place surprisingly seems to receive foreign visitors relatively regularly. Even the children living next door already spoke English beyond the classic ‘Hello Mister’. The house I stayed in was simple, but perfectly fine — even with an inside bathroom. And honestly, after some previous Indonesia experiences, that definitely qualified as luxury accommodation in my personal rating system. When travelling to the region, you cannot always expect this as a standard.
The next morning started early at Paisupok Lake, the place currently turning the Banggai Islands into Indonesia’s next Instagram darling. While preparing for the trip, I had read that you should arrive before 7:00 am to have the lake completely to yourself. So naturally, I arrived at 6:30 am after an hour’s drive. And yes, I really had the lake all alone — for about ten minutes. By 7:00 am, there were already several people there. By 7:30 am, everyone was lining up for photographs pretending to be the only person at the lake. Including people carefully editing reality for social media while twenty others stood directly behind them waiting for exactly the same shot 😄 So yes: Instagram definitely works 😄
Ironically, being an ‘early bird’ did not even help all that much photographically because the sun still had not climbed above the palm trees. What fascinated me much more than the actual lake though (but it's really a beautiful lake) was how quickly early tourism already started changing local life. Not only are villagers converting houses into homestays, but entirely new job profiles seem to appear as well. At some point, local drone pilots suddenly appeared on the scene, offering their services to visitors carrying expensive drone equipment — but often having absolutely no idea how to actually use it …. which, unfortunately included me. So apparently I travelled all the way to the Banggai Islands to support the rapidly growing local drone pilot economy 😄
Hidden Caves & Long Journeys
One of the lesser-known highlights of Pulau Banggai are its caves, of which I visited one. Hidden beneath limestone hills, the cave opens into a surreal chamber filled with crystal-clear turquoise water. Sunlight reflects off the cave walls while dripping water echoes through the darkness. Places like this are difficult to capture properly in photographs. And perhaps that is exactly what makes them special. Travelling through the Banggai Islands also means spending significant time on the road or on sea. Long drives are regularly interrupted by viewpoints, beaches, conversations with villagers or occasional spontaneous coffee stops. And sometimes by quick power naps …
The Banggai Cardinal Fish - The True Icon of the Banggai Islands
Long before social media discovered the Banggai Islands, the region was already famous among aquarium enthusiasts for another reason: the Banggai Cardinal Fish. This tiny black-and-gold fish is endemic to the Banggai Archipelago and one of the region’s most famous marine species. Unlike many reef fish, Banggai Cardinal Fish are remarkably patient subjects for underwater photography. Which immediately made them some of my favourite fish. Instead of disappearing instantly, they remained calmly hovering in place while I enthusiastically took dozens of pictures. Maybe hundred. At least. Snorkelling in the Banggai region reveals surprisingly healthy coral reefs, colourful reef fish and crystal-clear water — especially around the smaller islands scattered across the archipelago.
Mbuang-Mbuang - About Jellyfish, Giant Clams & a Drift Channel
Further south, my journey continued towards Mbuang-Mbuang. Approaching the island already feels cinematic. Green hills rise from the sea with an elevated sign stating the island's name, giving the island an appearance vaguely reminiscent of a tropical version of the Hollywood Hills. Mbuang-Mbuang is famous for two things: its jellyfish lake and its drift channel. The jellyfish lake itself is surprisingly large and filled with translucent jellyfish gently floating through the water. Meanwhile, the channel dividing the island offers an exhilarating drift snorkelling experiences in crystal-clear turquoise currents and at low tide, when currents are strong. However: a word of warning is appropriate here: The underwater area is home to stingrays.
Tourism infrastructure here remains super simple. And by ‘simple’, I really mean simple. Overnight stays happen in modest village homestays where visitors quickly realise that comfort standards are secondary to the experience itself. And that is precisely the appeal.
Ahja,…maybe a less spectacular highlight there, but I really enjoyed it: You can also find there a giant clam garden - simply amazing!
Mandebulu Reef: Life at Sea
One of the parts of this journey I will probably remember forever was the visit to Mandebulu Reef. Reaching the area already felt remote. Internet disappeared completely and so did the island world in front of my eyes. Daily life suddenly depended entirely on weather conditions, waves and tides. My guide had taken me to Mandepulu Reef, a sea nomade village in the middle of the sea with no land attached. I visited Entung, a fisherman, who became known through Aurélie Godefroy’s documentary Entung. He has been living here for more than 25 years.
After late morning coffee and some lunch preparations, we headed out together in his tiny wooden boat to check the fishing cages he had placed in the sea. Only once we started travelling across the water did I realise that these cages were actually located far away from the house, about 1 to 1 ½ km away from his little hut. After about twenty minutes by boat, he suddenly stopped the boat in the middle of absolutely nowhere. No buoy. No marker. No visible sign. Yet somehow, he knew exactly where the cages were. He jumped into the water. So I jumped too. What followed was basically a repetitive exercise of Entung gracefully diving down into the sea, between 5-8 m, and pulling up huge fish cages like this was the easiest thing in the world… while I in turn performed highly ungraceful attempts at climbing back into the tiny wooden boat afterwards 😄
After three rounds of this, it turned out, that there were still 11 more cages left. That made me think, that perhaps following him every single time into the water might end up in exhaustion for the 2 of us. The weather that day was rainy and surprisingly cold out on the open sea, despite me having worn my snorkeling shorty. Yet every time Entung stopped the boat, the cages were always almost exactly below us. Fishing is his entire livelihood. The fish later get dried outside the house and once a month he travels to Banggai by boat to sell them there. Back at the settlement, dinner preparation included a spontaneous squid hunt after one of my crew members suddenly spotted one in the underwater garden. And thanks to a small solar panel, dinner at least did not happen completely in darkness. That night, I crawled into my sleeping bag quite exhausted, but the same time very excited due to this new experience. Every movement, somebody was moving inside and outside the wooden house, the entire structure began to vibrate, while through gaps in the bamboo floorboards beneath me I could still see illuminated waves moving underneath the house. It was one of those moments where I briefly wondered how people actually sleep like this every single night. Apparently: perfectly fine. I can attest this now 😄
This reef is simply amazing!
The Togean Islands: Sea Nomads & Freediving Legends
The final stage of my journey led into the Togean Islands. Reconnect Resort on Buka-Buka Island served as the base for exploring the surrounding island world, a jellyfish lake and a couple of Bajau sea nomad villages. The Togeans consist of countless small green islands scattered across calm tropical waters — some inhabited, others entirely untouched. One of the highlights was another jellyfish lake, this time visited under rainy grey skies. Paradoxically, these weather conditions created perfect visibility, allowing the jellyfish to gather near the lake’s surface. My journey also led me to the famous Bajau village of Papan as well as more traditional sea nomad settlement further away. Here, another extraordinary encounter took place. A local guide introduced to me Rohani — the legendary freediver, capable of diving to depths of 40 metres using only homemade goggles and a wooden spear. He began diving at the age of five and continued until the age of 85. This is now 5 years ago. His life became the subject of the documentary Jago. In villages like these, daily life still revolves around fishing, tides, family gatherings and communal ceremonies. This was another place, that brought me ‘down to earth’.
Why This Journeys Matters to Me
Travelling through the Banggai and Togean Islands is not exactly easy. Roads can be rough. Weather can change plans. Internet can disappear for days. And boats leave according to tides rather than schedules. Accommodation standards vary greatly. But perhaps this is exactly why these places remain so special. The Banggai Islands and the Togean Islands are destinations where travellers still experience genuine encounters, remote landscapes and a way of life that has not yet fully adapted itself to tourism. And in a world where many destinations increasingly begin to resemble one another, that authenticity has become incredibly rare.
Let us know if you feel like travelling there yourself. We know how it's done :-)
