Sulawesi: Private Tour Minahasa & Tangkoko

TOUR VARIANT 1

Day 1

• Arrival at Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado
• Your personal guide will welcome you on arrival and take you to your hotel in Manado (transfer time approx. 45-60 min.)
• Relax the rest of the day at the hotel or explore your near surroundings
• Dinner at the hotel (not included)
   

Day 2

• Breakfast at the hotel (included)
• You are ready to start in the earlier morning. Your personal English speaking tour guide will pick you up from your city hotel at 8:00 am and welcome you. And your journey starts.
• By car you will drive to Tangkoko National Park via the small town of Tomohon.
• On the way, you will stop for an easy morning trekking (approx. 2 x 1/2 hour pure walking time), which will lead you to the non-active volcano Mount Mahawu. There you can enjoy a wonderful panoramic view over the Mahawu crater and the city of Tomohon.
• For a photo stop with grandiose scenery, you will next head to nearby Puncak Peak Temboan, from where, weather permitting, you will have a view of the mighty Klabat layered volcano, the Dua Saudara volcanoes, Lembeh Island and Tondano Crater Lake.
• Then it's time for lunch (not included), which you'll have at a popular local lakeside restaurant on Lake Tondano.
• And on to the actual destination of your trip today: The Tangkoko National Park.
• Your jungle trekking tour through the Tangkoko Nature Reserve will start in the afternoon with your personal park ranger, when the wildlife activities increase again. Then especially the smallest monkeys in the world, the Sulawesi tarsiers -also called tarsiers- leave their roosts and are especially easy to observe. And at nightfall you may also catch a glimpse of the Tangkoko's native tarantulas. For your trekking we plan about 3-4 hours. The eventful tour leads through rough terrain.
• Overnight stay in a nearby simple lodge.
• Dinner (included)
   

Day 3

• After a VERY early simple breakfast (included; after arrangement with accommodation, if required also after morning tour) your ranger will be waiting for you in front of the logde and you will start your discovery tour with an early morning hike through the jungle.
• Here you will have another opportunity to observe the little tarsiers in and around their tree hollows and become a part of the morning jungle life.
• If you are lucky, there is also a chance to encounter the black crested monkey, the Maccaca Nigra, one of Sulawesi's endemic monkey species, in addition to seeing many different bird species.
• You will spend the early morning and the afternoon/early evening in the nature reserve today, making your way through rough terrain to spot more endemic species of animals and birds, such as the Sulawesi Bear Cuscus and the impressive Sulawesi Knobbed Hornbill as well as the Manado Owl, the Ochre-bellied Screech Owl, the Sulawesi Pitta, the Bronze-fronted Pigeon, the Celebes Woodpecker, the Black-billed and Blue-eared Kingfisher and many more. In addition, the framing of the tour also leaves ample time to marvel at the flora that is equally worth seeing.
• During lunchtime, when the sun is high and the animals are seeking shady spots and resting in their activities, you will return to the lodge, have your lunch (included) and re-equip for the afternoon portion.
• On your afternoon tour, you will have the opportunity to further deepen your impressions of nature and take in the cycle of jungle life for more observations and photo opportunities.
• After dark, your Tangkoko tour comes to an end and you will head to the next destination of your trip - Tomohon.
• Breakfast at your Tangkoko Lodge - included
• Lunch at your Tangkoko Lodge - included
• Accommodation in Tomohon
• Dinner at accommodation - not included

Day 4

• Breakfast (included) at accommodation and pick up by your guide. 
• Today you will start with a trekking (about 1 - 2 hours pure walking time) to the active Tampaluan crater, which is located in the saddle of the Lokon-Empung volcano. This will provide you with the opportunity to further deepen your impressions of the scenic diversity of North Sulawesi.
• If its volcanic activity allows it (please follow the instructions of your tour guide!), you can climb it to its caldera rim and enjoy an enchanting view over the region all the way out to the sea.
• Afterwards you will go to Woloan, a village that is not only famous nationwide for its wooden house building skills. You will have the opportunity to look over the shoulders of the woodworkers and admire their architectural works. By the way: You can order your dream wooden house there directly and don't have to worry about shipping and assembly, because it will be shipped together with the assembler to the given address ;-)
• On the spot you will also visit the Waruga open-air museum as well as the local amphie theater.
• Then it's time for lunch (not included), for which you will go to one of the local restaurants in Woloan, if available with a view of the Lokon volcano, which you climbed a bit in the morning.
• After lunch, you will continue to Air Terjun Pinaras. The somewhat hidden waterfall is easily accessible and exudes an atmospheric ambience to its surroundings. Framed by a steep rock face, it plunges down from a height of about 40m.
• The last stop on your tour today is a visit to Linow Crater Lake with its nearby hot sulphur springs and mud volcanoes. Be careful, really hot! What looks like smoke from a fire from a distance, shows up as an obvious force of nature on the open surface of the earth.
• Now it's back to your accommodation in Tomohon.
• Dinner (not included) at the same place. 
   

Day 5

• Breakfast (included) at your accommodation, check-out and pick-up by your guide.
• Today is your departure day. But before you go to the airport, there is more to see.
• First, you will have the opportunity to visit the local tofu factory and get an insight into the local way of making tofu.
• Then you will be immersed in the fascinating atmosphere of the Tomohon market, which has all kinds of unusual things to offer the western tourist (if you wish, the 'Ekstrim' part can be left out, please tell the guide).
• Last but not least we offer you the possibility to visit the local Anoa breeding station. Anoas, also called dwarf buffalo, are the smallest wild cattle species in the world and can only be found on Sulawesi. As they are considered to be endangered, there is a high priority to increase their numbers again, which is the goal of this breeding station.
• However, now it is time to head back. Your guide will now accompany you to Sam Ratulangi Airport, from where your flight to Jakarta or elsewhere will depart and your eventful North Sulawesi tour with many impressive memories will come to an end.
   

TOUR VARIANT 2

Day 1

• Arrival at Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado
• Your personal guide will welcome you on arrival and take you to your hotel in Manado (transfer time approx. 45-60 min.)
• Relax the rest of the day at the hotel or explore your near surroundings
• Dinner at the hotel (not included)
   

Day 2

• Breakfast at the hotel (included)
• You are ready to start in the earlier morning. Your personal English speaking tour guide will pick you up from your city hotel at 8:00 am and welcome you. And your journey starts.
• By car you will drive to Tangkoko National Park via the small town of Tomohon.
• To get in the mood for your adventure in North Sulawesi, you will make a stop on the way and take a trip to the Tekaan Telu waterfall. After arriving on site, it takes about 20-30 min. walk to the viewing platform, from where you will have a great view of the waterfall, which throws its water about 80 meters into the depth.
• Afterwards it's time for lunch (not included), which you will have in a popular local lake restaurant at Lake Tondano.
• And on to the actual destination of your trip today: The Tangkoko National Park.
• Your jungle trekking tour through the Tangkoko Nature Reserve will start in the afternoon with your personal park ranger, when the wildlife activities increase again. Then especially the smallest monkeys in the world, the Sulawesi tarsiers -also called tarsiers- leave their roosts and are especially easy to observe. And at nightfall you may also catch a glimpse of the Tangkoko's native tarantulas. For your trekking we plan about 3-4 hours. The eventful tour leads through rough terrain.
• Overnight stay in a nearby simple lodge.
• Dinner (included)
   

Day 3

• After a VERY early simple breakfast (included; after arrangement with accommodation, if required also after morning tour) your ranger will be waiting for you in front of the logde and you will start your discovery tour with an early morning hike through the jungle.
• Here you will have another opportunity to observe the little tarsiers in and around their tree hollows and become a part of the morning jungle life.
• If you are lucky, there is also a chance to encounter the black crested monkey, the Maccaca Nigra, one of Sulawesi's endemic monkey species, in addition to seeing many different bird species.
• You will spend the early morning and the afternoon/early evening in the nature reserve today, making your way through rough terrain to spot more endemic species of animals and birds, such as the Sulawesi Bear Cuscus and the impressive Sulawesi Knobbed Hornbill as well as the Manado Owl, the Ochre-bellied Screech Owl, the Sulawesi Pitta, the Bronze-fronted Pigeon, the Celebes Woodpecker, the Black-billed and Blue-eared Kingfisher and many more. In addition, the framing of the tour also leaves ample time to marvel at the flora that is equally worth seeing.
• During lunchtime, when the sun is high and the animals are seeking shady spots and resting in their activities, you will return to the lodge, have your lunch (included) and re-equip for the afternoon portion.
• On your afternoon tour, you will have the opportunity to further deepen your impressions of nature and take in the cycle of jungle life for more observations and photo opportunities.
• After dark, your Tangkoko tour comes to an end and you will head to the next destination of your trip - Tomohon.
• Breakfast at your Tangkoko Lodge - included
• Lunch at your Tangkoko Lodge - included
• Accommodation in Tomohon and dinner there (not included)
   

Day 4

• Breakfast (included) at accommodation and pick up by your guide. 
• Today you will start with a trekking (about 1 - 2 hours pure walking time) to the active Tampaluan crater, which is located in the saddle of the Lokon-Empung volcano. This will provide you with the opportunity to further deepen your impressions of the scenic diversity of North Sulawesi.
• If its volcanic activity allows it (please follow the instructions of your tour guide!), you can climb it to its caldera rim and enjoy an enchanting view over the region all the way out to the sea.
• Afterwards you will go to Woloan, a village that is not only famous nationwide for its wooden house building skills. You will have the opportunity to look over the shoulders of the woodworkers and admire their architectural works. By the way: You can order your dream wooden house there directly and don't have to worry about shipping and assembly, because it will be shipped together with the assembler to the given address ;-)
• On the spot you will also visit the Waruga open-air museum as well as the local amphie theater.
• Then it's time for lunch (not included), for which you will go to one of the local restaurants in Woloan, if available with a view of the Lokon volcano, which you climbed a bit in the morning.
• After lunch, you will continue to Air Terjun Pinaras. The somewhat hidden waterfall is easily accessible and exudes an atmospheric ambience to its surroundings. Framed by a steep rock face, it plunges down from a height of about 40m.
• The last stop on your tour today is a visit to Linow Crater Lake with its nearby hot sulphur springs and mud volcanoes. Be careful, really hot! What looks like smoke from a fire from a distance, shows up as an obvious force of nature on the open surface of the earth.
• Now it's back to your accommodation in Tomohon.
• Dinner (not included) at the same place. 
   

Day 5

• Breakfast (included) at your accommodation, check-out and pick-up by your guide.
• Today is your departure day. But before going to the airport, you will immerse yourself in the fascinating atmosphere of the Tomohon market, which has all kinds of unusual things to offer the western tourist (if you wish, the 'Ekstrim' part can be excluded, please tell the guide).
• In addition, you will make a further stop and undertake an easy morning trekking (approx. 2 x 1/2 hour pure walking time), which will take you to the non-active volcano Mount Mahawu. There you can enjoy a wonderful panoramic view over the Mahawu crater and the town of Tomohon.
• However, now it is time to head back. Your guide will now accompany you to Sam Ratulangi Airport, from where your flight to Jakarta or elsewhere will depart and your eventful North Sulawesi tour with many impressive memories will come to an end.