1Sights & Activities
Most of the things to do and see are around Tentena itself. The best way to spend a day is either to rent a motorbike (70,000Rp per day; ask at your hotel) or hire an ojek (around 130,000Rp per day).
Air Terjun SalopaWATERFALL
(entrance 5000Rp)
If you have wheels you can visit this impressive, powerful waterfall that drops in stages through rainforest, 15km south of Tentena. The falls are a spectacular place for a swim, and you can hike through the jungle and alongside a plunging river for a few kilometres – keep an eye out for monkeys and hornbills.
BeachBEACH
Around 20km south of Tentena the lovely golden beach by the Siuri Cottages has great swimming with a water temperature of around 26°C year-round. There's a restaurant for lunch and drinks.
Eel TrapsAREA
Tentena’s pretty covered 210m bridge marks where Danau Poso (Lake Poso) ends and Sungai Poso (Poso River) begins its journey to the coast. V-shaped eel traps north of the bridge snare the 2m monsters for which Tentena is famous. Live specimens are available for inspection and consumption in local warungs.
Chartering a boat to explore the lake can be surprisingly difficult; the asking rate is 120,000Rp for two hours.
DANAU POSO
Indonesia’s third-largest lake, Danau Poso, covers an area of 32,300 hectares and reaches an average depth of 450m. The lake is 495m above sea level, so evenings here are pleasantly cool without being too cold. With mountains on all sides and mist hovering over the calm waters in the early morning, it’s a captivating spot.
zFestivals & Events
Tentena is the host of the annual Festival Danau Poso, the undisputed highlight of Central Sulawesi’s social calendar, in late August. Villagers from far afield gather for a colourful celebration of culture, with dancing, songs and traditional sports.
4Sleeping
Tourism in Tentena suffered badly during the religious troubles between 1998 and 2006. Things are steadily improving, but many places have conseqently suffered from a lack of investment.
Hotel VictoryGUESTHOUSE$
(%0458-21392; [email protected]; Jl Diponegoro 18; r incl breakfast 175,000-375,000Rp; aW)
A very friendly family-run place with a wide choice of (ageing) rooms, from cell-like cheapies to spacious options with hot water. Most travellers happily end up here, thanks to the excellent info (maps are provided) and social areas. The owners can also sort out motorbikes, recommend good guides and do laundry. Prices drop by about 20% in the low season.
oDolidi Ndano TowaleBUNGALOW$$
(%0812 4523 9357; www.dolidi-ndano-towale.com; s/d incl breakfast 300,000/400,000Rp; W)
This beautifully designed, newly opened Dutch-managed place has lovely lakeside cottages, a wonderful location on a sandy beach, and is a great spot for kids. There's a jetty for waterside drinks and a fine restaurant with sweeping views. Tours of the lake and national parks can be arranged. It's 7km south of Tentena, down a bumpy access road. Profits aid the orphanage next door. Book ahead.
Siuri CottagesCOTTAGE$$
(%0852 4105 8225; [email protected]; cottages incl breakfast 250,000-350,000Rp)
Twenty kilometres from Tentena on the lakeside road to Pendolo, this isolated place is something of a time warp; its spacious, comfortable timber cottages are complete with original 1980s decor, and there's no wi-fi. However, its location on a lovely, unspoiled lakeside beach more than compensates for the lack of modernity. The staff is eager to please and there's western and local grub in the hotel's restaurant.
Call ahead and the owners will pick you up for free from Tentena; and if you stay a couple of nights, they'll drop you back there, too.
5Eating
After dark don’t miss trying the tasty pisang molen (banana fried in a sweet pastry), available at stalls in front of the eastern part of the bridge.
Ongga BaleSEAFOOD$
(h10am-9.30pm; W)
A large, well-organised restaurant on the main strip with tables by the lakeshore. Pick a fish from the pools, choose a sauce, order a beer and you're set. A large ikan bakar (grilled fish) will set you back around 45,000Rp.
Rumah Makan KawanaINDONESIAN$
(meals 12,000-22,000Rp; h8am-8pm)
For local specialities sugili (eel) and ikan mas (large goldfish), as well as spicy bat dishes, pull up a chair at one of the riverside rumah makan at the market near the bridge; the best is Rumah Makan Kawana.
8Information
Guides in Tentena all organise treks to Lore Lindu National Park and Morowali Nature Reserve. Dolidi Ndano Towale and Hotel Victory provide good recommendations. There are a few internet cafes and two ATMs in town.
8Getting There & Away
Bus & Bemo
You’ll need to catch an ojek (7000Rp) or organise a pick-up by your hotel to/from Tentena’s bus and bemo terminal, which is 3km from the town centre.
Note that there's a reduced service to Poso on Sundays.
BUSES & BEMOS FROM TENTENA
Destination Fare (Rp) Duration (hr) Frequency
Bomba (for Lore Lindu) 65,000 4 1 daily Mon-Sat
Palu 110,000 8 5 daily
Pendolo 32,000 2 frequent
Poso 38,000 2 every 2 hours
Rantepao 130,000 10 5 daily
Jeep
The availability and price of Jeeps to Gintu in Lore Lindu National Park depends on the condition of the road. Reckon on around 2,000,000Rp to charter one for a return day trip for up to four people. Dolidi Ndano Towale organises excellent three-day tours to Lore Lindu for 6,100,000Rp.
Poso
%0452 / Pop 49,300
Poso is the main town, port and terminal for road transport on the northern coast of Central Sulawesi. For years violence between Muslims and Christians made it a no-go zone but tensions have eased. However, there's still no reason to visit other than to catch a flight, change buses, or break up a trip to/from Ampana and the Togean Islands.
4Sleeping & Eating
New ArmadaHOTEL$
(%0452-23070; Jl Sumatera 117; r with shared bathroom 90,000Rp, private bathroom 165,000-200,000Rp)
Right on the main drag, this hotel has a wide selection of bland but clean rooms, all of them good value. No English is spoken.
Hotel Natuna PosoHOTEL$$
(%0813 5477 4446; Jl Natuna 1; r incl breakfast 200,000-350,000Rp, cottage incl breakfast 400,000Rp; aW)
This fine new place on a quiet suburban lane has spotless rooms and cute cottages, all with air-conditioning, good facilities and modern bathrooms. It's about 500m from Jl Sumatera.
Rumah Makan BundaINDONESIAN$
(Jl Tanjum Bulu; meals from 12,000Rp; h8am-9pm)
This modern place by a roundabout 1km north of the centre does all the Indo classics well, such as a mean nasi campur, as well as juices and coffee.
8Information
Most facilities, including ATMs, are on or near busy Jl Sumatera in the centre.
8Getting There & Away
Air
Poso's Kasiguncu airport, 15km west of town, is fast growing in popularity with travellers as flight connections multiply. Wings Air flies daily to Makassar (from 663,000Rp) and XpressAir connects Poso with Palu and Makassar.
Bus & Minibus
The bus terminal is about 5km out of town. There are plenty of ojek and bemos that will buzz you into central Poso for 5000Rp.
For Palu and Ampana, you can also catch the minibuses from offices along Jl Sumatera. Bemos to nearby villages and beaches leave from a terminal next to the market.
BUSES FROM POSO
Destination Fare (Rp) Duration (hr) Frequency
Ampana 75,000 5 5 daily
Kolonodale 120,000 8 8am daily
Manado 320,000 30 3 daily
Palu 80,000 6 7 daily
Tentena 38,000 2 every 2 hours
Around Poso
There are plenty of good places for swimming and snorkelling around Poso. Pantai Madale is a snork
elling spot 5km east; about 20km further east lies white-sand beach Pantai Matako; and Pantai Toini, 7km west of Poso, has a few rumah makan with great seafood.
Lembomawo village, 4km south of Poso, is renowned for its ebony wood carvers' workshops.
Destinations can be reached by bemo from Poso's market terminal.
Lore Lindu National Park
As if having a lush jungle filled with impressive hornbills and shy tarsiers weren’t enough, Lore Lindu is also famous for its megaliths (giant freestanding stones). Covering an area of 250,000 hectares, this remote national park, which is a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, has been barely touched by tourism. It’s a perfect place to seek out an off-the-beaten-path adventure, but take note that it's rough-going. Trips are best organised from Palu or Tentena and it's highly recommended that you hire a guide.
1Sights & Actvities
Attractions in the park include ancient megalithic relics, mostly in the Bada, Besoa and Napu Valleys; remote peaks, some more than 2500m high; and birdwatching, including the opportunity to spot hornbills, around Danua Tambing, the 3150-hectare lake Danau Lindu, the village of Wuasa and along the Anaso Track that leads to the top of 2300m-high Gunung Rore Kitimbu.
Hiking
Hikes (undertaken with a guide) include Rachmat to Danau Lindu (six hours one way) and Sadaunta to Danau Lindu (four hours one way).
The roads around Lore Lindu have improved in recent years and now many of the old hiking routes are used by motorbikes although even these tracks can get muddy and impassable in the rainy season. One of the best places to get into the jungle, where it's free of motor noise but rich in wildlife, is the trail between Doda and Gimpu (a two-day walk); but note there aren’t any megaliths on this route. Megalithic remains are found mostly along the motorbike road between Tonusu and Gimpu, via Tuare and Moa, or Doda and Hangirah. There are also megaliths to see along the road between Doda and Wuasa, which is accessible by car.
Bring mosquito repellent and sunblock lotion. You'll want warm clothes since it can get cold at night. Conversely, during the day it can get very hot, so you'll need to have plenty of water.
Guides
For long-distance trekking a guide is compulsory, and also necessary if you’re intent on finding the megaliths. An organised one-day visit from Tentena with a guide and vehicle (for up to four people) costs about 2,200,000Rp, and prices go up from there. The guides from Tentena speak English.
If travelling independently, arrange a guide at Kulawi, Wuasa, Bomba, Badu or at the tourist office or national park office in Palu. Guides start at 400,000Rp per day, but few speak much English.
4Sleeping
Losmen are spread around the fringes of the national park in several villages. Wuasa is the largest settlement and has several guesthouses. It makes a convenient base for those arriving from Palu, particularly for birdwatchers. There's electricity from 5pm to 10.30pm, mobile (cell) phone coverage and locals rent motorbikes for 100,000Rp per day.
Losmen Mona LisaGUESTHOUSE$
(%0853 4089 6417, 0821 9660 4295; Wuasa village; r incl all meals 180,000Rp )
The owner of this simple, well-presented place speaks English, prepares excellent food and can arrange birdwatching guides and motorbike hire.
RM & Penginapan SendyHOMESTAY$
(%0852 4120 7372, 0813 4106 5109; Wuasa village; s/d 100,000/130,000Rp)
This attractive homestay has seven tidy rooms with screen windows. It also has the added benefit of a good restaurant that serves filling meals (from 20,000Rp to 40,000Rp).
8Information
You can buy national-park entry permits (150 000Rp) at the small field office (which has no accommodation) at Wuasa, and at the Balai Taman Nasional Lore Lindu Office (%0451-457623; Jl Prof Mohammad Yamin SH) in Palu. Good information online can be found at the birdwatching website Burung Nusantara (www.burung-nusantara.org).
8Getting There & Away
There are three main approaches to the park: one from Tentena and two from Palu. From Palu buses and Kijang run all the way to Wuasa (105km, four hours) and Doda (132km, five hours) three times a day from Terminal Petobu along a paved road (parts are potholed). From Tentena there is a daily bus to Bomba (66km, four hours); you can also charter Jeeps, but these run according to demand and road conditions. Motorbikes and ojek are readily available in Wuasa, Gimpu, Doda and Bomba.
Palu
%0451 / Pop 351,000
Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi, is characterless but loaded with banks and supermarkets, and has a busy regional airport. It’s a good place to do errands if you're heading to/from Kalimantan or Lore Lindu National Park. Nearby is the rarely visited yet wonderfully quaint village of Dongalla and the beach area of Tanjung Karang. Situated in a rain shadow for most of the year, Palu is one of the driest places in Indonesia.
The best part of town to wander around is the busy Jl Hasanuddin II area.
Palu
4Sleeping
1Hotel Santika PaluB3
2Hotel SentralB3
3Purnama Raya HotelA2
4Rama Garden HotelB4
5Eating
5Mall Tatura PaluB4
6Restoran MarannuB2
4Sleeping & Eating
There are plenty of night warungs along the breezy seafront esplanade, Jl Raja Moili. If you like meat, Palu is famous for its kaledo (beef stew with bone marrow) restaurants; there are several on Jl Diponegoro.
Purnama Raya HotelGUESTHOUSE$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0451-423646; Jl Wahidin 4; s/d incl breakfast 75,000/100,000Rp; W)
This family-run place in the heart of Palu has basic rooms with fans and en-suite mandi. The owners are friendly and can help with onward transport.
Hotel Santika PaluHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.santika.com/santika-palu; Jl Hatta 18; r incl breakfast from 488,000Rp; aiWs)
A smart, well-run modern hotel where the rooms have good-quality mattresses and linen, and there's fast wi-fi; rooms on the upper floors have mountain vistas. Staff are helpful and the tariffs are good value.
Hotel SentralHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0451-422789; http://hotel-sentral.indonesiahotel24.com; Jl Monginsidi 71-73; r incl breakfast 258,000-555,000Rp; aiW)
A dependable place where even the cheapest rooms have satellite TVs and air-con, though the decor is a little tired. There’s a travel agent and an internet cafe here, and restaurants and a large supermarket are close by.
Rama Garden HotelHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0451-429500; www.hotelramagarden.com; Jl Monginsidi 81; r incl breakfast 260,000-600,000Rp; aWs)
This place is a garden of tranquillity inside, with winding paths, lots of plants and minilawn areas, plus a pool and a terrace dining area. Take a swim; order room service; and watch a movie.
Restoran MarannuCHINESE$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Setia Budi; mains 20,000-40,000Rp; h8am-10pm)
One of the smarter spots in town, the menu includes good soups such as coto Makassar (beef soup with offal and ground peanuts), tasty seafood and Chinese cuisine.
Kaledo StereoINDONESIAN$
( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Diponegoro; meals 25,000-50,000Rp; h8am-9pm)
This is perhaps the city's most famous kaledo restaurant, a bustling place where its beef stew is served in a bowl with a giant Fred Flintstone–style bone to chew on.
Mall Tatura PaluINDONESIAN, INTERNATIONAL$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Emmi Saelan; h8am-9.30pm; W)
Has a decent food court on the top level, as well as a few upmarket restaurants, cafes and a supermarket.
8Information
Balai Taman Nasional Lore Lindu OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0451-457623; www.lorelindu.info; Jl Prof Mohammad Yamin 53; h7.30am-4pm Mon-Fri)
Little English is spoken but staff does its best to help, and can set you up with guides for hiking and trekking in Lore Lindu National Park.
Police StationPOLICE
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0451-421015;
Jl Sam Ratulangi)
Rumah Sakit Umum Propinsi UndataHOSPITAL
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0451-421270; Jl Suharso; h24hr)
Large and reasonably well equipped hospital.
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%0451-455260; Jl Dewi Sartika 91; h8am-4pm Mon-Thu, to 3pm Fri)
Inconveniently located and hard to find, about 5km west of the centre; it has some information about Lore Lindu National Park.
8Getting There & Away
Air
Palu has a busy regional airport with flights to cities in Java, Kalimantan and other destinations in Sulawesi. Lion Air flies to Jakarta, Makassar, Balikpapan and Surabaya; Garuda flies to Jakarta and Makassar; XpressAir flies to Gorontalo, Luwuk, Manado and Poso; Sriwijaya Air flies to Balikpapan and Makassar; and Wings heads to Luwuk and Makassar.
Boat
Few travellers use them these days but there are Pelni ferry connections to East Kalimantan and Sulawesi ports, including boats to Balikpapan and Bitung. Ferries dock at Pantoloan, 22km north of Palu, which is accessible by shared taxi from Terminal Manonda in Palu, or by metered taxi (75,000Rp). The Pelni office ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0451-421696; Jl Kartini; h7.30am-noon & 1-4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat) in Palu is efficient; there’s another one at Pantoloan.
Lonely Planet Indonesia Page 131
