Minahasa Highlands | Tour Tondano and Tomohon
This is a full-day tour of the Minahasa volcanic highland area. The main destinations you can visit include: Waruga Ancient Sarcophagus, Traditional Markets, Mahawu Volcano, and Sulphur Lake Linow. There are also other destinations such as the Tondano Fish-farm, Polutan Pottery Village, The Pagoda & Waterfalls. However these destinations are optional as it depends on how much time you’d like to spend at each destination. It is possible to do all of them however, as a result we would be back at the resort quite late.
You can decide when and where to go, as well as how much time you’d like to spend at each destination.
Waruga Ancient Sarcophagus
This is a historical tour to Sawangan village where you can see remnants of 144 Waruga from the Megalithic age. Waruga’s are ancient sarcophagus (stone grave) of Minahasan ancestors.
A Waruga consists of a base stone, shaped into a square, where the corpses were put into. The corpses were put into a seating/squatting position with their face towards the north, and a headstone with a rooftop shape. Natural spices were slipped in between. North symbolizes the origin of Minahasan ancestors who derive from Mongolia. The engravings on the headstone depict the cause of death, the deceased’s hobby, character or occupation and the number of corpses inside.
During the 1870s Minahasan tribes started to replace Waruga with normal coffins due to the suspicion that diseases such as Typhus and Cholera would spread from the space between base stone and headstone of Waruga, along with Christian beliefs that mandated a burial. Among these 144 Waruga, there are a group of Waruga of the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Mongolians.
A small trivia: Queen Juliana, Prince Bernard, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands have visited this site.
You can also find out more about the Waruga in Wikipedia.
Traditional Markets
These are where markets where they often sell groceries, such as fruits, vegetables, spices and also other miscellaneous objects such as clothes, tools and more. In a separate section they also sell exotic meat such as bats, tree rats, python, dog, wild pig, etc. The meat section of the market is separate, and is something we can skip according to your preference.
Mahawu Volcano
The elongated Mahawu volcano lies immediately east of the Lokon-Empung volcano. Mahawu is capped by a 180-m-wide, 140-m-deep crater that contains a small crater lake, and has two pyroclastic cones on its northern flank. Less active than its neighbor, Lokon-Empung, Mahawu’s historical activity has been restricted to occasional small explosive eruptions recorded since 1789. In 1994, fumaroles, mudpots, and small geysers were observed along the shores of the greenish-colored crater lake.
There is a road that allows the car to go closer to the top of the volcano. From there it’s only a 15 minute walk along the stairs to the top, and another 10 minutes to walk halfway around the crater, to the highest peak. You’ll have a spectacular view over the caldera with the steaming and bubbling crater lake with sulphur scent. From the peak you can see Bunakan, Lembeh, Manado, the surrounding volcanos such as Lukon, Suputan and Klabat, granted there are no clouds. Pitcher plants are also plentiful here.
Sulphur Lake Linow
A sulfur lake that changes color, with rich thermal activity of fumaroles, sulphur steam and sulfur muds. It’s located near a restaurant and lounge area where often visitors go to. This is also where we would have lunch during the tour.
Here you can see quite often see hundreds of birds surrounding the lake. You can also approach the lake closer, as well as the sulphur deposits, if it is less active. This is quite a large area with a lot to see and scenic landscapes, and as such this is often the last destination in our tour.
Kali Waterfall, Tondano Fish-farm, The Pagoda, and Pulutan Pottery Village
These are some of the optional destinations available. Quite often the other aforementioned destinations above would take the whole day. Below are some destinations you could visit in addition or an as alternative.
Kali Waterfall: A very quaint double waterfall at Tomohon. It is a 20 minute trek to get there, and you’re rewarded with quite scenic waterfalls, and beautiful forests.
Tondano Fish-farm: A large vast traditional fish-farm, also quite scenic and a very authentic side of Indonesia that is worth visiting.
The Pagoda: One of the largest towers at Minahasa. On the peak you could see quite a vast view of Tomohon City and the surrounding mountains. It’s located in next to a Confucian temple.
Pulutan Village: A pottery village that specializes in making pottery. Very worth visiting if you’re interested in pottery.
When to go, and how is it organized?
As this tour is quite lengthy we recommend leaving the resort at early morning from 06:00 and latest at 09:00. From the resort you’ll be transported to the harbor with your guide, and there will be a driver to bring you to the destinations. You can decide where and when to go. Typically the order of the tour would go as:
- Depart from the resort around 07:00
- Warugas
- Traditional Markets in Tomohon
- Visit Mahawu Volcano
- Linow Sulphur Lake & Lunch
- Back to the resort around 18:00
Price
The Minahasa Highland Tour Includes: Guide, boat transport, car + driver, drinking water, snacks, fruits, and packed breakfast.
- Single person: IDR 1,890,000
- Two persons, per person: IDR 1,095,000
- Three persons, per person: IDR 850,000
What to wear/bring?
- drinking water, snacks, fruits, and packed breakfast (Optional, only if you’d like)
- extra T-shirt.
- Shoes/Sneakers would be ideal as there are some bushes at Mahawu Volcano
- mosquito repellent
Links
- You can also see the rates in EURO/USD in our Rates and Booking page.
- Google Maps location of the destinations of our Minahasa Tour:
Thank you for reading!
