Sulawesi Holidays
Let's Explore the hidden paradise of the archipelago, Sulawesi. Sulawesi, an orchid shape island in the middle of the country, has stunning scenery and weird wildlife. Sulawesi’s amazing story began 40-million years ago when a
northward moving Australian plate crashed into the Asian plate creating the
eastern portion of the land mass. Eastern Sulawesi continued to move northward
until it collided with western Sulawesi about 15-million years ago. This
tetonic scrum created the world’s most bizarre shaped island and resulted in
mind-boggling biodiversity. As each plate carried with it different flora and
fauna, Sulawesi became like nowhere else on earth.
This mixing of plants and animals created a biological
transition zone between Australia and Asia called Wallacea, named after Alfred
Russel Wallace the great naturalist that made the discovery and inspired
Charles Darwin in his theory of evolution. Sulawesi is the largest island in
Wallacea and has one of the highest levels of species endemism in the world. Of
the known Sulawesi fauna, 62% mammal, 27% bird, 32% reptile and 76% amphibian
species are found here and nowhere else.
Sulawesi’s mega-diversity is by no means restricted to the
land. The marine waters off the northeastern tip of the island are considered
the global epicenter of marine biodiversity with higher concentrations of
marine life than the Great Barrier Reef. The five islands that make up Bunaken
National Park alone are home to over 1500 species of fish and 300 species of
coral. There are even coelacanth in these waters. This 360 million year old
relic of the “great age of fish” in the Paleozoic era was thought to be extinct
for the past 65 million years. In 1997, a tourist couple saw a coelacanth in a
Manado fish market. Since that time, fishermen in Manado Bay have caught
several more of these living fossil fish.
Interesting Fact about Sulawesi
- Sulawesi is formerly known as "Celebes"
- The Portuguese were the first to refer to Sulawesi island as 'Celebes'. It means "hard to reach".
- Covering an area of 174,600 km2 (67,413 sq mi), Sulawesi is the world's eleventh-largest island.
- It is the fourth largest island in Indonesia, after Sumatera, Kalimantan, and Papua.
- Sulawesi has the third largest population in Indonesia. In 2010, it has a popullation of 17,359,416
- The highest elevation in Sulawesi is the Rantemario Peak at 3,478 m (11,411 ft). Rantemario peak is located in Enrekang Regency near the Toraja Land, South Sulawesi
- There are six provinces in Sulawesi: South Sulawesi, South East Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Gorontalo and North Sulawesi
- There are 8 ethnic groups originated from the Sulawesi: Bajau, Mogondow, Makassar, Bugis, Mandar, Toraja, Gorontalo and Minahasa
- There are 8 National Parks in Sulawesi: Bunaken, Bogani Nani Wartabone, Lore Lindu, Bantimurung-Bulusaraung, Togean Islands,Rawa Aopa Watumohai, Taka BoneRate, and Wakatobi
- Sulawesi is part of Wallacea, meaning that it has a mix of both Asian and Australasian species.
- There are 79 endemic mammalian species in Sulawesi that are found nowhere else in the world e.g. Anoa (dwarf buffalo), BabiRusa (aberrant pigs), and Tarsiers (the smallest primate)
- Sulawesi is the world's most strangely formed island with an incredible diversity of people, cultures and landscapes.
- North Sulawesi is the epicenter of World Coral Triangle
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