Eight great reasons to visit North Sulawesi right now

The Jakarta Post
The Jakarta Post
Published in
2 min readJul 2, 2019
A woman snorkels in North Sulawesi waters. (Shutterstock/soft_light)

If you’re looking for a nature-filled vacation this year, North Sulawesi, is the place to go.

The sparkling blue waters host two of the best places to go diving in Indonesia, and there are verdant national parks hosting primates found nowhere else on Earth.

Add to that a handful of top hikes and quiet beaches, and you can see why North Sulawesi is well worth exploring.

Best visited from March to October, now is the perfect time to pack your bags and discover this true Indonesian highlight.

Slow down and sink into the sands at Lembeh’s stunning beaches

Every holiday should start with relaxation time, and where better to slow down than on Lembeh Island.

This forest-covered island has a number of undeveloped beaches to discover; dotted around the coast and disappearing into clear turquoise waters.

Why not take a day or two to stroll the island, sink into the sands and listen to the sounds of nature all around you.

Your soul will thank you for it. Lembeh’s Pantai Kahona is a great place to start.

Explore Lembeh’s lush mangroves

When you’ve had your fill of quiet time on the beaches, take a walk or short boat tour through Lembeh’s lush Ekowisata Mangrove.

These mangroves are vital nurseries for numerous marine life species and support the impressive biodiversity Lembeh’s waters are famed for.

Be sure to look around the mangrove root systems to discover the wealth of wildlife hiding there.

Discover weird and wonderful critters in the vibrant Lembeh Strait

The Lembeh Strait is rightly known as the ‘muck diving capital of the world’ and is not to be missed for a glimpse of bizarre marine life you can only find here.

What is muck diving? It’s a type of diving where you search in rich black volcanic sand to find tiny and strange-looking critters you’ve likely never heard of.

The rewards of searching in the sands are well worth it, as you uncover some of the most sought-after species divers want to see.

Cute-looking pygmy seahorses are tucked in the corals, there are delicate ghost pipefish, whacky-looking frogfish and brightly-colored mantis shrimps.

Mantis shrimps are so powerful, the water around their fists boils when they strike prey.

Read more: Eight great reasons to visit North Sulawesi right now

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This article was written by Kathryn, a diver and writer with LiveAboard.com.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.

Originally published at https://www.thejakartapost.com.

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The Jakarta Post
The Jakarta Post

The only English language news source in Indonesia. Always bold, always independent.