Situated at the crossroads of strategic sea-lanes steeped in history, the province of South Sulawesi consists of the narrow southwestern peninsula of this mountainous, orchid-shaped island. The capital and chief trading port, Makassar, is still the gateway to eastern Indonesia.
Spanish and Portuguese galleons, followed by British and Dutch traders, sailed these seas In search of the spice trade, escorted by their Men-of-War to protect them from the daring raids of the Bugis and Makassar pirates. Famed for their seafaring culture, the Bugis are still the driving force behind the world's last commercial sailing fleet. Bugis vessels have sailed as far as Australia, leaving behind images of their ships carved in stone, and Bugis words which were integrated into the Aboriginal language of northern Australia.
The seafaring Bugis dominate the southern tip of Sulawesi, but in the rugged and remarkable country further north is Tana Toraja, often referred to as the "Land of the Heavenly Kings". The traditional culture of the Torajans rivals any in the archipelago, making this area one of the most popular tourist destinations in Indonesia.
Toraja offers a pleasant and refreshing climate. You can sit outside your hotel in the evenings or mornings and enjoy the crisp air, especially higher up in the mountains in places like Batu'tumonga. Like in the rest of Indonesia, Toraja has two main seasons: a wet and a dry monsoon. The first one lasts from December through March, while the second starts in June and ends in September, The periods in between are considered transitional periods. Typical weather for the dry monsoon is sunshine throughout the day with occasional short rainy spells.
The wet monsoon, in general, offers sunshine in the morning with long spells of rain every day that start after 2 PM. When it is raining, it usually gets chilly and it is best to have one's jumper or jacket ready. The maximum temperature on record is 26•C and the minimum temperature is 14•C. However, temperatures have been noticed to be higher during the extremely long period of draught in 1997, and the following wet monsoon with rainfall for days on end.
The monsoons are known to be as whimful as the seasons in the west...
Sulawesi has many interesting things to do and see for foreign tourists and there are lots of tour and travel companies ready to arrange everything to make the trip enjoyable, with friendly knowledgeable tour guides for large or small groups. Toraja Land in South Sulawesi is probably the most interesting and unusual destination and even though it is about 7 hours drive on reasonable roads from the airport in Makassar, there are lots of hotels and tourist facilities in there. Tourist numbers have dropped off since the crisis and the various troubles from 1998 to 2003, but recently numbers have picked up again and the local tour guides have been polishing up their performances.
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