Tomohon
Tomohon is a city in Northern Sulawesi. It is the fourth-largest city in the province of North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara), after Manado, Bitung, and Kotamobagu. Tomohon is south of Manado.
Districts
- North — Tinoor, Kinilow, Kakaskasen, Wailan, and Kayawu. The first area to be discovered in Tomohon from Manado. There is mat production, fruit and flowers vendors in several parts such as in Tinoor for fruits and Kakaskasen for flowers.
- Central — Talete, Kamasi, Kolongan, and Matani. Heart of Tomohon, centre of public activities, hospitals, and mayor office and city hall.
- West — Woloan and Tara-Tara. Traditional house (knockdown type) production, Woloan Ancient Park where Waruga, the ancient tombs are collected in one area, in the same area are nine springs.
- East — Paslaten, Rurukan, Kumelembuai. Vegetable farms on the slope of Mount Mahawu and Mount Masarang, and the famous Tomohon traditional market.
- South — Walian, Sarongsong, Pinaras, Lahendong. Hot-spring areas, the outstanding Lake Linow is located in Lahendong.
Understand
Tomohon is an important city in Northern Sulawesi. It is also a tourist hub due to its location amongst natural beauty. It lies between two volcanoes: Mount Mahawu and Mount Lokon. Due to the topography of the land it occupies, Tomohon city is shaped like a starfish, with long tentacles of human habitation and associated infrastructure visible from higher ground. Because of its position on the highland, Tomohon has a very mild climate, for which it is famous. The friendliness of its people is also well known in the region.
Religion
Most people in Tomohon are Christian. Christianity plays an important role in all aspects of life. The Tomohon Christian congregations are diligent church-goers; most are Calvinist Protestants. The locals were converted to Christianity during the long period of Dutch colonial rule. In addition to the Calvinists, there is also a Catholic congregation, which is the second biggest religious denomination in Tomohon. There are also other congregations from other denominations, such as Pentecostal, Adventist, and several minor denominations. Each congregation builds its own churches, which explains why there is a church every few hundred metres.
Holidays
Christian
During holiday times, the people will decorate their houses, the lanes, the streets, and so on with special themes. For example, during Christmas and New Year, festive ornaments can be easily found anywhere in Tomohon city. They normally say "the months which end in '-ber' are Christmas". All the celebrations end on kuncikan, which means 'closing day'.
Chinese
The Chinese in Tomohon celebrate the Chinese New Year, and the biggest festival is on the 15th day after Chinese New Year, called Cap Go Meh. There is a procession of calling the spirits of the Chinese Gods or Goddesses to possess mortal human bodies, and their idols are carried on sedan chairs from the temple around the city centre to bestow their blessings on believers. In this procession, the possessed mortal performs magical acts, such as piercing his own cheek with some solid and sharp stick from one side to the other, without any bleeding; a sword carrier hits his own back with a very sharp sword without injuring himself; and another cuts his own tongue without injuring himself. This procession usually attracts the attention of the whole city.
Islamic
There is a special community in Southern Tomohon, where Muslims live in a village called Kampung Jawa, meaning 'Javanese Village'. Idul Fitri and Ramadhan are celebrated there.
Culture
Tomohon is one of Minahasa tribe's regions. However, the Minahasa tribe is divided into several sub-tribes. Tomohon belongs to a sub-tribe called Tombulu. Pakasaan Tombulu spreads from Tombuluan in the east of Pineleng and Tombariri in the west, and from Tomohon in the south to Manado in the north. Pakasaan Tombulu speaks Tombulu language, Manado Malay, and Bahasa Indonesia. It is believed that Tomohon is the centre of Pakasaan Tombulu. Pakasaan Tombulu in Tomohon, especially those who live in the region of Kakaskasen have special customs that are still maintained up until today.
Get in
By plane
The nearest airport to Tomohon is Sam Ratulungi International in Manado MDC IATA, about 33 kilometres (21 miles), and can be reached in 1 hour via the Ring road, or 1½ hour via Manado. There are many airlines destination in this airport, from Jakarta, Makassar, Bali, Gorontalo, Tahuna, Ternate, Sorong, Singapore, Balikpapan, and several other minor cities. The airlines with route to Sam Ratulangi airport are Garuda Indonesia (the Indonesian flag carrier), Lion Air, Sriwijawa Air, Wings Air, along with several chartered airlines.
By ship
Tomohon is also reachable (indirectly) by ship, and the nearest harbour is Manado harbour for the provincial area, and Bitung harbour for national and international service. There are several ship route by PELNI berthing at Bitung harbour.
By bus
Tomohon is reachable also by public transport buses, or rental and taxi cars from cities in Sulawesi or Celebes Island, such as Makassar, Pare-Pare, Toraja, Poso, Tentena, Palu, Toli-Toli, Ampana, Gorontalo, Bitung, Kotamobagu, Manado, and other minor towns and cities. Bus terminals to Tomohon is from Tondano, Kawangkoan, and Manado, and destined to Terminal Beriman, Tomohon.
By car
Get a rental car direct from the airport on arrival. Cost around Rp 500,000 per day included driver, or self drive approximately Rp 300,000 per day, can be used for around Minahasa. For central information, tel: +62 852 4022 0620 or +62 431 892 979.
- Bluebird Taxi (Bluebird) (Manado to Tomohon, airport to Tomohon, and other areas), ☏ +62 431 861 234. Rp 100,000.
- Mikrolet Tomohon Tondano (AB), Terminal Tondano (Tondano-Tomohon-Tondano). 06:00 to 20:00. Rp 4,000.
- Mikrolet Tomohon Sonder (AC), Terminal Sonder (Sonder-Tomohon-Sonder). 07:00 to 19:00. Rp 3,500.
- Mikrolet Tomohon Tanawangko (AF), Terminal Tanawangko (Tanawangko-Tomohon-Tanawangko). 07:00 to 15:00. Rp 6,000.
- Bus Tomohon Manado, Terminal Karombasan, Manado - Terminal Beriman Tomohon (Manado-Tomohon-Manado). 05:00 to 20:00. Rp 6,000.
Get around
By mikrolet
There are several ways to get around the Tomohon area. The first one is by mikrolet. The mikrolet are the light blue Mitsubishi Colt (or similar), and can be found everywhere with various destinations. They operate on set routes with established fares, but also can be chartered when it is empty. The passenger seats in a mikrolet face forward, with maximum nine passengers. Some mikrolets are fully furnished with a small flatscreen TV, CD player, or music player, comfortable seats, and so on. All regular routes begin and end in the main terminal called Terminal Beriman (bus terminal).
By cart
Bendi is a local name for horse-drawn cart, and can be a second option to go around Tomohon. Just like mikrolet, bendi also operates on set limited routes. Only from Tomohon city centre to areas such as Matani, Walian, Kamasi, and Kolongan. This bendi is the old transportation along with cow cart called Roda Sapi. While bendi served for public transportation in the city, roda sapi served the route to the farm or rice fields. The fare for a trip by bendi is Rp 5,000 per person (as of October 2018), and can be chartered up to 4 hours to go around Tomohon area.
By ojek
Ojek is an Indonesian term for public motorbike taxi. The fares vary depending on the distance of a particular destination, but it usually starts from Rp 3,000 up to Rp 20,000. This Ojek can also be chartered daily. The chartered fare is around Rp 50,000 per day without fuel. By ojek, you can reach the places unreachable by mikrolet or bendi, even by rental cars.
By taxi
Daily in front of Bethesda Hospital, in the city centre, you can find many taxi cars queuing. They are called 'black taxi' or 'rental car'. The cars can be hired daily, weekly, monthly, and even annually. The fare rate varies between Rp 250,000 up to Rp 500,000 per day. The service can be include driver and fuel, or also without them.
See
As a cool highland, Tomohon has some very pleasant hiking and walking.
Mountains
Hills
- Tintingon Hill.
- Wawo Hill.
- Temboan Hill.
- Inspiration Hill (Bukit Inspirasi).
Waterfalls
- Tumimperas Waterfall.
- Tinoor Waterfall.
Religious buildings
- Bukit Doa Mahawu (Jalan Salib Mahawu), Jl. Lingkar Timur, Kakaskasen Dua, ☏ +62 431 335 8833. A quiet area for Christian pilgrimage. It has 'Via Dolorosa' at Mahawu (Jalan Salib Mahawu) to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ when he died on the cross. Inside the area is a Chapel of Virgin Mary, amphitheatre Mahawu, and man made grotto. All welcome. Rp 2,500 per person.
- Buddhayana Monastery, Sunge, Kakaskasen Tiga, ☏ +62 431 336 0881. A Buddhist religious and meditation complex. Chinese culture preserved in architecture of statues, Kwan Im goddess palace and pagoda. Religious service every Sunday 15:30. free.
- Pagoda and Buddhayana Temple.
Others
- 4 Linow Lake (Danau Linouw). A volcanic lake.
- Knockdown House Industry.
- Ancient Site and Amphitheatre Woloan.
- Palm Sugar Industry.
- Sony Art Gallery (Painting Gallery).
- Tomohon Market (Pasar Beriman). Traditional Market, Fresh Market, and Extreme Market (the latter is where they sell various exotic meat such as dogs, bats, snakes). It is called 'extreme" for a reason. If customer buys an animal alive, it will be slaughtered on the spot. Not for the faint-hearted. Come in the morning before 08:00 if you want to see the Extreme Market, it gets quiet after 10:00.
Do
- Bird watching. Several incredible birds can be found in Mount Mahawu and Mount Lokon in Tomohon and in the other parts of North Sulawesi, such as Rufus Bellied Eagle; Brown Cuckoo Dove; Mountain White Eye; Dark Fronted White Eye; Scarlet Honey-eater; Crimson Crowned Flowerpecker; Sulawesi Spotted Goshawk; Sulawesi Serpent Eagle; Bay Coucal; Yellow Bellied Malkoha; Superb Fruit Dove; Citrine Flycatcher; Streaky Headed White Eye; Grey Sided Flowerpecker; Island Verditer; Sulawesi Dwarf Woodpecker; Mountain Tailorbird; White Browed Crake; Cinnamon Bittern; Scaly Breasted Munia; Cinnamon Munia; Little Egret; Wandering Whistling Duck; Ziting Cisticola; Lesser Coucal; Glamorous Reed Warbler; Javan Pond Heron; Black Kite; Bhraminy Kite; Blue Breasted Quail.
Buy
- 1 Grand Central Supermarket, Jl. Raya Tomohon. 09:00 to 21:00. The first supermarket in Tomohon, very close to Bethesda Hospital. Selling many kinds of daily needs as well as fashion, computer, multimedia, and so on.
- Cool Supermarket, Jl. Raya Tomohon, Walian - Tomohon Selatan. 09:00 to 21:00. Very nice supermarket in southern Tomohon. Selling many kinds of daily needs such as vegetables, herbs, fruits, and the other stuffs, as well as fashion, books, mechanical tools.
- Century Supermarket, Jl. Raya Tomohon.
- 2 Multi Mart Tomohon. A popular supermarket chain with restaurants and arcade on the upper floor.
- 3 Tomohon Market (Pasar Beriman Tomohon), Pasar Tomohon (Next to the Bus Station). 05:00 to 14:00. Sell various kinds of vegetables, meat, spices, herbs, fish, meats, fruits, flowers, clothes. Comprises of the Fresh Market, Traditional Market, and Extreme Market (where they sell various exotic meat such as dogs, bats, snakes).
- Gecko Art, Jl. Raya Tomohon, Kinilow (Near the intersection to Onong Palace and Highland Resort). 09:00 to 17:00. This is one of the souvenir shops in Tomohon. Various kinds of souvenirs are displayed in this small shops. From Rp 20,000.
- BLPT Kaaten, Jl. Raya Tomohon Tondano, Kaaten (Beside the road to Tondano). 09:00 to 15:00. Locates in Kaaten, Matani 1 - Central Tomohon, BLPT is a coconut wood and arenga palm production. They make various kinds of furniture such as tables, chairs, desk, cupboards, beds, and small items like toys, and also knockdown houses from coconut wood. Rp 20,000 to Rp 500,000,000.
Eat
Tomohon is very famous for Minahasan cuisine. Minahasan food or Manadonese food is usually very spicy. Among Indonesian cuisine, Minahasan cuisine is one of the spiciest cuisines. Traveler must pay attention to what they are asking in the restaurant. If you are not accustomed to spicy food, you will have to communicate with the waiter or waitress.
Check out the Tomohon Culinary Centre (Pusat Kuliner Tomohon) at Jalan Nusantara, about 12 minutes walk away from the Tomohon Market.
Cuisine
Appetiser
- Sup Ubi / Bete - is a very tasty home-cooking for appetiser. It is made by xanthosoma root with edible hibiscus leaves and or water spinach leaves.
- Braunebonen - literally 'red bean' soup. Cooked either with cow bones or pig legs, with herbs such as clove, nutmeg, white pepper. The Minahasan likes to eat this together with rice.
- Sup Kacang Ijo - literally 'green bean' soup. The preparation is very similar with braunebonen.
- Kua Asam / Kua trang - sour soup or clear soup. The local people has a riddle about this food. "Salt from the sea and sour from the mountains meets together in a pan, what is that?" - and the answer is sour soup, because it's made by several herbs such as spring onion, lemon leaves, lemon basil, tomatoes, a little bit chilli, red ginger, and fish with little bit salt and lime. Very tasty.
- Sup kentang - 'potato soup' cooked in pasta such as macaroni or rice vermicelli.
Main course
- Tinorangsak, pork cooked with herbs such as spring onion, lemon leaves, lemon grass, chilli, and other kinds of herbs; it is cooked in bamboo. Several prepare it using frying pan.
- RW /err weh/, dog meat cooked with chilli, lemon grass, lemon leaves, spring onion, and other kinds of herbs. 'RW' is the common abbreviation for Rintek Wu'uk in the Minahasan dialect, which translates to 'fine hair', a euphemism for dog meat.
- Paniki, bat cooked in coconut milk with spicy herbs.
- Paku Popaya Bulu, vegetables of edible fern and papaya leaves (sometimes with flowers too), cooked in bamboo with spices and herbs. Some people like to add salty pork fat.
- Ayam Bulu, chicken cooked in bamboo.
- Ayam Bumbu RW, chicken cooked with spices for RW.
- Bebek Bumbu RW, duck cooked with spices for RW.
- Ragey, a chunky pork satay marinated with spices.
- Bebek Bulu, duck cooked in bamboo.
- Ayam Garo, literally means scratching chicken, because the preparation is a fast mixing of the herbs and spices on the frying pan similar to scratching it. This food is categorised as spicy food because of the amount of chilli.
- Babi Garo, literally means scratching pork, the process is similar to Ayam Garo.
- Babi Tore, literally means crisp pork.
- Kapala Babi, literally means pig head; it is pig head boiled in spiced soup.
- Acar, made of young bamboo, carrots, cucumber, peanut, herbs, and other spices such as turmeric and onion.
- Ikan Woku Blanga, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It is called blanga because it's prepared by using frying pan.
- Ikan Woku Daong, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It is called daong because it's prepared by using palm leaves called woka.
- Ikan Woku Kring, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It's called kring because it's prepared with less water, and when it's cooked, we can barely see any soup in it.
- Mie Loba, noodle soup with shredded pork.
- Rica Rodo, made of corn, aubergine (egg plant), long bean with spicy herbs, chilli, and smoked fish.
- Sate Kolombi, freshwater snail satay.
- Sayor Pusu' made of fluorescent or banana heart, cooked with entrails of animals, normally chicken or pork, such as intestine, heart, and liver.
Dessert
- Buah segar - literally 'fresh fruit', it is prepared from various kind of fruits, but mainly papaya, apple, avocado, pudding or gel, young coconut, rambutan, longan, and soursop in syrupy and milky water.
- Es braunebon - 'red bean ice', prepared from red bean cooked in traditional made of palm sugar and then later mixed with blended ice and sweetened condensed milk.
- Es Kacang Susu - 'milk and peanut ice', prepared from peanut and served like 'red bean ice'.
- Gohu - prepared from chopping papaya with spicy syrup containing red ginger, chilli, vinegar (palm vinegar is better), sugar (brown sugar is better), onion. The locals like to add more chilli.
- Klapertaart - literally 'coconut tart', prepared from young coconut mixed with milk, eggs, maize flavour, sugar, and raisin, and frozen in the fridge.
Minahasan biscuits
- Kukis Kalapa, literally means 'coconut cookie', made of unripe coconut, rice flavour, and brown sugar.
- Binyolos, made of sweet potato and brown sugar.
- Onde-Onde, made of rice flavour and brown sugar, after cooked it is rolled on grated coconut. It is good to have it while it's still warm. but be careful not to eat it while it's still fresh from the boiling pan. It can be very tricky that the outside could be cool while the inside is injuriously hot. The other variant is Onde-Onde Pulo, the difference between this two are the type of the rice. Onde-onde Pulo is made by sticky rice flavour.
- Cucur, made of rice flavour and brown sugar, some people put anise or aniseed. Curut, Apang, Apang Coe, Apang Polote, Nasi Jaha, Dodol, Bobengka, Ongol-Ongol, Geto', Gabin Fla, Biapong, etc.
Restaurants
- 1 Gloria, ☏ +62 43 135 2841. The best pig ribs in the city. A full meal of white rice, 3 pig ribs (costellata), braunebonen (red beans) soup and vegetable only cost Rp 15,000.
- 2 Kobong Cafe, Jl. Raya Tomohon.
- 3 Kit Sang Restaurant, Jl. Raya Tomohon.
- 4 Restaurant Sineleyan, Jl. Raya Tomohon.
- Risoma Restaruant (Restoran Risoma), Jl. Raya Tomohon - Manado, Tinoor (On the way to Manado). 11:00 to 21:00. The best Minahasan cuisine. It is located out of Tomohon city, and unfortunately the restaurant is hard to achieve just by microlet service. The menu includes Pangi, Acar, Tinorangsak (pork cooked in bamboo), RW (dogmeat), Paniki (fruit bat meat), Braunebonen (red bean soup), Sayor pait (bitter vegetable), and many more. Rp 20,000 per person.
- 5 Heng Mien Restaurant (Restoran Heng Mien), Jl. Raya Tomohon Manado, Tinoor (On the way to Manado). 10:00 to 22:00. The famous Minahasan cuisine restaurant in Tomohon. Unfortunaley, this restaurant is also located out of Tomohon city on the road to Manado. The menu are almost all the famous of the Minahasan cuisine such as RW, Paniki, Pangi, Sayor Pait, Acar, and so on. To get here, you can charter a mikrolet, the fare starts from Rp 75,000 per trip, or ask the hotel to arrange the dinner here. Rp 20,000 per person.
- 6 RM Mie Pangsit Mas Topan Arema, Jl. Babe Palar Jalan, Walian. M-Sa 09:00-21:00. A famous Javanese restaurant in Tomohon. It served mie ayam, bakso Malang, nasi goreng, tahu telor and so on. Around Rp20,000.
Drink
Cap Tikus and Saguer are two kinds of famous drink in Tomohon. Cap Tikus is distilled beverage from sap, while Saguer is the sap harvested from palm tree. Saguer has several tastes that are sweet, sour, bitter, sweet and sour, sweet and bitter, bitter and sour, depending on how it is made.
There is also a certain kind of drink called Sukur, made of red ginger cooked with traditionally-made brown sugar in a clay pot.
Sleep
- Gardenia Country Inn Tomohon. About 30 minutes from Manado centre, this countryside inn has bungalows, chalets, and standard rooms. Rates start at US$88 for a single bed in the chalet, including free breakfast, welcome drink, a fruit basket, mineral water, tea and coffee in your room, afternoon tea and coffee with traditional snacks, and free Wi-Fi. It has a garden with fish ponds, tropical flowers and plants, along with unique birds and butterflies give it the feel of an environmental sanctuary. In another part of the garden, you will find different organic crops like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot, tropical exotic fruits, and local herbs like basil, chilies, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, and so on, which is used by the kitchen there.
- 1 Highland Resort Tomohon (Highland Resort and Spa), Kinilow Jaga VI, ☏ +62 431 353 333, +62 431 353 888, mail@highlandresort.info. Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 14:00. Right outside of Tomohon city and a 400 metres (1,300 feet) walk from the main road. There are five types of rooms: Standard, Superior, Deluxe, Highland Suite, and Highland Grand Suite. All have private bathrooms with hot and cold water showers. Other amenities that are provided for your comfort in all our rooms are satellite TVs and large, comfortable beds. Free internet. Tour arrangement from highland tour to volcano trekking and whitewater rafting. from Rp 340,000.
- Mountain View Homestay, Jl. Raya Tomohon, Walian Tomohon Selatan (In front of Cool Supermarket), ☏ +62 431 353 423. It is a 15 minute ride on a public Microlet from Terminal Beriman Tomohon, and in front of Cool Supermarket. The homestay or inn have hot and cold shower. Mobile contact +62 813 4036 3553 Rp 100,000 to Rp 175,000.
- Onong Palace, Kinilow, ☏ +62 812 442 3362. A ten minute walk from the Highland Resort. The bungalows are spaced further apart from each other than the Highland Resort and are also quite new. Rp 250,000 per night.
- Volcano Resort. Five minute ride on a public mikrolet from the Terminal, and a five minute walk off the main street. Or you can charter a mikrolet for about Rp 15,000. Wooden bungalows with attached cold showers cost Rp 200,000 per night. Economy double rooms are Rp 100,000. Includes breakfast. Rp 100,000 to Rp 200,000.
- 2 Mountain View Resort & Spa (Mountain View Resort & Resto), Jalan Kali-Kinilow, Lingkungan VI, Tomohon Utara 95362 (from Manado 30 minutes by car), ☏ +62 431 315 8666, resortmountainview@yahoo.com. Check-in: 13:00, check-out: 12:00. This mountain resort features 12 traditional bungalows: double and twin bed, bathroom with western toilet, hot water shower and terrace. Flatscreen television, free Wi-Fi and mineral water. Own spa with several wellness treatments. The restaurant serves specialties from the Minahasa highland, as well as Indonesian, Chinese, and western dishes. Try the home-made Mountain View Grog. They offer an early-bird breakfast if you have a morning flight to your next destination. The resort is run by German management, and offers a wide range of tours into the area, as well as rafting and kayaking trips, caving, volcano trekking, waterfall tours, horseback riding, mountain biking, birding, cooking classes, ... from Rp 375,000.
Go next
There are daily flights from Manado to several cities in Indonesia, and Tomohon is only 33 kilometres (21 miles) from the Sam Ratulangi International Airport.
- Manado
- Bitung via Tondano or Manado and to Bitung harbour and Lembeh Island
- Bitung Harbo for travel by ship to Eastern Indonesia such as Maluku and Papua, also to Central Sulawesi and South East Sulawesi
- Tangkoko National Park
- Pulisan
You also can reach other destinations in the main areas of North Sulawesi.
- 1 Lake Tondano, Rental Car Service | Kakaskasen - Tomohon Utara (via Kawangkoan and Langowan), ☏ +62 819 404 7804. Lake Tondano is approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) from Tomohon. To reach the lake, you can hire a motorbike starting from Rp 50,000 to Rp 75,000 per day, or chartered a mikrolet from Rp 125,000 to Rp 150,000 per day, or if preferred, extra privacy and comfortable someone can rent a car for Rp 250,000 to Rp 350,000 per day. Call the phone number above or send text message for more information.
- 2 Mount Soputan (Gunung Soputan), Tombatu (via Langowan), ☏ +62 431 348 8659. start from 08:00. Mount Soputan is also reachable from Tomohon, it is about 2 hours of driving to the southern area of Minahasa. If you wish to go to Mount Soputan, you have to plan the trip very carefully. It is better to hire a guide who know the area very well. Mount Soputan is one of the most active volcano in the region, even in Indonesia. €50 per person.
- Bentenan Beach.
- Nimanga River.
- Hill of Love, Kawangkoan (Bukit Kasih).
- Batu Pinabetengan.