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Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah, abbreviated Sulteng) is the province at the center of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia.

Location of Central Sulawesi

Cities

Map
Map of Central Sulawesi
  • 1 Palu - the capital
  • 2 Poso Poso on Wikipedia - market town wracked by interfaith violence, especially from 1998-2006.
  • 3 Ampana - Transit point
  • 4 Tentena
  • 5 Luwuk

Other destinations

Understand

Get in

By plane

There are airports in Palu (PLW IATA) (for Lake Poso and the central highlands), and Luwuk (LUW IATA) (for the Togian Islands, Morowali), with a reasonable number of domestic departures from Manado and Makassar.

By bus

From the south: buses leave Rantepao in Tana Toraja everyday around 09:00 (delays can be common), and stops at Tentena, Poso and Palu. The road is in a bad condition, with potholes being quite common. Therefore heavy delays can be expected. Try to get a seat on the more comfortable executive bus for this reason.

From the north: an overland bus route goes to Manado by Toli-Toli and Gorontalo, this is not very used by tourists though, as the Togian Islands is omitted on this route.

By boat

Small ferries arrive in Ampana from Wakai, the "capital" of the Togian Islands, every day apart from Sunday and Thursday. The 5-hour trip is not recommended for people prone to seasickness, but the scenery is very nice.

Get around

See

Do

Eat

Standard Indonesian fare in the warungs, very few "proper restaurants". The fish, and especially the eel from Lake Poso, can be delicious.

Bat: at least a few warungs in Tentena, down by Lake Poso, sell this local delicacy. It is extremely spicy, and quite bony, but must be tried.

Drink

Delicious coffee from Sulawesi is not only from Tana Toraja. In Central Sulawesi, there are two types of delicious coffee.

  • Toratima Coffee from Pipikoro District. A fermented coffee from bats, rats, and squirrels. But unlike luwak coffee which is fermented through the digestion, this coffee is from from these animals' vomit.
  • Sojol Coffee from Donggala Regency, Arabica type coffee.

Stay safe

As of 2017, the East Indonesia Mujahideen was launching attacks in the central town of Poso. Tourists were not targeted, but there were very few visitors in the area, anyway, and the police and military presence was very heavy.

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This region travel guide to Central Sulawesi is an outline and may need more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. If there are Cities and Other destinations listed, they may not all be at usable status or there may not be a valid regional structure and a "Get in" section describing all of the typical ways to get here. Please plunge forward and help it grow!