Magnificent coral gardens and a multitude of
Tropical marine life defend coastlines of virgin-white beaches
in the north of the or chid shaped island of Sulawesi. Mountains
and volcanoes dominate the landscape with over 50 summits,
some of which are still active, reminding the islanders
and the world of the potential power of one of the earth's
most awesome forces.
The people of North Sulawesi can be classified
into four groups; Minahasa, Bolaang Mongondow, Gorontalo
and the SangirTalaud. The Minahasans are centered around
the Provincial capital of Manado, but the entire province
has a strong tradition of trade and contact with the outside
world. The Sangir-Talaud islands, to the north of the mainland,
form a natural bridge to the Philippines providing a convenient
route for peoples and cultures to easily move between Indonesia
and the Philippines, and many traces of Filipino culture
can still be found here. The Dutch, however, have had the
most influential effect on the development of the area.
Apart from introducing a strong political and religious
structure, the Filipinos encouraged the local populations
to raise coconuts, for copra, and nutmeg. Today the main
industries of the province are copra and cloves. North Sulawesi
has a larger concentration of coconut trees than anywhere
else in Indonesia.
First contacts with European traders came in
the 1 6th century with the arrival of the Spanish and Portuguese
and with them they brought Christianity. It wasn't until
the arrival of the Dutch, however, that Christianity became
the predominant religion of the area with the western parts
of the province of Bolaang Mongondow and Gorontalo remaining
as small Muslim principalities until the turn of the century.
The provincial capital of Manado is one of the
international gateways into Indonesia. Regular flights to
all parts of the Indonesian archipelago service this beautiful
town as well as the smaller airports of Gorontalo, Tahuna
and Talaud. Manado's main attractions are off-shore, however,
with truly amazing coral reefs off nearby Bunaken island
which are now a protected Marine Park and offer some of
the best diving and snorkeling in the world
