Sonder is a small subdistrict town in Minahasa regency of Indonesia. It is surrounded by agricultural land, wet rice field, forest, and rivers. The best way to explore Sonder is by walking through its land and villages. There are 19 villages in Subdistrict Sonder. All of them have got their own unique natural attractions. There are several interesting sites for hiking, sightseeing, birding and butterfly watching in Sonder. The hill road that connects villages between Tomohon town and Sonder can be explored on foot expecially early in the morning. Along the road, tour participants could see teakwood, pine, jackfruit, coconut and durian trees. Villagers also grow food crops such as red bean, cabbage, banana. There are bamboo plants too.
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| Hiking Road between Tomohon and Sonder |
Food crops provide food not only for human but also animals especially birds. When visitors along the roadside, they could various species of birds such as Black-naped Oriole, Hair-crested Drongo, Black-billed Koel, Collared Kingfisher, Bay Coucal, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Sahul Sunbird, Barred Rail, Sulawesi Crow, and etc.
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| Bay Coucal |
Tour participants need good binoculars to watch these birds. The standard sizes are 8×42 mm, 10×42 mm and 10×50 mm. Famous brands such as Nikon, Swarovski, Leica can be bought through stores that provide equipment for outdoor activities. If tour participants are interested in birdwatching, a spotting scope that is mounted on a tripod will also be needed.
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| Collared Kingfisher |
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| Hair-crested Drongo |
For tour participants whose hobby is taking pictures of plants and animals for social media, the most affordable device will be bridge camera. There are Nikon P1000, Canon SX70HS. Photographers usually bring heavier D-SLR or mirrorless cameras with telephoto lenses.
Hiking and birding in higher elevation forest will allow tour participants to see more tropical birds of Sulawesi such as Sulawesi Myzomela, Black-crowned White-eye, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Sulawesi Bush Warbler, and etc.
Subdistrict Sonder also has got wet paddy fields areas. They are the habitat of grass birds and water birds such as White-browed Crake, Buff-banded Rail, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Purple Heron, Scaly-breasted Munia, Chestnut Munia, Black-faced Munia, and etc.
The duration of hiking, birding, butterfly watching in Minahasa highland is usually 3 to 4 days. This tour also includes walking tours in the villages to see the local Minahasan people live in their daily life.
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| Sonder of Minahasa highland |
Booking
If you are interested in taking this hiking tour in Minahasa highland and want me (Charles Roring) to organize your tours, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
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