Minahasa Highland Tour: Hiking in the Mountains, through the villages and farmland

Minahasa highland is a beautiful destination for visitors who love nature. The best way to explore it is by taking a hiking tour that allows participants to see its mountains, villages and farmlands. To take this tour, visitors need to fly from their countries to Manado city which is the capital of North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. 

From Manado city, visitors could continue their trip, accompanied by local guides, to Tomohon town which is the main gate for exploring Minahasa land. 

Rice field in Subdistrict Sonder of Minahasa

The first place that we could visit is Mount Mahawu. It can be reached by car from Tomohon in around 30 minutes of less. After that visitors could start walking up the slopes to the edge of the crater. In the morning fog still covers the crater. The temperature is quite cold. The wind is often strong at this high elevation area. From the top of the volcano, visitors could see the other mountains of Minahasa such as Mount Lokon, Mount Klabat, Mount Soputan and Mount Dua Sudara. Some part of Tondano town and its lake could also be seen. After enjoying the beautiful landscape of Minahasa peninsula, visitors could walk down the slope while watching birds and butterflies that thrive in the rainforest. 

The trip could be continued to Sonder where visitors could enjoy hiking through forest, farmland and villages between Tomohon and Sonder. 

Between Tomohon and Subdistrict town of Sonder, there are villages. Hiking down the slopes on certain part of the road allows visitors to see the beautiful landscape of Minahasa highland, and the agricultural crops that grow on both sides of the road and interact with local villagers. 

Agricultural crops in Minahasa highland

Villagers grow clove, aren tree, rambutan, coconut, durian, duku, banana, avocado, and a lot of other food crops in their farmland. Corn, peanut, green bean, sweet potato, rice, as well as vegetable plants economically support the livelihood of the Minahasan farmers.

The grain and fruit crops attract animals such as birds. So, visitors who explore the highland of Minahasa by hiking through its farmland and villages will be able to watch birds along the way. 

If you are interested in taking a hiking tour in Minahasa highland, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Minahasa Highland Tour: Birdwatching in Tomohon and Sonder

Sulawesi island in Indonesia is considered as one of the most popular destinations for visitors who are keen on birdwatching. There are 169 species of birds that are endemic to Sulawesi island. It is the highest in Indonesia. 

Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Yellow-billed Malkoha, White-browed Crake, Crimson Sunbird, Sahul Sunbird

Minahasa highland, located in the Province of  North Sulawesi, has got a number of places which visitors can go to enjoy birdwatching. One of them is Mount Mahawu. Its forest is the habitat of such birds as Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Sulawesi Myzomela, Warbling White-eye, Crimson Sunbird, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Superb Fruit-dove, and etc. 

Birding activity could carried out early in the morning at 06:00. However, fog often covers the top area of the volcano until around 07:00. So, the recommended time to start morning birding in Mount Mahawu is around 07:00 or 07:30 when the fog has disappeared. Another birding site in Minahasa highland is Lake Linow. This volcanogenic lake is the habitat of a lot of water birds including White-breasted Waterhen, Javan Pond Heron, Little Egret, Eastern Cattle Egret, Barn Swallow, Sunda Teal, Wood Sandpiper, Australasian Swamphen, White-breasted Waterhen, Barred Rail, Isabelline Bush-hen, Collared Kingfisher and etc.

Warbling White-eye

After exploring birding sites in Tomohon, we could continue our trip to Sonder. The higher elevation forest of Mount Lengkoan is the habitat of a lot of interesting species of birds such as Sulawesi Drongo, Sulawesi Bush Warbler, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, White-faced Cuckoo-dove, Black-crowned White-eye, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Sulawesi Myzomela, Pygmy Woodpecker, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Pygmy Hanging Parrot, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Black Kite, Sulawesi Scops Owl, and etc. 

Pygmy Woodpeckee

Sonder is surrounded by agricultural area which is a good site to watch Finch-billed Myna, Bay Coucal, Hair-crested Drongo (white-eyed), Black-naped Oriole, Zebra Dove, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Pale Blue Monarch, Chestnut Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia, Black-faced Munia, White-breasted Woodswallow, and etc.

The slopes between Tomohon and Sonder are covered by forest and agricultural plants. They are the habitat of Bay Coucal, Hair-crested Drongo (white-eyed), Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Pygmy Woodpecker, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Black-billed Koel, Collared Kingfisher, and etc. Visitors could explore the slope by walking along the roadside. The best time for roadsode birding is early in the morning at around 06:00. 

How to get to Tomohon?

Tomohon is a town in Minahasa highland. It can be reached by car from the airport of Manado city in about 1 hour. Visitors need to fly from their country to Manado city. There is direct flight from Singapore to Manado. There is also direct flight from Guangzhou to Manado city. Every day there are regular flights between Manado city and some major Indonesian cities. They are served by Garuda, Citilink, Lion Air, Batik Air, and TransNusa.

Flight routes from some Indonesian cities to Manado

Road that connects Manado city - Tomohon and Sonder

If you are interested in taking a Minahasa highland tour with emphasis on birdwatching, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.