Discover Minahasa Package Tour (4 days / 3 nights)

This is the perfect choice for first-timers to get to know Manado and Minahasa, the “Land of Smiling People”, with tours showcasing nature, wildlife, history, culture, and the people of Minahasa. Choose between a Tangkoko Day Tour with an overnight stay at your resort in Tomohon and a Tangkoko Overnight Tour with an overnight stay at a simple homestay in Tangkoko on day 1.

Day 01: Arrival, Tangkoko Day Tour (L,D)

12:00 depart from Manado City or the airport to Tangkoko Nature Reserve. The 2 hours trip to this 9,000-hectare nature reserve is quite scenic as we pass on small villages. Lunch is served in a local restaurant en route.

At the Nature Reserve, you will be guided by a forest ranger and Safari staff in search of the Macaca Nigra (black crested macaques indigenous to North Sulawesi), hornbills, couscous, Tarsier tarsier (one of the world’s smallest primates), as well as other fauna specific to the reserve. After the sun sets, we will have dinner at a local homestay near Tangkoko. After dinner, we will drive to your chosen resort in Tomohon, in the Minahasa Highland, for your overnight stay.

(Alternative Tangkoko Overnight Tour: When the tarsiers have departed for their nightly foraging, we head to a homestay for dinner and overnight.)

Day 02: Minahasa Highland Tour (B, L, D)

(Alternative Tangkoko Overnight Tour: Early morning, we will again hike into the forest to view more birds and the Macaca Nigra as these monkeys are early risers and are searching for food along the coastline of Tangkoko. After several hours we head back to the homestay for breakfast and prepare to go to the Minahasa Highland.)

Breakfast at the resort.

08.00 Leaving the resort, we first stop at Pagoda Ekayana in the village of Kakaskasen. A place of worship for Buddhists, the pagoda also welcomes visitors to admire its architecture that blends well with the surrounding nature. Afterwards, we proceed to see the traditional food & flower market in Tomohon and to the small village of Woloan to see the Minahasan traditional-style houses being built, knockdown style, ready for delivery or shipping. We will have lunch at Tondano Lake while enjoying the serenity of the lake and its surrounding hills. After lunch, we drive to Pulutan Village, an industrial village for pottery-making. As we start back to your resort, the Bentenan weaving workshop is a must to visit and see the local weaving traditions being practiced.

Dinner and overnight at the resort.

Day 03: Mahawu Volcano Tour (B, L, D)

Breakfast at Resort.

08:00 We leave the resort heading to Mount Mahawu. Arriving at the starting point, we begin the 30-minute climb up the stairs to the crater’s edge. From the observation point at the top, we can see Bunaken & Manado Tua Islands as well as the bay of Manado. A walk around the crater’s rim will take us 45-60 minutes, and we can also observe a steaming lake and experience the smell of sulfur from the pools.

After the hike we will drive to Lake Linow, a sulfuric lake (or equivalent), to have lunch. Then we drive you back to the resort.

Dinner and overnight at Resort.

Day 04: Departure (B)

Breakfast at the resort. We pick you up at the designated time to the Airport to catch your next flight or transfer you to your next destination.

Add-on trip to Tasikoki:

An add-on trip to the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue and Education Centre can be done on day 1 in the morning, starting between 09:00 and 09:30. Here you can see many unique species from all over Indonesia, as well as several endemics to Sulawesi that have been rescued from the illegal trade. During your 1.5 hours tour, you will learn about the conservation of wildlife and nature and the rampant illegal wildlife trade. Afterwards, enjoy a vegetarian meal together with the staff at the centre as well as the many volunteers from all over the world, then drive to Tangkoko for about 1.5 hours.