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Tourist attractions
in North Sulawesi is definitely among the very
best you will see in Indonesia. Magnificent corals
gardens and a multitude of tropical marine life
defend coastlines of virgin-white beaches in the
north of the orchid 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
awesome forces and it is these places of
interest in North Sulawesi that make this island
a very popular tourist destination in the world.
The people of North
Sulawesi can be classified into four main groups
which include the Minahasa, Bolaang Mongondow,
Gorontalo and the Sangir Talaud. The Minahasans
are centered around the provincial capital city
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
people 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 plant coconuts for
copra and nutmeg. Today the main industries
of the province are copra and nutmeg. North
Sulawesi has a large concentration of coconut
trees than anywhere else in Indonesia.
First contacts with
European traders came in the 16th century with
the arrival of the Spanish and Portuguese and
with them, they brought Christianity. It was not
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.
Manado is one of the
international gateways to Indonesia. Regular
flights to all parts of the Indonesian
archipelago service this beautiful town and also
to smaller airports in Gorontalo, Tahuna and
Talaud. Main attractions in Manado are off-shore,
however, with the truly amazing coral reefs off
nearby Bunaken Island which are now a protected
marine park and offer some of the best diving
and snorkeling adventures in the world.
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