With Manado acting as North Sulawesi’s capital and nearby Bitung its harbour city, it falls to Tomohon to showcase some of the region‘s most breathtaking attractions.
Located in the hills and home to a cool, crisp climate, visitors can expect a rich tapestry of culture and nature. Keen sightseers will find much to please them around Tomohon’s peaks and valleys. So, too, will culture fans catch a glimpse of Sulawesi’s Minahasa tribal traditions. All the while, a friendly atmosphere pervades. A simple stroll elicits smiles and nods and a ‘Hello Mr/Miss’ that puts outsiders at ease and draws them into the flow of highland life.
Tomohon lies in the heart of the Tombulu region. The town forms part of the Minahasa Peninsular, and its name stems from “Tou Mu’ung”, a Tombulu term. Many of Tomohon’s natives boast tribal roots, and those with an eye for such things will also note people of Bugis, Javanese and Sumatran origin.
About 100,000 people call the town home. From a spiritual perspective, Tomohon is something of an outlier: most residents claim Christian beliefs, a rarity in largely Islamic Indonesia. But such a change does not mean conflict. The Christian lives alongside the Muslim, as does the Buddhist, the Hindu and the Confucian, and history records few, if any, clashes based on faith.
Rather, unity drives the soul of Tomohon. Many people abide by the Minahasan code of Mapalus, wherein people help each other for the sake of doing a nice thing. Moreso, they seek nothing in return. Mapalus initially referred to farmwork. But it soon spread to other areas in life, be it ceremonies, weddings, funerals or such things where two hands prove better than one. Soon, this communal spirit flowed around Tomohon. Visitors may find it when a stranger does them a kind turn for no reward.
Lokasi
The volcanic backdrop provided by Mahawu and Mt Lokon grants Tomohon a splendid majesty. Atmospheric conditions imbue the land with nutrients that make it fertile, and all around, one may see plentiful wildlife, green forests and valleys that, as is the way with such things, rarely divulge their secrets. The healthy soil also lends itself perfectly to growing fruit and vegetables. It also explains why so many people make a living from the land.
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Tomhon’s altitude of up to 1,000 metres above sea level also gives the town a crisp freshness and healthy soil. In short, fine conditions to cultivate plant life. Come the blossom season in January, April and December, these flowers bloom in glorious colour. Those with no eye for buds will marvel at the deep reds and purples and yellows and whites. Meanwhile, a more expert view will attach these same hues to chrysanthemums, dahlias, lilies, roses and more.
Thus has Tomohon earned the nickname Kota Bunga, or Flower Town. One only has to witness the Tomohon International Flower Festival in June and July. Here, colourful floats and contests showcase the area’s finest blooms, to understand the source of such a title.
Lokon-Empung
For many, the twin-volcano Lokon-Empung is the literal and metaphorical high point of a trip to Tomohon. Rising over the Tondano Plain and about an hour’s walk to the west of the city, visitors can expect a close encounter with some of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes. On a clear day, views reach Manado to the north.
Lokon’s imposing crater is an arresting sight. Mostly flat and strewn with volcanic rocks, it belches reams of smoke from sulphur-tinged fissures that only hint at the destructive power beneath. The volcano’s cone, flat and craterless, reaches a height of 1,580 metres. Empung, the younger and smaller of the two, has a crater 400 metres wide and 150 deep. The latter is more prone to erupting, which it last did in the 18th century. A more recent explosion came from the Tompuluan double crater between the two peaks in the 1800s.
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Climbers take note; the trail follows an ancient lava trail which, although atmospheric, can spell doom for the unprepared. Take extra care around Lokon’s crater. It’s tempting to slide down into the crater itself, but a wrong step on the loose soil can have a tragic outcome. In April 2017, over-enthusiastic sightseers slid to their deaths.
Allow for an early start – around 4.30 am – to avoid climbing in the excessive midday heat.
Mahawu
The ‘other’ major volcano in Tomohon, dormant Mahawu lacks the size of Lokon-Empung but not the elemental awe. The smaller crater, flanked by two pyroclastic cones, allows for fine views of the landscape. Some say the views reach as far as Pulau Bunaken to the north, and birdwatchers will have much to interest them on the green summit.
Many lovely beasts dwell within a small forest, and some of Kota Bunga’s brightest flowers bloom on the mountaintop. Visitors have reported a floating, supreme calm on Mahawu. Others swear that they could touch the clouds, so close does the peak feel to the sky.
Located east of Tomohon, a walker may trek Mahawu in about an hour. However, the steep, winding roads make transport a wise move.
Visitors can combine a trip to Mahawu with a tour of the surrounding Tintingon Hills. The villages of Rurukan and Kumelembuai are home to some far-reaching views and the chance to sample cap tikus.
Cap Tikus
Cap tikus translates as ‘rat stamp’, which may have some hidden meaning but seems to have little bearing on the end product. Most consumers will care very little for the drink’s symbolism, a sure sign that they have consumed a quantity of this traditional drink distilled from aren, or sugar palm, and such cares have long since vanished. Cap tikus has a strong taste and an alcohol content of up to 50%, which places it firmly in ‘rocket fuel’ territory.
In days of yore, the drink appeared widely at the tables of aristocrats and kings, and cap tikus became so ingrained that a Minahasan host would often toast their guests with a draft of the stuff.
The drink’s supreme lethality never barred it from wide use. Farmers would drink cap tikus as a livener to start the day, while long-distance drivers have spoken of taking a taste to keep them wide awake and wired on trips to and from Kalimantan. But unlike a well-known energy drink of the type that combines a colour and a bovine, that energises people and charges them until they suffer a hideous brain crash, cap tikus ups the ante and fugs drivers’ brains until any crashes they suffer are of the distraught widow variety.
Small surprise then that one day, the authorities cottoned on that cap tikus represents something of a health risk. Some consumers become ferocious and violent, and others have died from drinking it. Such losses prompted the slogan ‘brenti jo bagate’, emblazoned in stern type on many warning signs in a bid to ward people off the dangers of cap tikus.
Danau Linow
Another of Tomohon’s natural sights, Danau Linow, to the town’s south, makes a refreshing change from the area’s volcanic peaks. But there is still a connection: volcanic eruptions formed the lake a very long time ago. Once the dust had settled, the lake got its name from the [Minahasan?] word ‘lilinowan’, a gathering place of water.
Linow exudes a calm and quiet atmosphere, thanks to the surrounding forests shutting out Tomohon’s hustle and bustle. What will truly stand out, though, is Linow’s water: the combination of sunlight and the lake’s pungent sulphur pits causes the water to bleed through shades of green, blue and amber in a pleasingly psychedelic way.
Some of the more noteworthy animals that call the 34-hectare lake home include snakehead fish, carp and tilapia. Endemic sayok and komo insects stalk the water’s surface before buzzing off into the ether.
Danau Tondano
One may find North Sulawesi’s largest lake by the village of Remboken, south of Tomohon. Tondano, a fine three-syllable word, lies 600m above sea level and covers nearly 5,000 hectares. It is of similar size to Lake Sentani in West Papua but with a less abstract outline.
During the Dutch colonial period, which ended in 1949, Tondano, or at least the ground around it, was a coffee-growing place. Nothing much has changed: coffee still grows here, as do coconuts and bountiful cloves that keen smokers hope may end up in the business end of a kretek cigarette.
Where to Stay
Happy Flower Resort
(NB: These prices are from 2017, so they’re probably a bit wrong. Forgive the general tone of this bit – it’s a bit smug and guide-like. Phony, in short. The guest house itself was really nice though.)
Away from Tomohon’s main roads, Happy Flower’s palm trees and ponds create a relaxed atmosphere for travellers. It enjoys an ideal location at the start of the trail to Lokon-Empung.
The double ensuite rooms are spacious and good value for 200,000R a night – breakfast included – although the squat toilets might prove tricky for those with weak knees.
Staff are accommodating and helpful and can organise tours to Tomohon’s eminent sites.
It’s a 15-minute drive from Tomhon’s Bus Terminal (Terminal Beriman) and Market.
Getting Around
Aside from walking, visitors will soon get used to other modes of transport in Tomohon.
The ubiquitous blue mikrolet vans swarm around the city with all routes starting and ending at Terminal Beriman, although empty ones are available for charter. Some come equipped with DVD players and booming sound systems, meaning more than often than you can hear and feel them coming long before you see them.
Ojeks are the iconic Indonesian motorbike taxis. Their size allows for greater flexibility, and they are easily the most desirable option when traffic is heavy. Stations line the streets, but be sure to negotiate an acceptable price before heading off.
Horse-drawn Bendi carts are another alternative. They stick to Tomohon’s main routes and cost around 3,000R a trip. Manoeuvrability can be an issue, as can the rickety carts, but journeys are often sedate and a pleasing way to get from a to b.
Getting There and Away
(NB: See what we mean? No originality or thought went into that heading.)
Tomohon is about an hour’s travel from Manado (bus 10,000R/private vehicle 150,000R) and Makassar, Pare-Pare, Toraja, Ampana, Gorontalo and Bitung are all reachable.
The main bus terminal in Tomohon is Terminal Beriman.
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