Once called Celebes, Sulawesi was born of a violent collision between two islands three million years ago. As a result, much of it was thrust above 500 metres where, today, 17 active volcanoes still growl. The island's extraordinary shape gives the forested 227,00 square kilometer land mass a massive 6,000 kilometer coastline. On top of that, it also boasts coastlines of more than 110 reef-ringed offshore islands.
So remote is Sulawesi that its wonders have been largely ignored by the 20th century.
Things are changing now - in 1989, 75,265 hectares of underwater at the northern tip of the island were made a national marine reserve - the Taman Nasional Laut Bunaken-Manado Tua. The reserve, which is reached by an easy, short boat ride from Manado City, has world-class diving - steep and pristine walls smothered with hard and soft coral,a nd a dazzling show of fish life. Access to this astonishing marine wonderland has vastly improved with recently introduced international air connections.
Further north lie the Sangihe-Talaud Islands, dominated by the 1,827 meter Karangetang volcano with its sulphurous clouds. Diving in Sangihe-Talaud is so new, it brims with the unexpected and unknown. The best way to explore these waters is on board one of the live-aboard dive vessels operating trips to either Sangihe-Talaud or the Togian islands.
The Togian Islands, located off the eastern coast of Northern Sulawesi, represent every known type of coral within an unusually small area. Taka Bone Rate in South Sulawesi is the third largest atoll in the world. As for the Tukang Besi Islands, it is rumored that Jacques Cousteau once said that it held the finest diving in the world.
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