Sulawesi, Java and Bali. Indonesia's best kept secrets

Arrival in the city of Manado - the capital of the province of North Sulawesi. We check into a hotel, walk around the city and begin to get acquainted with the famous cuisine of the Minahasa people. We will visit the seafood restaurant and enjoy a fresh catch with traditional spicy sauces. In the morning we will visit the world famous market in the town of Tomogon and stock up on the most delicious fruit in Sulawesi, and then go to Tangkoko National Park. This 8 thousand hectares of rainforest boast unique animals that can not be seen anywhere else in Asia: black crested macaques, bear cuscus, and maleo birds. Relax on the beach with black sand. Tourists never get here! Closer to sunset, we go into the thick of the equatorial forest to see the mysterious tarsiers - some of the smallest primates on Earth. During the day they sleep in tree hollows, and in the evening begin hunting for grasshoppers. On the third day we board a speedboat and go diving or snorkeling near the island of Bunaken. If you're lucky, we'll see sea turtles, and even reef sharks. We return to Manado and meet the sunset on the bridge of Soekarno.

In the morning we fly to Gorontalo. From the airport we go swimming with whale sharks. These sea giants reach 8 meters in length, they are the biggest fishes on Earth! Sharks are attracted to the smell of a nearby fish processing factory, and they swim a few dozen meters from the shore. They feed on small fish, so they are absolutely safe for humans. And swimming next to them in the open sea is an amazing experience! In the evening we will explore Gorontalo, an authentic Muslim city, where foreigners rarely come, and take a night ferry (13 hours on they way) across the equator to the mysterious Togean Islands.

Pristine beaches, clear turquoise water, picturesque wild jungle - all this we will enjoy on amazing Togean islands. Did we mention that there are no roads, Internet and mobile coverage? This is the true paradise! We will spend three days here, exploring tiny uninhabited islands, enjoying cozy beaches and secret lagoons. We will also visit a jellyfish lake, explore the virgin jungle, see hornbills and hunt for coconut crabs. And of course we will discover unique underwater world - after all, these waters are home to 96% of the coral species existing in the world! Another high point of our stay - is the visit to the settlement of the last sea nomads, Sama Bajau people. Some of them live in the villages on the water in small wooden houses on stilts. We walk along the streets of this unusual settlement, play with curious children, see the local life and climb the hill to appreciate the local views. On the fourth day after breakfast, we say goodbye to Togeans, take a boat to the port city of Ampana and drive to Tana Toraja (15-17 hours on the way).

We arrive in Rantepao, the main town of the mountainous region of Tana Toraja and check into a hotel. During two days we will be visiting the most interesting sights of this region, known for its world famous ancient funeral ceremonies. We will observe the ceremony, discover very unusual architecture of village houses, visit ancient funeral caves, and see graves in the rocks and trees. We will also observe a unique ritual of “cleansing the dead” - ma’nene, which is held only at this time of year. In the evening of the second day we take a comfortable night bus to the city of Makassar (8 hours on the way).

In the morning we arrive in Makassar, leave our luggage in the storage room, and go to the fish market to enjoy some fresh seafood. After breakfast, we will visit the old port of Paotere, where you can still see the masterpieces of local shipbuilders - the traditional wooden boats, known as pinisi. After lunch we will fly to Yogyakarta on the island of Java and check into a hotel. We begin our acquaintance with the city from visiting the Kraton Palace, where the Sultans of Yogyakarta have been living since the 18th century. The size of this complex is difficult to imagine, given that earlier, besides the family of the Sultan, another 20 thousand servants lived here! The part of the palace, still occupied by the Sultan's family, is closed to visitors. After lunch we will explore the world famous Hindu temple complex of Prambanan. It consists of dozens of temples dedicated to various Hindu gods. These impressive shrines were built in the 9th century! The highest temple of Shiva has a height of 47 meters. We listen to silence, considering the bas-reliefs with images of deities and patterns. Impressed by what we have seen, we will enjoy the picturesque sunset on an endless beach ...

In the morning we go to another world famous sight of Java, the Borobudur Buddhist stupa. Built in the 9th century, it consists of nine platforms with 504 Buddha statues! The whole building is dedicated to the main Buddhist story - the story of the life of Buddha Shakyamuni. This amazing structure stands in the background of two huge volcanoes. Because of one of them - Merapi Borobudur in the 14th century was covered with volcanic ash, then overgrown with jungle and forgotten. It was reopened only in the 19th century! In the evening we walk through the Muslim quarters of Yogyakarta, watch very authentic life, visit a restaurant in a traditional Javanese house and a market of medicinal plants and spices.

In the morning we fly to Surabaya (1 hour) and from there in about 3-4 hours arrive to the village of Chemore Lavang at the foot of the Bromo volcano. We check into a hotel. At night, we ride jeeps to the crater of the volcano 2329 meters above sea level and enjoy an incredibly beautiful sunrise. We observe how the first sun rays illuminate the horizon, flooding the valley and neighboring volcanoes with pink light. Incredible! Here you feel the power of our planet under your feet - after all, we are standing at the crater of an active volcano! We will walk along the crater, and then return to the hotel for breakfast. After a rest, we leave for Bondovoso (6 hours on the way) and check into a hotel near the Ijen volcano. On the way we stop at the cascade of Madakaripura waterfalls. The highest of them has a height of 200 meters! At night, we start climbing Ijen volcano. In about an hour we will reach the crater at an altitude of 2350 meters above sea level and see a blue glow from which hundreds of people carry out large baskets. This is an acid lake in the crater of Ijen volcano. It has a bright turquoise color. Workers at night extract sulfur from the lake and carry huge baskets with yellow cobblestones to the foot of Ijen. We have breakfast at the hotel and take the bus, and then the ferry to Bali (2-3 hours on the way). We check into a hotel and enjoy the volcanic beach.

Three full days we will spend on the paradise island of Bali, which is famous for its fabulous nature and unique Hindu culture with bright traditions. We will walk along coffee plantations and to the waterfalls, visit the beach hidden between the steep slopes in the south of the island and make a ten-kilometer rafting down the fabulous Ayung River. We explore the palace of the rulers of Ubud and visit the temple on Lake Bro. We will also discover Tirta Empul water temple, which is famous for its sacred water springs. Hindus come here from all over the world to perform ritual ablutions and cleanse themselves from sins. We will also see the famous traditional dances in the temple on the edge of a 70-meter cliff! In the morning on the last day we go to the airport and fly home.