Bunaken National Park

Saturday, April 3, 2010

North Sulawesi - Bunaken National Park

Bunaken National Park is very representative of Indonesian tropical water ecosystems consist of mangrove ecosystems, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and land / coastal ecosystems. In the northern part consists of the islands of Bunaken, Old Manado island, Montehage island, Siladen island, Nain island, Small Nain island, and some coastal areas of Cape Pisok. While in the Southern coast covering most of Palm cape.
Mainland islands national park potential is rich in species of palm, sago, woka, silar and coconut. Animal species that exist on the mainland and the coast, among others, Sulawesi black macaques (Macaca nigra nigra), deer (Cervus timorensis russa), and polecat (Ailurops ursinus ursinus).
Mangrove plant species in the Bunaken National Park is Rhizophora sp., Sonneratia sp., Lumnitzera sp., And Bruguiera sp. This forest is rich with various kinds of crab, shrimp, mollusks and various types of sea birds such as seagulls, storks, sea virgin, and Heron sea.
Type of algae found in this national park covers types of Caulerpa sp., Halimeda sp., And Padina sp. Seagrass beds are dominated mainly on the island Montehage, and islands such as Thalassia hemprichii Nain, Enhallus acoroides, and Thalassodendron ciliatum.
Recorded 13 species of live coral in the waters of Bunaken National Park, dominated by the edge of coral reef species and coral reef barrier. The most interesting is the vertical cliffs as far as 25-50 meters.
Approximately 91 species of fish found in the waters of Bunaken National Park, including fish gusumi horse (Hippocampus horse), white oci (Seriola rivoliana), yellow tail lolosi (Lutjanus kasmira), goropa (Ephinephelus spilotoceps and Pseudanthias hypselosoma), ila trunk (Scolopsis bilineatus) , and others.
Types of mollusks such as giant clams (Tridacna gigas), the head of the goat (Cassis cornuta), hollow nautilus (Nautilus pompillius), and tunikates / ascidians.

The best visiting season: months of May to August each year.


Waruga
For tourists who want to see the relics of ancient times, in North Sulawesi, precisely in the Village Sawangan, Mandidi Water District, Minahasa Regency can visit ancestral burial (Dato) Minahasa people.
The grave is made of mountain stone (domato) whose height varies between half a meter to nearly two meters away, now in Sawangan after collected from various places in the year 1817. According to tourist guides who are there, Mariam, the grave stone that can be transferred between it a family cemetery who died about 1,200 years ago.
Stone which is almost two meters tall with a width of about half meter. The bodies of family members who died included in a sitting position into the hole, which was previously covered with a plate. Thus the body is sitting on a plate. New then covered with stone carving as part given what the job description of the person buried there when still alive.
Therefore, there is marked with a carved horses and deer which describes people who were buried there during the job hunting live animals. There is also a carved stone cover Waruga told that buried within it is a judge. There are also carvings depicting people who were buried there a shepherd, midwives and other various types of activities.

Lake Tondano
Visiting Lake Tondano has its own preoccupations. With the trip about an hour from Manado City through the uphill and winding road in the mountains and green crops, we can arrive at the edge where the air is cool Tondano.
Many found a restaurant there, which is generally located on the lake. Dishes are available also vary, but the most popular course, carp, tilapia and fish catches in Lake Tondano or captivity. These fish can be cooked in different variations. Carp and tilapia are usually baked, fried, sambal given or DABU-DABU rica. There is also a dish cooked woku even be sour. For anchovy disambal or made like peanut brittle. Do not forget to order water spinach cah or boiled or stir-fry, because the swamp of the Lake Tondano this fresh, tasty and very long stems, because the quality is good even been exported to Singapore.