Birding in Tangkoko and Lore Lindu (1 Viewer)

Shumi · Dec 9, 2018

Hi All! My wife and I plan to visit Sulawesi for a week or so next May - and birding is very high on our agenda

I would be very grateful for your advice on the concise itinerary i describe below!

We plan to spend 3-4 days at Tangkoko, staying at Tangkoko Lodge and asking the owner Bobby to be our guide. Our main targets - local species of kingfisher, hornbill and pitta. Has anyone stayed at this place, birded at Tangkoko - and any advice you could give?

We also want to spend 2 days/1 night at Lore Lindu - and so far we have no ideas as to who could be our guide, where we could stay or even how we could reach Tangkoko from Lore Lindu!

Any suggestions?

Thank so much!

tapaculo · Dec 10, 2018

Shumi said:
... We also want to spend 2 days/1 night at Lore Lindu - and so far we have no ideas as to who could be our guide, where we could stay or even how we could reach Tangkoko from Lore Lindu! Any suggestions?

I visited both of those parks in 2015, in a trip organized by Nurlin Djuni of Malia Tours. We visited Lore Lindu for three full days, staying at the Monalisa homestay in Wuasa (+62 813 5426 1746). Nurlin hired a local guide for at least one of those days, but I do not remember his name or contact information, and I am not even sure how well the people at the homestay speak languages other than Indonesian.

As for how to reach Tangkoko from Lore Lindu, I believe you must fly from Palu to Manado. Even though we had been to Talago, north of Palu, and also went to Kotamagu, which is west of Tangkoko (that is, much less distance than between Lore Lindu and Tangkoko), the roads were so bad that it was not practical to drive between the two.

I am not an expert, but it seems impossible for you to visit both of those parks in the time available. LL is 3-4 hours from Palu... and one night there will not be enough to see most of the birds of interest. Why not go instead to other sites in north Sulawesi, especially Bogani Nani Wartabone (Dumoga Bone) National Park? We stayed in a ranger cabin just outside the park rather than in a hotel in Kotamagu so we could enter early to see the Maleos. Nurlin arranged that, so I do not have any information on how to contact them; his alternative was to stay at the Senator Hotel in Kotamobagu town (+62-434 21333).

Nurlin's home and office in Palu were destyoyed by the tsunami, but I know he is leading tours again, so he may be able to give you more information. [email protected] or [email protected]. Good luck!

Andy Adcock · Dec 10, 2018

tapaculo said:
I visited both of those parks in 2015, in a trip organized by Nurlin Djuni of Malia Tours. We visited Lore Lindu for three full days, staying at the Monalisa homestay in Wuasa (+62 813 5426 1746). Nurlin hired a local guide for at least one of those days, but I do not remember his name or contact information, and I am not even sure how well the people at the homestay speak languages other than Indonesian.

As for how to reach Tangkoko from Lore Lindu, I believe you must fly from Palu to Manado. Even though we had been to Talago, north of Palu, and also went to Kotamagu, which is west of Tangkoko (that is, much less distance than between Lore Lindu and Tangkoko), the roads were so bad that it was not practical to drive between the two.

I am not an expert, but it seems impossible for you to visit both of those parks in the time available. LL is 3-4 hours from Palu... and one night there will not be enough to see most of the birds of interest. Why not go instead to other sites in north Sulawesi, especially Bogani Nani Wartabone (Dumoga Bone) National Park? We stayed in a ranger cabin just outside the park rather than in a hotel in Kotamagu so we could enter early to see the Maleos. Nurlin arranged that, so I do not have any information on how to contact them; I know that his alternative was to stay at the Senator Hotel in Kotamobagu town (+62-434 21333).

Nurlin's home and office in Paul were destyoyed by the tsunami, but I know he is leading tours again, so he may be able to give you more information. [email protected] or [email protected]. Good luck!

Also worth a visit and not far from Tangkoko, is Gunung Mahawu.

For Gunung Mahawu, a stay in Tomohon or Kakaskasen is needed. The market in the former is a real eye opener and requires a strong stomach as there are whole, barbecued dogs, bats, monkeys and snakes on full view.

Shumi · Dec 23, 2018

Tapaculo - thanks so much for your helpful comments; and apologies for my delayed reply.

Indeed, we may have to reconsider our agenda, given the difficulty of reaching various places on Sulawesi (and especially Lore Lindu). It is compounded by the fact that my wife would only agree to fly Garuda out of all Indonesial airlines (not that I necessarily agree with her, but still) - and Garuda does not fly from Palu to Manado...

Bogani Nani NP certainly looks interesting! From your experience - compared with Tangkoko (where we will be having a relatively lengthy stay) does this Bogani Nani NP offer a lot in terms of news species that we may encounter?

Our key species of interest are kingfishers, hornbills and pittas (every species seen on Sulawesi would be a lifer for me). I would also very much want to see a tarsier (Spectral being most likely) and, to the extent possible, a slow loris (still not sure whether any species can be found on Sulawesi).

I would be extremely grateful if you could share your views/experience on the above!

tapaculo · Dec 24, 2018

Shumi said:
... From your experience - compared with Tangkoko (where we will be having a relatively lengthy stay) does this Bogani Nani NP offer a lot in terms of news species that we may encounter? ...
I would be extremely grateful if you could share your views/experience on the above!

For what it's worth, attached are lists of the species we encountered at each site, output from BirdBase. "F" means my first sighting.

You can see we went to Bogani Nani before Tangkoko. Not a real lot of species at either, but that's typical for an island. We got a good look at that tarsier at Tangkoko, also macaques and a gorgeous green tree python.

Shumi · Dec 24, 2018

Thanks, tapaculo! This is very hepful. Any chance to have a look at your Lore Lindu species list?

And - did you visit any birding spots in the southern part of the island (near Makassar)?

Andy Adcock · Dec 24, 2018

Shumi said:
Tapaculo - thanks so much for your helpful comments; and apologies for my delayed reply.

Indeed, we may have to reconsider our agenda, given the difficulty of reaching various places on Sulawesi (and especially Lore Lindu). It is compounded by the fact that my wife would only agree to fly Garuda out of all Indonesial airlines (not that I necessarily agree with her, but still) - and Garuda does not fly from Palu to Manado...

Bogani Nani NP certainly looks interesting! From your experience - compared with Tangkoko (where we will be having a relatively lengthy stay) does this Bogani Nani NP offer a lot in terms of news species that we may encounter?

Our key species of interest are kingfishers, hornbills and pittas (every species seen on Sulawesi would be a lifer for me). I would also very much want to see a tarsier (Spectral being most likely) and, to the extent possible, a slow loris (still not sure whether any species can be found on Sulawesi).

I would be extremely grateful if you could share your views/experience on the above!

Spectral Tariser is guranteed at Tangkoko, you'll be taken to the tree where they sleep and just wait for them to emerge.

Shumi · Dec 24, 2018

Thanks, Andy! Not quite the ultimate wildlife experience one could imagine, but still nice to know that at least one target wildlife sighting is guaranteed for you

tapaculo · Dec 25, 2018

Shumi said:
Thanks, tapaculo! This is very hepful. Any chance to have a look at your Lore Lindu species list?
And - did you visit any birding spots in the southern part of the island (near Makassar)?

Here's that list.
Near to Makassar, we stayed one night in a home in Malino and visited the nearby Lompobattang ridge. We saw just 25 species, but including Lompobattang Flycatcher and our only Piping Crows of the trip. But it's hardly a "birding spot," we just scrambled up a hillside alongside a farm, and not a protected area, so it may not still be worthwhile.

Shumi · Dec 27, 2018

Thanks, tapaculo - a great list!!

Birding in Tangkoko and Lore Lindu (1 Viewer)

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