Tangkoko National Park is a nature reserve in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is home to lot’s of different unique wildlife. It is one of the few places in the world where you can see tarsiers and the black-crested macaque (which is critically endangered and found only on the island of Sulawesi). Tangkoko is also one of the oldest nature reserves in Indonesia and covers almost 9000 hectares of rainforest. The beauty of this forest made me emotional as we were trekking through it. Therefore, a jungle trek through Tangkoko National Park is likely to be one of the highlights on your trip around Sulawesi. In this article, we give you all the tips and tricks for an unforgettable visit to Tangkoko National Park.
How to visit Tangkoko
This impressive national park has to be visited with a guide and it’s not allowed to enter independently. However, a tour is easy to arrange and necessary not to get lost and of course to spot the wildlife. The guides usually also carry a telescope that makes it a lot easier to see some of the wildlife. I arranged both a morning and evening tour through my accommodation. It’s best to try and do the morning and evening tour in the same day, so you only have to pay the admission fee once.
The Morning tour
This tour Begins at 05:30 in the morning and starts at the homestay. This means you’ll be having breakfast at 05:00. You start trekking along the forest trail to the nesting tree of endemic Red-knobbed Hornbill. Along the trail you’ll likely see lots of wildlife. We found the knobbed hornbill and saw the Crested black Macaques, The Bear Cuscus, and various other bird species. We even saw a Tarsier in the daytime, even though you’d usually only see them after sunset. The morning tour takes about 3 to 4 hours.
Guide fee Rp 250.000, Admission fee Rp 100.000 per day
The evening tour
The tour starts at about 4.30 pm from the homestay. The guide knows the trees where the Tarsiers live and you’ll go there and wait for them to come out as they become active at night. The Spectral Tarsier ar the smallest primate in the world. If you’re not in a hurry to go home, you can continue to see other nocturnal animals, such us the Tarantula, the Scops-owl or snakes.
Guide fee Rp 150.000, Admission fee Rp 100.000 per day
Other options: full day tour or birding tour
You can also choose to do a Full day Jungle Tour. This tour Begins at 6.00in the morning. Starting from the homestay, you will start trekking along the forest trail, visit a hidden waterfall, a large Fig tree which has a hole in it and allows to climbing and of course see a lot of wildlife. I managed to see all the mentioned animals in the morning and evening tour, but this tour takes about 12 hours. Therefore it will give you more opportunity to enjoy the nature reserve. But since the morning and evening tour are already quite long, I thought the twas plenty.
Cost: Guide Fee $52/€45/925.000 IDR
If you want to add a hike to Tangkoko mountain, there is a additional fee of $32
Birding tour: If I’d had more time, I would have loved to do a birding tour. There’s a possibility to see: Bay coucal (endemic), philipine scrub fowl, Golden Mantle racquet-tailed (endemic), Sulawesi black pigeon (endemic), Grey-cheeked green pigeon, Lilac-cheecked kingfisher (endemic), green-backed kingfisher (endemic), Hair crested drongo, Red Knobbed Hornbill, White-necked Myna (endemic), Slender Billed Crow, Ochre Bellied Boobook (endemic), Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher.
Species you’d be able to see on the 2 day tour: Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbill (endemic),Sulawesi Cicada bird (endemic), Sulawesi Triller (endemic), Sulawesi Hanging Parrot (endemic), Grosbeak Starling (endemic), White-Bellied Imperial Pigeon (endemic), Silver Tipped Imperial Pigeon (endemic), Sulawesi serpant eagle (endemic), Glossy Swiftlets, Ornate Lorikeets (endemic), Red Knobbed Hornbill (endemic), Grey-Sided flowerpecker (endemic), Pacific Swallow, Black Fronted White eye. Afternoon boat trip you will see and shoot: Brahminy Kite, Sacred Kingfisher, White-Bellied Fish Eagle, Great Billed Kingfisher, White-Bellied Cuckoo Shrike, Little Heron, Black-Naped Tern, Pacific egret, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Long-tailed jaeger, White breasted woodswallow.
Cost of 2 day bird tour: $ 200 per person or if you have a group of 3 $150 per person. Price varies by group size.Included: Lunch, admission fee, Boat to Mangrove, and in shuttle transport to Temboan hill.
What animals can you see in Tangkoko
The animals that make up the ‘Tangkoko big Four’ are:
Spectral Tarsier: This super cute creature is the world’s smallest primate. These nocturnal creatures are only the size of a fist and are famous for their big round eyes. You can spot the Tarsier around and after sunset as they are nocturnal and wake up to hunt insects.
Celebes Crested Macaque: Locally known as “Yaki,” these critically endangered monkeys are endemic to Sulawesi. They became famous after there was a court case about a monkey that took a selfy. They are highly social and can be observed in large groups.
Sulawesi Bear Cuscus: A unique marsupial endemic to Sulawesi. It has thick woolly fur, a bear-like face, and a koala-like nose. They are relatively easy to spot high in fruiting fig trees during the day. The species is marked as vulnerable .
Red-knobbed Hornbill: These massive, brightly colored birds are known for their distinct red ‘knob’ on top of their bills.
These are considered the ‘must-see’ animals. Besides these special endemic species, Tangkoko is also a prime birding destination, with over 300 species! Like any rainforest it also has interesting reptiles and insects, like Flying Lizards: Small lizards that use wing-like flaps to glide between trees. Tarantulas: The Sulawesi Black Tarantula can often be spotted on night hikes and Pythons & Vipers.
How to get to Tangkoko national park
There are a few options. You can get a Private transfer or grab: The easiest way to get there is by getting someone from the guesthouse to pick you up in Manado. Pickup from the airport to the Guesthouse is $27/€23/480.000. I booked a pickup with Tangkoko ranger homestay and ended up finding people to share the car with.
By Bus: There are lots of bus going from Paal 2 terminal in Manado to Tangkoko terminal in Bitung all day. Price is 20’000Rp/person and it takes about 2 hours. There is no regular public transportation going from Bitung to Batuputih. For this last part, you’d have to get a private car.
Where to stay near Tangkoko
There are several guesthouses and homestays in Batu Putih, which is the town next to Tangkoko. Most accommodation is simple, but clean and comfortable. I stayed at Tangkoko Ranger Homestay, which is located right across from the entrance of the national park. For the price it was great. Only downside was, no hot shower. However, it did include breakfast and they arranged all my tours for me.
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