Baubau Buton Island, Indonesia South East Sulawesi
Frequently Asked Questions
At Murhum port, some two kilometres from the centre. You cover the distance in a few minutes by taxi or on a quiet walk along the water, between painted fishing boats and warehouses giving off the smell of dried fish and cloves.
In south-eastern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Few travellers can place it on a map, and that is precisely what makes the call interesting: Baubau opens an Indonesia that standard itineraries still overlook.
The largest fortress enclosure in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records: nearly three kilometres of coral-stone and limestone walls, raised in the sixteenth century around a plateau of roughly 23 hectares. From here the Sultanate of Buton watched over the strait and its navigators.
No, and that is what gives it its charm. Families still live between the bastions, laundry dries beside old cannon and children play in the shade of mango trees. The old Keraton mosque, still in use, is the most moving evidence of that continuity.
Rooftops, minarets and the turquoise water of the strait, crossed by cargo ships and canoes. It is the view that explains the sultanate's strategic position, and photographers wait for late-day light, when the coral walls turn golden.
The town's market, where stalls overflow with the morning's catch, spices and fruit that often have no English name. The sellers call out laughing, you taste, you photograph — the first minutes of the call already set the tone for the day.
Depending on the call, with welcome dances at the gangway, weavers unrolling geometric-patterned cloth, and conversation in Cia-Cia, a language spoken almost only in this region. These simple, unstaged encounters are often the strongest moments of the day.
Locally woven cloth with geometric patterns: many visitors leave with a folded length under their arm and an invitation to return. Bring small local banknotes for purchases and cafés.
Sometimes. Shore excursions may add a boat trip to nearby white-sand islets and coral gardens, but availability depends on the season and the swell.
A bottle of water, a hat and some small local notes: the equatorial heat barely eases, and those three details make the walk far more comfortable. On the way back, cafés along the shore serve strong local coffee with banana fritters.
