Pare-Pare South Sulawesi Indonesia
4
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Silversea Cruises (4 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
On the west coast of South Sulawesi, about 155 km north of Makassar, facing the Makassar Strait. It is the province's second city and a rare call on cruise itineraries.
A good deal, in fact. The town lives off its harbour and you see it from the first steps: the waterfront alternates warehouses with stalls where fish and seaweed dry, while bajaj and motorbikes weave between handcarts. An aimless walk tells you more about Sulawesi than most guided tours.
The town itself: the markets, the waterfront, the Habibie monument, grilled fish with sambal at a table outside. Toraja country, the region's great excursion, takes a full day and should only be attempted through the ship.
Indonesia's third president, an engineer trained in Germany, born here in 1936. On the waterfront, a monument shows him beside his wife Ainun, whose love story inspired books and films across the archipelago. Locals come to be photographed there at the end of the day.
Yes, but only on long calls. The mountain road takes several hours each way and the round trip fills the whole day. Go through the ship's excursion: it is the only sensible way to hold to the schedule.
The traditional houses, tongkonan, raise their prow-shaped roofs above the rice fields. The Toraja are known for their elaborate funeral rites, tombs cut into cliff faces and wooden effigies watching over the dead.
A seafaring people renowned throughout the Indonesian archipelago, who have built pinisi cargo sailing ships for centuries. Their hulls are still shaped on the beaches of South Sulawesi, without written plans, following knowledge passed from father to son.
Stalls overflowing with mangoes, rambutan, fish from the strait and chillies sold in small pyramids. Smiles come with every transaction, and children happily try out their three words of English: cruise passengers are still rare here.
No, and that is exactly its value. Nothing has been arranged for the white ships. Look for no spectacular monument and no tourist infrastructure, but for the honest life of an Indonesian port playing no role at all.
The Indonesian rupiah, in cash and small notes: cards are barely accepted outside the few hotels. Indonesian is the official language, Bugis is the language of daily life, and English comes down to a few words exchanged with a smile.
