Mamuju and Karampuang Island

The Capital Of A Province Created In 2004, Badly Damaged By Earthquake In 2021, With An Island Offshore Where You Snorkel Off A Jetty And A Traditional House Stands In The Village · Mamuju, West Sulawesi

Mamuju is the capital of WEST SULAWESI, A PROVINCE THAT DID NOT EXIST UNTIL 2004, and it is a working port town rather than a destination - which this row is not going to dress up. IN JANUARY 2021 AN EARTHQUAKE STRUCK IT BADLY: over a hundred people died across the province, the governor's office and a hospital collapsed, and the reconstruction is still visible in the streets. WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE OUT ON THE WATER IS KARAMPUANG, the island across the bay - CLEAR WATER YOU SNORKEL STRAIGHT OFF A LONG WOODEN JETTY, coral close in, and a village with a TRADITIONAL MANDAR HOUSE standing in it. It is a half-day and it is genuinely pleasant. THE OTHER REASON TO BE HERE IS PRACTICAL: this is the coastal base before the mountain road inland to MAMASA, which is the province's real draw and is four to six hours further on from Polewali to the south. Plan the province around that rather than around its capital.

Mamuju and Karampuang Island, West Sulawesi, Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia

MAMUJU HAS FLIGHTS from Makassar and is reached by a long coast road from there - roughly eight to ten hours. BOATS TO KARAMPUANG cross from the Mamuju waterfront in about twenty to thirty minutes and are chartered or shared, arranged on the day rather than booked; they stop in the late afternoon. THE ISLAND HAS A SMALL LOCAL ENTRY CHARGE and simple warungs; SNORKEL GEAR IS BEST BROUGHT rather than relied on. THERE IS NO GATE IN MAMUJU ITSELF - it is a working town with hotels, a market and a waterfront. THE 2021 EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE IS STILL VISIBLE and some public buildings remain unreplaced. IT IS HOT AND HUMID year-round. The mountain road inland to Mamasa takes four to six hours from Polewali, which is south of here.

Mamuju and Karampuang Island on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos