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Dates: 24th July – 3rd August 2026
Price: £TBA places available
Single Room Supplement: none
Deposit: £400 per person
Price Includes: Accommodation, all meals, 4 domestic flights, ground transport, services of guides & holiday report
Not Included: International flights, travel insurance, drinks & other personal items
Conservation Donation: Butterfly Conservation
Leader(s): Adrian Hoskins & Antonio Giudici
Group Size: Minimum 3 & maximum 6 guests + 2 leaders
Holiday Highlights
- An exciting new adventure! Discover the many endemic species flying in South, Central and North Sulawesi
- Enjoy a wide variety of other wildlife and in some wonderful locations
- A small group tour of no more than 6 guests – perfect for photography enthusiasts
- Led by vastly experienced tour leaders & butterfly experts Adrian Hoskins & Antonio Giudici
- Comfortable vehicles & hotels, interesting natural spots & a good choice of restaurants will help our tour to be pleasant and unforgettable experience!
- Relaxed pace with plenty of time given to observing and enjoying wildlife & locations visited
- Contribute to Butterfly Conservation
An exclusive tour to the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi, for a large number of endemic & beautiful butterflies!
An exclusive tour to the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi, for a large number of endemic & beautiful butterflies!
There are 557 currently known butterfly species recorded from the Sulawesi region, of which no less than 134 are endemic to the main island. Many of the remainder, which can be found throughout s.e.Asia are equally fascinating, as the Sulawesi subspecies are typically much larger and more colourful than the “normal” forms. The butterflies of Sulawesi are among the most beautiful and spectacular found anywhere – expect to see many spectacular swallowtails, Delias jezebels, long-tailed hairstreaks, palmflies, bush browns, nawabs, Charaxes, maplets, commanders, sailers, sergeants, Symbrenthias, cruisers, clippers, lacewings and danaines!
Our tour starts and ends at Makassar airport, which can be reached via Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Jakarta. Due to the long international flights, we recommend that guests arrive a day early so you have plenty of time to relax and recover before the tour begins.
On this tour, in addition to hordes of beautiful and unique butterflies, we’ll also see many spectacular dragonflies and other insects, and we’ll have a chance to observe the endemic Sulawesi black macaque, spectral tarsier and other wildlife. All this, plus stunning volcanic scenery, unspoilt tropical beaches, comfortable accommodation, good food and friendly local inhabitants.
The first 2 days of our holiday we will visit Bantimurung National Park, famous for its aggregations of mud-puddling swallowtails, pierids and nymphalids. Then we fly to Palu, a large coastal town in Central Sulawesi to spend another 2 days exploring the forests at Palolo and Pontona, noted for spectaular swallowtails such as Graphium dorcus, the huge Graphium androcles, Atrophaneura dixoni, the gorgeous turquoise banded Papilio blumei and the massive nymphalid Zethera incerta. Next we fly to Manado in North Sulawesi, to explore the forests of Tangkoko National Park, where butterflies fly and puddle on the black sand beaches.
Travel will be in a 7 seater Toyota or similar, depending on group size.
Notes: At your port of entry to Indonesia you’ll need to obtain a Visa On Arrival, which costs approx 35 USD. Passports must have at least 2 blank pages and must be valid for 6 months beyond the expected exit date. Long hours in the tropical heat and humidity can be tiring, so you must be medically and mentally fit to participate in a tropical tour where conditions will sometimes be basic. Netting or collecting of specimens is strictly prohibited on this tour, which is aimed primarily at keen butterfly photographers.
Please note that the following is only intended as a guide. The actual itinerary may be changed if necessary due to local conditions, road closures, etc.
DAY 0 International travel
DAY 1 (24th Jul) Meet at Makassar airport, check in at the hotel. Dinner in town.
Day 2 Breakfast at the hotel, followed by a 1 hour drive to visit locations around Bantimurung National Park. This is a very rich butterfly area mostly streamside of forest edge. Lunch will be taken in the field. Later in the afternoon we will head back to the hotel and will have dinner in town.
Day 3 Breakfast at the hotel and visit different locations around Bantimurung National Park. We’ll try, among other species, to find the beautiful and not rare Papilio peranthus and some nice Forest species, Satyrinae, Theclinae, etc. Later in the afternoon we’ll go back to the hotel and take dinner in town.
Day 4 Early breakfast at the hotel, then we willcheck out and take the flight to Palu.
Upon arrival we will check in at the hotel and explore the first locations surrounding the town. One of the main targets is the rare Graphium dorcus, but also the massive Graphium androcles and the uncommon endemic Ixias paluensis. Later in the afternoon we will go back to the hotel and take dinner in town.
Day 5 Second day in the Palu region. We’ll visit Palolo and Pontona, which are two very interesting locations. Our drive is about 45 Km and takes approximately 1 hour. We’ll search for the endemic Atrophaneura dixoni, Atrophaneura palu, but also Papilio blumei, the massive Zethera incerta, uncommon, beautiful Symbrenthia and much more. Later in the afternoon we will go back to the hotel and have our dinner in town.
Day 6 Early check out from the hotel and head to Lore Lindu National Park, which will be a journey of about 100 Km and take us approximately 2.5 hours. We’ll explore a couple of locations with many interesting species, including several endemic, such as the uncommon Delias and a few gorgeous Papilionidae. Later in the afternoon we will check in at the lodge and then have our dinner somewhere locally.
Day 7 Breakfast at the lodge and another full day at Lore Lindu National Park. We’ll visit different locations and one of the main targets will be the beautiful Papilio blumei, a couple of endemic Symbrenthia, the rare endemic Charaxes mars and many others. Afternoon back to the lodge and dinner locally.
Day 8 Early check out, then we’ll go straight to the airport, fly back to Makassar and then on to Manado, where we’ll arrive at about 10.45am. We will have a quick transfer to Tangkoko National Park, which will be about 60 Km and take just over an hour. We’ll explore the interesting forest at the edge of the beach of the park, which is an interesting and quite unique environment, with butterflies flying and puddling on the beach too. Afternoon back to the hotel. Dinner in the village.
Day 9 Breakfast at the hotel. A full day at Tangkoko. We will be exploring the forest of the national park and the coastline. Here we will have a chance to observe the endemic Sulawesi Black Macaque and the rare and shy Spectral Tarsier, which lives deep in the darkest parts of the forest. Afternoon back to the resort. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 10 Breakfast at the hotel and early check out. We heat to the popular Minahasa highlands, journey time of about 1.5 hours and about 75km. We’ll check in at the beautiful Gardenia Country Inn, with a huge and rich garden, where we can find the first butterflies. Later in the morning we’ll explore the slopes of the Gunung Empung and nearby roads. Afternoon back to the hotel. Dinner in town.
Day 11 (3rd Aug) Breakfast at the resort and then we’ll spend some time in the area around the resort, looking for butterflies in the beautiful garden and in the hills around. At 11.00am we’ll transfer back to Manado airport. Flight at 14.40 to Makassar for the end of the tour.
Day 12 International travel
To follow
To follow
