First time ever setting foot on Gorontalo! Yeah! No, I'm not going to Pulo Cinta, though I really want to someday, but this trip we're going to Togean island! You've been there? You've never heard of it? Well same as me, I've never heard anyone coming here before, I guess most of the visitors are either foreigners or hardcore travelers. Fyi, you're electronics would be absolutely useless here, so just live in the moment!
A lot of you guys have asked me how to go here, so we're gonna share about it as detailed as we could here in this very post! Please enjoy and read on!
First the access to this place is from 3 cities; Ampana (which is the closest), Poso, and Gorontalo. I went with the Gorontalo lane, why? Because when I was buying the tickets, the one way ticket from Jakarta to Ampana costs IDR 4 mio!! Way too overpriced for me, so I got the Jakarta - transit to Makassar - then Gorontalo and the 2 ways ticket only cost around IDR 2 mio.
Upon arriving to Gorontalo's airport, we went by car for around 2,5 hours to the Marisa harbor to ride a speed boat crossing the sea to Togean island. The speed boat costs around IDR 6-7 mio and can fit up to 10 people. Why so expensive? Well, cause it only takes another 2,5 hours to get to Togean island and it's rare for people to visit Togean from Gorontalo.
The speed boat is like the usual fisherman boat and for 2,5 hours you'll just have to enjoy the breeze hitting your face..literally. Lol!
As you got to the middle of the ocean, the water will become clearer and blue and beautiful!
Now let's talk about the lodging. We spent 5 days in a resort called Bolilanga Resort. It's not exactly at the Togean Island but still in the same area. The photo below is where we get of the boat and you can see the sunset here but you can't see the sunrise. Here you can also swim and the water is super crystal clear and you don't have to be afraid of hitting any reef. It's already evening when I arrived, so it's a bit dark, there will be a photo when it's in the afternoon later on, just keep reading!
The lodge is traditional and simple but proper. The place is so deserted, there's only us and 2 foreigners when I came here other than the local people.
Our boat can only stop at the harbor in the evening. In the afternoon we'll have to ride the harbor's boat!
The buildings here mostly look like this.
Here's the restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
There are 2 types of the resort, the standard and the cheaper one, the price difference is not much. It ranges from IDR 350K-450K, breakfast - dinner included, though it's all fish, either fried, grilled, or soup..lol! There's no aircon at all and the electricity is only available from 6PM - 11PM but water is available all day, don't worry!
1 room can fit for 2 people and the price is counted per rooms not people, so affordable, right?
Here you'll always be able to enjoy sunsets, where the sky just turns super orange!
Let's enjoy the sunset, shall we?
Good morning! It was heavily raining earlier, so we got to see this beautiful rainbow. This is the nearest and clearest rainbow I've ever seen! Super happy!!
There's also a hammock at the resort!
Time to sail!
This is the water at the dock, see how clear and blue it is!
JELLYFISH LAKE
My second jellyfish lake, the first one is when I went to Derawan. Looks pretty much the same, also in salt water but this one is more unattended and the facilities are mostly in bad condition. We even had to stop not at a dock but in the middle of the beach and walk through rocks!
Like this! Think it's a smooth walk? Well, not really, this is very shallow but it's not flat ground, so it's hard to walk on and you definitely can't swim through!
See how it's broken and everything? There's also no ladder, so it's easy to jump in but getting out is a different story!
Don't worry, these jellyfishes are harmless! There's more in Derawan but the water here is deeper. Please be reminded to NOT use any sunblock and swimming fins cause you'll kill the jellyfish!
TAIPI BEACH
Next stop! Here you can have lunch and if you use Telkomsel then you're in luck, cause it works perfectly here, though my friend did said that it wasn't possible before! Other than lunch, you can also go snorkeling and see all the beautiful corals. Careful though, cause the waves are pretty huge and it's pretty deep! To get to the snorkeling area, you'd have to swim non-stop cause the coral are pretty close to the surface, so if you stop, your feet will definitely get scratched by it. After getting through the corals, you'll immediately arrive at the snorkeling area where it's super deep. Too bad I didn't take any shots of it but trust me, it's beautiful!
KARINA BEACH
Located right next to Jellyfish Lake, where you can even reach the place through a bit of tracking actually, but our route was Jellyfish Lake - Taipi- Karina, so we didn't go through the tracking. Why we put Karina Beach last is because this is a place to just relax and taking beautiful photos. No coral reef, just sand and sea. Like a private salt water pool..lol!
PULAU PAPAN
It was raining when we arrived, so some of the photos are a bit dull. You can compare them with the bright ones later on!
Pulau Papan is a must visit if you come to Togean. Even though the place is pretty lively, where there are schools and stalls and everything, your phone still won't work here!
Here the boat won't be able to dock, so you need to get off the boat and climb to the bridge, it's a bit of a hassle actually.
See all those corals, from the view here you'd think that it's shallow but it's actually pretty deep, to the point where if you jump in, you won't hit the coral. Can you just imagine how clear the water is?
See how long this bridge is, I don't even know where it leads to. Fyi, can you see the small ladder from the boat to this bridge? That's what I said was a hassle, cause you need to climb through there!
These are the local homes, where there are so many kids running about!
So many sea urchins below the houses, so be careful!
This is how it looks after the sky has cleared up. It's so different then when it's cloudy, right? I think it's just so sad when the sky isn't clear when you travel like this. It's better to be scorching hot as long as the sky is clear!
You can also go tracking through sharp rocks to the top and see the view of Pulau Papan from the higher ups. It'll only take 5 minutes and you'll get these kind of view!
Let's jump in! This is the view below the bridge before, I guess it's around 4-6 meters deep? There's a lot of sharp corals, so don't put your feet down or you'll get hurt and the coral will break as well and it will take 100 years more for it to grow back!
For those who's not used to swimming this might be a bit tricky as you'll have to keep kicking your legs to keep you floated.
Ain't it pretty?
REEF4
Reef four? Don't know how you say it but the name is made because there are literally 4 reefs here. That island there is where the boat will stop and from there we'll then swim to the middle of the ocean!
The coral here isn't sharp, so you can just go barefoot but to see this clear blue sky, can you just imagine how hot it really is there?
I guess it takes about 15 minutes or so to swim to the middle and to get this view but on your journey here, there are a lot of beautiful corals along the way as well, just not as beautiful as this one spot!
You know what, I can't make my body dive in, so I always float on the surface and it's really annoying cause I can't get good photos! Even though I think I'm pretty good at swimming, why is it I'm the only one that can't dive in! :(
See, my friend can dive deep into the ocean! Why can't I?!
CALIFORNIA REEF
Last spot! That building in the middle there is where we'll stop the boat. Then from there we'll dive in again, be careful cause the current is pretty fast and there's a lot of underwater valley!
Last spot! That building in the middle there is where we'll stop the boat. Then from there we'll dive in again, be careful cause the current is pretty fast and there's a lot of underwater valley!
Ta-dah!! This is a photo taken by the tour guide tho, cause he's the only one that can dive this deep and this is very deep indeed!
This is one of the valleys. It's so deep that you can't see anything below. I'm both amazed and scared as hell..lol!
If you asked me about Togean, I'd say that it's gorgeous but for the underwater view. It's still very pure and untouched, so please if you visit, don't step on the corals and DON'T LITTER, you don't want to destroy such beautiful nature!
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