The Indonesian province of South Sulawesi province is home to almost half of Sulawesi island. While things to do in South Sulawesi span the gamut from diving in Selayar to admiring some of Earth’s oldest cave paintings, most travelers come here to visit Tana Toraja, where houses decked in buffalo skulls and soaring roofs host funeral rites. Most will also spend a day or two in Makassar, enjoying Fort Rotterdam, the Rammang-Rammang karst, and some of Indonesia’s best food.
You can visit South Sulawesi all year round—but June through September, the peak of the May–October dry season, are the busiest months for funerals in Tana Toraja and a great time to visit Sulawesi in general. The Ma’nene ritual, where family members dig up their loved ones and dress them up, falls during August, although Torajans usually have some kind of ritual even during the rainy season.
South Sulawesi spans around 18,000 square miles (47,000 square kilometers), which makes it bigger than Denmark. But mountainous terrain and often poor roads mean it takes a surprising amount of time to get around. There are buses between major population centers and shared minibuses between smaller towns, while Makassar has taxis as well as Grab and Gojek rideshares. The modern Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport (UPG), outside Makassar, connects to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and destinations across Indonesia.
Makassar gave its name to its signature dish, coto Makassar, a rich beef soup packed with morsels of meat (and, often, innards) and served with rice patties wrapped in palm leaves. Try it at Coto Nusantara, an unfussy joint where you can order with or without offal. Authentic Torajan food can be hard to find in Rantepao eateries. Rimiko Restaurant offers pa’piong dishes cooked in bamboo as well as pamarrasan specialties, served with a black keluak nut sauce.
