With 1.4 million inhabitants Makassar is the most important and largest city in southern Sulawesi. Located near southern end of the southwestern peninsula of Sulawesi, Makassar is a major travel hub with an international airport with connections to most airports in central and eastern Indonesia and some cities in China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
Makassar has a long history. It was the capital of the Sultanate of Gowa until the 16th century, when it was conquered by the Portuguese. It came under Dutch rule towards the end of the 17th century and became part of Indonesia after independence. Despite its long history there are few historic buildings in Makassar. One of them is Fort Rotterdam, which was built on the site of the former Ujung Pandang fort.
From a tourist perspective there is not much to see in Makassar, although the centre of the city is reasonably clean and pleasant. The main reason to visit Makassar is the airport which offers convenient flights to a number of cities in Sulawesi and other cities in Indonesia. Makassar is also the start or end point of the overland trail towards Manado, covering Tana Toraja, the central highlands, the Togian islands and Manado/Bunaken.
How to get to the Makassar
The simplest way to reach Makassar is to fly in by plane. Alternatively a traveller could also arrive overland from northern or central Sulawesi.
Accommodation
Makassar has a number of accomodation options, most of them bookable via the international booking portals.
01 Grilled bananas 02 99 domes mosque 03 99 domes mosque 04 Penghibur waterfront with food stalls 05 Penyet restaurant
06 Penghibur waterfront with food stalls 07 Penghibur waterfront with food stalls 08 Harbour area at sunset 09 Penghibur street
10 Penghibur street 11 D prima hotel 12 D prima hotel 13 Fort Rotterdam 14 Statue of Sultan Hasanuddin
15 Fort Rotterdam 16 Fort Rotterdam 17 Telecommunications towers
18 Fort Rotterdam 19 Fort Rotterdam gate 20 Fort Rotterdam gate 21 Delicate coffee cafe
22 Harbour area at sunset 23 Harbour area at sunset 24 Houses on stilts
25 Harbour area at sunset
26 Harbour area at sunset 27 99 domes mosque 28 99 domes mosque
29 99 domes mosque 30 99 domes mosque 31 99 domes mosque 32 99 domes mosque
33 Makassar airport motorbike parking 34 Makassar airport
35 Makassar airport 36 Makassar airport shops 37 Makassar airport
38 Makassar airport shops 39 Makassar airport shops 40 Wings air ATR72-500 aircraft 41 Lion Air ATR72 planes 42 Propeller of ATR72-500 aircraft
43 Passengers boarding ATR72 plane 44 Makassar airport
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