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Land Tours from Dive Into Lembeh
North Sulawesi Info
North SulawesiΒ (Indonesian:Β Sulawesi Utara) is aΒ provinceΒ ofΒ Indonesia. It is located on the northern peninsula of the island ofΒ Sulawesi, on theΒ Minahasa Peninsula, lies south ofΒ PhilippinesΒ and southeast ofΒ Malaysia. The province's capital and largest city isΒ Manado, which is also the main gateway and the economic center of the province. Other major towns includesΒ TomohonΒ andΒ Bitung.
North Sulawesi in the past was an area of potential spices, rice and gold which became a battleground for the interests of economic hegemony between the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and the Kingdoms around this area, which ultimately led to political and military struggles. The Portuguese first landed on the area at the 16th century. Following decades of war between theΒ Portuguese, theΒ SpanishΒ and theΒ DutchΒ to control the area, the area ultimately fell to the Dutch at the 17th century. The Dutch ruled the area for three centuries, before being ousted by theΒ JapaneseΒ on the eve ofΒ World War II. Following theΒ Japanese surrenderΒ inΒ 1945, the Dutch briefly regained possession of the area, before finally leaving for good inΒ 1949.
Language
The official language is Bahasa Indonesian, however,Β Manado MalayΒ is theΒ lingua francaΒ of the province.
Ethnicity
TheΒ MinahasanΒ is the dominant ethnic group in the province. They are the most populous ethnic group in theΒ Minahassa Peninsula. They mostly lived in areas coveringΒ BitungΒ City,Β ManadoΒ City,Β TomohonΒ City,Β Minahasa Regency,Β North Minahasa Regency,Β South Minahasa RegencyΒ andΒ Southeast Minahasa Regency. When away from the resort, be prepared to be greeted with smiles, waves and cries of βHello Mister!β
Climate/Seasons best time to visit
The diving in Lembeh is year-round. North Sulawesi has an equatorial climate with two seasons: rainy and dry. The rainy season lasts from about November to March. The temperatures at sea level are uniform, varying by only a few degrees throughout the region, and throughout the year 78Β°- 82Β°F (25Β°- 28Β°C).