Tentena Indonesia – Your Quick Travel Guide

In a nutshell

Frequently overlooked as a travel destination, the charming town of Tentena in Central Sulawesi is finally getting put on the tourist map; and for more reasons than simply being a necessary overnight stopping point for those travelling from Rantepao to Ampana.

Why go to Tentena

A peaceful, scenic and relaxing place, Tentena is home to natural treasures such as a stunning waterfall, a cave, and a smattering of idyllic beaches on the Northwest side of the tranquil Lake Poso. Those spending a few nights in Tentena will leave feeling rejuvenated and relaxed and this quaint little town is the perfect place to recharge your batteries and catch your breath during your travels through the Indonesian archipelago.

A main reason to pay homage to Tentena is for the vibrant, vivacious and colourful Festival Danau Poso which is held in the town every August and is hands down, the uncontested social highlight of Central Sulawesi’s event calendar. Villagers from across the region flock to this little town by the masses to observe this spirited celebration of local culture. The festivities include dancing, singing, various traditional sports, and plenty of eating and socialising.

This fact that this underrated town is currently being overlooked, is a key reason in itself to visit. The beautiful landscape of the rolling hills blanketed by lush clover, the sparkling Lake Poso and all the natural delights will be yours minus the crowds and tour buses. Nature lovers and photographers will relish the secluded waterfalls, jungle treks, quiet lakesides and serene atmosphere of Tentena. There are even wonderfully informative and interesting wildlife treks where you might spot tarsiers and a few endemic birds of Sulawesi. The friendly locals that have been unaffected by the negative aspects of mass tourism, will also make your stay here all the more welcoming and memorable.

When to go to Tentena

With temperatures being warm throughout the year as well as a fairly constant level of humidity, means that a visit to Tentena at any time of year is a good idea. For those wishing to engage in the animated celebrations of the extravagant Festival Danau Poso, be sure to plan your trip around August and book well ahead of time.

Where to stay in Tentena

Perhaps as a result of the small size of the town itself as well as the fact that Tentena isn’t visited all too frequently by foreign visitors, the accommodation options in the town are limited to a handful of popular spots and not all of them can be booked online beforehand.

Probably the most popular accommodation with travellers, Victory Hotel offers excellent value for money with it’s clean, comfortable, simple rooms; and welcoming staff. Other options include a scattering of inns, homestays, and hotels, some of which are even situated on the edges of Lake Poso which makes for a gorgeous view when sipping your morning coffee. Accommodation is affordable, with Victory Hotel being between IDR 150,000 to IDR 250,000 for the night with hot showers, air-con and a delicious complimentary breakfast of pancakes, fruit, fried rice, tea, coffee and juice. Travellers who are not in town during Festival Danau Poso would easily be able to simply arrive without any pre-bookings, stroll around the town and take their pick of the available accommodations on offer.

Where and what to eat in Tentena

Fortunately for travellers with strict budgets, the food in Tentena is mostly local dishes and is very very affordable. There are plenty of small warungs (restaurants) dotted throughout the town whipping up scrumptious meals until fairly late. Our personal favourite eating spots were the one’s along the edges of the lake. Many of the accommodations in Tentena also have a restaurant on-site that easily and conveniently satisfy any and all hunger pangs.

The charming town is also pretty well-known for some interesting and unusual dishes that are well-worth sampling. Binte Biluhuta is one of these dishes. Binte is a spicy, soupy dish with corn as its main ingredient. The corn is boiled with shrimp, cayenne pepper, lime, basil, shredded coconut, diced tomatoes; and ladled enthusiastically from giant pots in many of Tentena’s warungs, and across Sulawesi.

For those with more adventurous palettes, Tentena is also famous for its deep-fried sugili (giant eel), and tomohon (fruit bat) served with a hot and spicy dipping sauce. There’s even a restaurant at the entrance of the famous Saloupa Waterfall that serves python!

How to get around Tentena

Getting around Tentena can only really be done by catching a ride on the back of one of the many motorbike taxis (ojeks) in town. This is a cheap means of getting from A to B but be mindful of insisting on a helmet, holding on tight and asking the driver to drive as slow as you are comfortable. A short distance ride to should cost you around IDR 10,000. Another option for experienced drivers, is to hire a motorbike or scooter of your own and explore the treasures of the town by yourself. Scooters and motorbikes can be rented from most of the accommodations or even restaurants, and cost around IDR 100,000 for a full 24-hours use. The locals are friendly enough to ask for directions should you get lost and this allows you the freedom to roam that isn’t really possible on the back of a motorbike taxi.

How to get to and from Tentena

Getting into the town of Tentena is usually done via a bus or bemo which will drop you off at the nondescript, unmarked ‘bus terminal’ which is essentially a drop-off point on the side of the road. There will be motorbike taxi drivers around this area asking you which way you want to go. They will usually charge anything from IDR 8,000 to IDR 15,000 for a ride to your accommodation and as you cling to your baggage and to the waist of the local driver, you may find yourself questioning this method of transportation. However, what they lack in comfort (and possibly safety), they make up for in price and convenience. Alternately you can opt to walk the 4km distance from the bus terminal to the centre of town with the majority of guesthouses and shops.

Many travellers arrive from Rantepao to Tentena as it is a rest stop before heading onwards to Ampana and Palu. Buses leave Rantepao at 8:30am and arrive in Tentena after the long, gruelling 13-hour journey around 9:30pm. Phew! Heading to Sulawesi via road and not air is a challenging endeavour. From Tentena travellers can take one of five buses that leave from the bus terminal everyday, Monday through Saturday for around IDR 120,000 per ticket. The journey to Palu will take around 8 hours on the bumpy roads. To reach Ampana, bemos will transport you from the Tentena bus terminal to Poso, which will take around 2 hours and cost roughly IDR 38,000. Once arriving at Poso you’ll need to board a 4-hour bus headed to Ampana. The second part of the journey will cost around IDR 80,000. Be warned that taxis and private cars will try and tell you that the bus is no longer available and attempt convincing you that you should get a ride with them instead at a drastically increased price. Typically enough, as soon as you make it clear that you intend waiting for the bus, their transport costs will decrease significantly.

Travellers wanting to get from Tentena to the Lore Lindu National Park will need to catch a 4-hour jeep headed to Gintu from the town’s bus terminal. A one-way ticket should cost around IDR 100,000. Alternatively, if you’re travelling in a bigger group, you could opt to hire your own jeep for the journey with your own private driver. This would cost between IDR 1,500,000 and IDR 2,000,000 for a return trip for four people.

For those wanting to reach the nearby towns of Poso and Pendolo, the buses leave very frequently from Tentena and take roughly 2 hours. Tickets to Pendolo are around IDR 32,000 and tickets to Poso are around IDR 38,000. There is no need to book these trips before hand and travellers can simply arrive at the bus stop and wait for the next available bus or bemo headed in that direction.

Is Tentena s safe place to visit?

Staying safe in Tentena is fairly easy to do and reports of crime on travellers are almost non-existent. However, much like travelling through any new place, its obviously advisable to keep your wits about you and to remain cautious and careful.

When arriving at the Tenetena bus terminal there are the occasional touts plying for your attention and trying to convince you to take their overpriced motorbike taxi and to stay at an accommodation that they no doubt get a cut of commission. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you do need a place to stay, be careful to not get overcharged and ripped off.