Ternate

Former capital of a clove sultanate on an island that is entirely Mount Gamalama, with Portuguese and Dutch forts, a sultan's palace, crater lakes and ferries to Tidore.

Ternate is the largest city in Indonesia's North Maluku Province. The whole island is a single 1,715 m active volcano, Mount Gamalama; it's about 45 km around, and the city stretches along the southeast coast. This was the heart of the historic Spice Islands: cloves are native here, and in the 16th–17th centuries the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English came in turn for the spice trade, while the Sultanate of Ternate and the Sultanate of Tidore across the strait vied for supremacy for centuries, leaving a dense array of colonial forts and palaces. Sightseeing comes in three parts: in town, the Sultan's Palace, the Sultan's Mosque, Fort Oranje and Fort Tolukko; a day trip along the roughly 45 km round-island road, passing Fort Kalamata, Lake Laguna, the ruins of Fort Kastela, Lake Tolire, Sulamadaha Beach and the Batu Angus lava field; and a climb up Mount Gamalama, or a trip up the slopes to see the Afo clove tree. From the city harbor, speedboats reach Tidore in 10–15 minutes for its Sultan's Palace and Fort Tahula, or you can snorkel off Maitara Island. The climate is hot and humid, about 26–32°C year-round, relatively dry from Sep–Mar and wetter from May–Aug. Getting there: Sultan Babullah Airport has flights from Jakarta, Makassar, Manado and elsewhere; on the island you can rent or charter a car or take a motorbike taxi, and a loop around the island takes about 2 hours. Plan to stay 2–3 days. The area is predominantly Muslim, so dress modestly at religious sites; Mount Gamalama erupts from time to time, so always check the alert level before climbing.

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