Tomohon

Most people in Tomohon are Christian. Christianity plays an important role in all aspects of life. The Tomohon Christian congregations are diligent church-goers; most are Calvinist Protestants. The locals were converted to Christianity during the long period of Dutch colonial rule. In addition to the Calvinists, there is also a Catholic congregation, which is the second biggest religious denomination in Tomohon. There are also other congregations from other denominations, such as Pentecostal, Adventist, and several minor denominations. Each congregation builds its own churches, which explains why there is a church every few hundred metres.

During holiday times, the people will decorate their houses, the lanes, the streets, and so on with special themes. For example, during Christmas and New Year, festive ornaments can be easily found anywhere in Tomohon city. They normally say "the months which end in '-ber' are Christmas". All the celebrations end on kuncikan, which means 'closing day'.

The Chinese in Tomohon celebrate the Chinese New Year, and the biggest festival is on the 15th day after Chinese New Year, called Cap Go Meh. There is a procession of calling the spirits of the Chinese Gods or Goddesses to possess mortal human bodies, and their idols are carried on sedan chairs from the temple around the city centre to bestow their blessings on believers. In this procession, the possessed mortal performs magical acts, such as piercing his own cheek with some solid and sharp stick from one side to the other, without any bleeding; a sword carrier hits his own back with a very sharp sword without injuring himself; and another cuts his own tongue without injuring himself. This procession usually attracts the attention of the whole city.

There is a special community in Southern Tomohon, where Muslims live in a village called Kampung Jawa, meaning 'Javanese Village'. Idul Fitri and Ramadhan are celebrated there.

Tomohon is one of Minahasa tribe's regions. However, the Minahasa tribe is divided into several sub-tribes. Tomohon belongs to a sub-tribe called Tombulu. Pakasaan Tombulu spreads from Tombuluan in the east of Pineleng and Tombariri in the west, and from Tomohon in the south to Manado in the north. Pakasaan Tombulu speaks Tombulu language, Manado Malay, and Bahasa Indonesia. It is believed that Tomohon is the centre of Pakasaan Tombulu. Pakasaan Tombulu in Tomohon, especially those who live in the region of Kakaskasen have special customs that are still maintained up until today.

The nearest airport to Tomohon is Sam Ratulungi International in Manado MDC ^IATA, about 33 kilometres (21 miles), and can be reached in 1 hour via the Ring road, or 1½ hour via Manado. There are many airlines destination in this airport, from Jakarta, Makassar, Bali, Gorontalo, Tahuna, Ternate, Sorong, Singapore, Balikpapan, and several other minor cities. The airlines with route to Sam Ratulangi airport are Garuda Indonesia (the Indonesian flag carrier), Lion Air, Sriwijawa Air, Wings Air, along with several chartered airlines.

Tomohon is also reachable (indirectly) by ship, and the nearest harbour is Manado harbour for the provincial area, and Bitung harbour for national and international service. There are several ship route by PELNI berthing at Bitung harbour.

Tomohon is reachable also by public transport buses, or rental and taxi cars from cities in Sulawesi or Celebes Island, such as Makassar, Pare-Pare, Toraja, Poso, Tentena, Palu, Toli-Toli, Ampana, Gorontalo, Bitung, Kotamobagu, Manado, and other minor towns and cities. Bus terminals to Tomohon is from Tondano, Kawangkoan, and Manado, and destined to Terminal Beriman, Tomohon.

Get a rental car direct from the airport on arrival. Cost around Rp 500,000 per day included driver, or self drive approximately Rp 300,000 per day, can be used for around Minahasa. For central information, tel: +62 852 4022 0620 or +62 431 892 979.

• Bluebird Taxi (Bluebird) (Manado to Tomohon, airport to Tomohon, and other areas), ☏ +62 431 861 234. Rp 100,000. 
• Mikrolet Tomohon Tondano (AB), Terminal Tondano (Tondano-Tomohon-Tondano). 06:00 to 20:00. Rp 4,000. 
• Mikrolet Tomohon Sonder (AC), Terminal Sonder (Sonder-Tomohon-Sonder). 07:00 to 19:00. Rp 3,500. 
• Mikrolet Tomohon Tanawangko (AF), Terminal Tanawangko (Tanawangko-Tomohon-Tanawangko). 07:00 to 15:00. Rp 6,000. 
• Bus Tomohon Manado, Terminal Karombasan, Manado - Terminal Beriman Tomohon (Manado-Tomohon-Manado). 05:00 to 20:00. Rp 6,000. 

There are several ways to get around the Tomohon area. The first one is by mikrolet. The mikrolet are the light blue Mitsubishi Colt (or similar), and can be found everywhere with various destinations. They operate on set routes with established fares, but also can be chartered when it is empty. The passenger seats in a mikrolet face forward, with maximum nine passengers. Some mikrolets are fully furnished with a small flatscreen TV, CD player, or music player, comfortable seats, and so on. All regular routes begin and end in the main terminal called Terminal Beriman (bus terminal).

Bendi is a local name for horse-drawn cart, and can be a second option to go around Tomohon. Just like mikrolet, bendi also operates on set limited routes. Only from Tomohon city centre to areas such as Matani, Walian, Kamasi, and Kolongan. This bendi is the old transportation along with cow cart called Roda Sapi. While bendi served for public transportation in the city, roda sapi served the route to the farm or rice fields. The fare for a trip by bendi is Rp 5,000 per person (as of October 2018), and can be chartered up to 4 hours to go around Tomohon area.

Ojek is an Indonesian term for public motorbike taxi. The fares vary depending on the distance of a particular destination, but it usually starts from Rp 3,000 up to Rp 20,000. This Ojek can also be chartered daily. The chartered fare is around Rp 50,000 per day without fuel. By ojek, you can reach the places unreachable by mikrolet or bendi, even by rental cars.

Daily in front of Bethesda Hospital, in the city centre, you can find many taxi cars queuing. They are called 'black taxi' or 'rental car'. The cars can be hired daily, weekly, monthly, and even annually. The fare rate varies between Rp 250,000 up to Rp 500,000 per day. The service can be include driver and fuel, or also without them.

• 🌍 Mount Mahawu (Gunung Mahawu). A stratovolcano. Be careful on the stairs when wet; the stairs have an inclination that make them extremely slippery. (updated May 2022)
• 🌍 Mount Lokon. (updated May 2022)
• 🌍 Mount Masarang. (updated May 2022)

• Tintingon Hill. 
• Wawo Hill. 
• Temboan Hill. 
• Inspiration Hill (Bukit Inspirasi). 

• Tumimperas Waterfall. 
• Tinoor Waterfall. 

• Bukit Doa Mahawu (Jalan Salib Mahawu), Jl. Lingkar Timur, Kakaskasen Dua, ☏ +62 431 335 8833. A quiet area for Christian pilgrimage. It has 'Via Dolorosa' at Mahawu (Jalan Salib Mahawu) to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ when he died on the cross. Inside the area is a Chapel of Virgin Mary, amphitheatre Mahawu, and man made grotto. All welcome. Rp 2,500 per person. (updated Oct 2018)
• Buddhayana Monastery, Sunge, Kakaskasen Tiga, ☏ +62 431 336 0881. A Buddhist religious and meditation complex. Chinese culture preserved in architecture of statues, Kwan Im goddess palace and pagoda. Religious service every Sunday 15:30. free. 
• Pagoda and Buddhayana Temple. 

• 🌍 Linow Lake (Danau Linouw). A volcanic lake. (updated May 2022)
• Knockdown House Industry. 
• Ancient Site and Amphitheatre Woloan. 
• Palm Sugar Industry. 
• Sony Art Gallery (Painting Gallery). 
• Tomohon Market (Pasar Beriman). Traditional Market, Fresh Market, and Extreme Market (the latter is where they sell various exotic meat such as dogs, bats, snakes). It is called 'extreme" for a reason. If customer buys an animal alive, it will be slaughtered on the spot. Not for the faint-hearted. Come in the morning before 08:00 if you want to see the Extreme Market, it gets quiet after 10:00. 

• Sup Ubi / Bete - is a very tasty home-cooking for appetiser. It is made by xanthosoma root with edible hibiscus leaves and or water spinach leaves.
• Braunebonen - literally 'red bean' soup. Cooked either with cow bones or pig legs, with herbs such as clove, nutmeg, white pepper. The Minahasan likes to eat this together with rice.
• Sup Kacang Ijo - literally 'green bean' soup. The preparation is very similar with braunebonen.
• Kua Asam / Kua trang - sour soup or clear soup. The local people has a riddle about this food. "Salt from the sea and sour from the mountains meets together in a pan, what is that?" - and the answer is sour soup, because it's made by several herbs such as spring onion, lemon leaves, lemon basil, tomatoes, a little bit chilli, red ginger, and fish with little bit salt and lime. Very tasty.
• Sup kentang - 'potato soup' cooked in pasta such as macaroni or rice vermicelli.

• Tinorangsak, pork cooked with herbs such as spring onion, lemon leaves, lemon grass, chilli, and other kinds of herbs; it is cooked in bamboo. Several prepare it using frying pan.
• RW /err weh/, dog meat cooked with chilli, lemon grass, lemon leaves, spring onion, and other kinds of herbs. 'RW' is the common abbreviation for Rintek Wu'uk in the Minahasan dialect, which translates to 'fine hair', a euphemism for dog meat.
• Paniki, bat cooked in coconut milk with spicy herbs.
• Paku Popaya Bulu, vegetables of edible fern and papaya leaves (sometimes with flowers too), cooked in bamboo with spices and herbs. Some people like to add salty pork fat.
• Ayam Bulu, chicken cooked in bamboo.
• Ayam Bumbu RW, chicken cooked with spices for RW.
• Bebek Bumbu RW, duck cooked with spices for RW.
• Ragey, a chunky pork satay marinated with spices.
• Bebek Bulu, duck cooked in bamboo.
• Ayam Garo, literally means scratching chicken, because the preparation is a fast mixing of the herbs and spices on the frying pan similar to scratching it. This food is categorised as spicy food because of the amount of chilli.
• Babi Garo, literally means scratching pork, the process is similar to Ayam Garo.
• Babi Tore, literally means crisp pork.
• Kapala Babi, literally means pig head; it is pig head boiled in spiced soup.
• Acar, made of young bamboo, carrots, cucumber, peanut, herbs, and other spices such as turmeric and onion.
• Ikan Woku Blanga, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It is called blanga because it's prepared by using frying pan.
• Ikan Woku Daong, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It is called daong because it's prepared by using palm leaves called woka.
• Ikan Woku Kring, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It's called kring because it's prepared with less water, and when it's cooked, we can barely see any soup in it.
• Mie Loba, noodle soup with shredded pork.
• Rica Rodo, made of corn, aubergine (egg plant), long bean with spicy herbs, chilli, and smoked fish.
• Sate Kolombi, freshwater snail satay.
• Sayor Pusu' made of fluorescent or banana heart, cooked with entrails of animals, normally chicken or pork, such as intestine, heart, and liver.

• Buah segar - literally 'fresh fruit', it is prepared from various kind of fruits, but mainly papaya, apple, avocado, pudding or gel, young coconut, rambutan, longan, and soursop in syrupy and milky water.
• Es braunebon - 'red bean ice', prepared from red bean cooked in traditional made of palm sugar and then later mixed with blended ice and sweetened condensed milk.
• Es Kacang Susu - 'milk and peanut ice', prepared from peanut and served like 'red bean ice'.
• Gohu - prepared from chopping papaya with spicy syrup containing red ginger, chilli, vinegar (palm vinegar is better), sugar (brown sugar is better), onion. The locals like to add more chilli.
• Klapertaart - literally 'coconut tart', prepared from young coconut mixed with milk, eggs, maize flavour, sugar, and raisin, and frozen in the fridge.

• Kukis Kalapa, literally means 'coconut cookie', made of unripe coconut, rice flavour, and brown sugar.
• Binyolos, made of sweet potato and brown sugar.
• Onde-Onde, made of rice flavour and brown sugar, after cooked it is rolled on grated coconut. It is good to have it while it's still warm. but be careful not to eat it while it's still fresh from the boiling pan. It can be very tricky that the outside could be cool while the inside is injuriously hot. The other variant is Onde-Onde Pulo, the difference between this two are the type of the rice. Onde-onde Pulo is made by sticky rice flavour.
• Cucur, made of rice flavour and brown sugar, some people put anise or aniseed. Curut, Apang, Apang Coe, Apang Polote, Nasi Jaha, Dodol, Bobengka, Ongol-Ongol, Geto', Gabin Fla, Biapong, etc.

• 🌍 Gloria, ☏ +62 43 135 2841. The best pig ribs in the city. A full meal of white rice, 3 pig ribs (costellata), braunebonen (red beans) soup and vegetable only cost Rp 15,000. 
• 🌍 Kobong Cafe, Jl. Raya Tomohon. 
• 🌍 Kit Sang Restaurant, Jl. Raya Tomohon. 
• 🌍 Restaurant Sineleyan, Jl. Raya Tomohon. 
• Risoma Restaruant (Restoran Risoma), Jl. Raya Tomohon - Manado, Tinoor (On the way to Manado). 11:00 to 21:00. The best Minahasan cuisine. It is located out of Tomohon city, and unfortunately the restaurant is hard to achieve just by microlet service. The menu includes Pangi, Acar, Tinorangsak (pork cooked in bamboo), RW (dogmeat), Paniki (fruit bat meat), Braunebonen (red bean soup), Sayor pait (bitter vegetable), and many more. Rp 20,000 per person. 
• 🌍 Heng Mien Restaurant (Restoran Heng Mien), Jl. Raya Tomohon Manado, Tinoor (On the way to Manado). 10:00 to 22:00. The famous Minahasan cuisine restaurant in Tomohon. Unfortunaley, this restaurant is also located out of Tomohon city on the road to Manado. The menu are almost all the famous of the Minahasan cuisine such as RW, Paniki, Pangi, Sayor Pait, Acar, and so on. To get here, you can charter a mikrolet, the fare starts from Rp 75,000 per trip, or ask the hotel to arrange the dinner here. Rp 20,000 per person. (updated Mar 2018)
• 🌍 RM Mie Pangsit Mas Topan Arema, Jl. Babe Palar Jalan, Walian. M-Sa 09:00-21:00. A famous Javanese restaurant in Tomohon. It served mie ayam, bakso Malang, nasi goreng, tahu telor and so on. Around Rp20,000. (updated Mar 2023)