Matano Lake is the Deepest in Southeast Asia and Historic Relics

DIDIN MIX - Matano in Dongi is a spring. Dongi is a village located in the city of Sorowako, East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi. This village at the southern tip of the island of Sulawesi is home to Lake Matano.

Exploring Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke, and Minga to Rote Island may be everyone's dream and hope. Uniquely, each region has a natural and cultural ecosystem that really shows the identity of this country's sovereignty as one of the largest archipelagic countries in the world. Indonesia, in the eyes of the world, is a piece of heaven and a place for rare flora and fauna ecosystems to live.

For 350 years Indonesia was colonized, in fact it became an afterthought for every citizen. That Indonesia, which was previously called the archipelago, was loved by the colonial countries. But it is common knowledge, the love of the colonizers for this country because of its natural wealth and abundant ecosystem. Wonderful Indonesia, that's the right name to remind the children of the country to always protect and protect their nature.

One of the natural ecosystems that makes Indonesia proud in the eyes of the world is a lake. When mentioning lakes in Indonesia, what is often heard is Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra. Or, Kelimutu lake in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. But actually, there are many other lakes that hide all their uniqueness.

Based on data released by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) through the Limnology Research Center in 2018, it does not actually mention the number of lakes in Indonesia. However, it is estimated that the number of lakes in Indonesia can reach 800-1000 lakes. Of these, each has its own characteristics, namely flood exposure lakes, volcanic lakes, and tectonic funds. Generally, volcanic lakes are known for their volcanic eruptions. While volcanic lakes are caused by shifts in the earth's plates.

The deepest Matano Lake in Southeast Asia

Lake Matano may still sound foreign. Yes, this lake is not very familiar. Mentioning its name alone, some of us may answer only know Lake Toba, because of its historical story that we often hear. Or maybe other lakes. But if we look deeper, in fact Lake Matano is a representation of Indonesia as the first deepest lake in Southeast Asia.

Of the 10 deepest lakes in Southeast Asia, Lake Matano ranks first with a depth of 590 meters. The second deepest lake is Toba in Medan North Sumatra with a depth of 505 meters. Then lake Poso 450 meters.

Besides showing its depth, Lake Matano is also quite pleasing to the eye because the water is clean, clear and calm. So clear, we can see the bottom of the lake to a depth of 20 meters.

Not only that, the area of ​​Lake Matano is also about 16,000 hectares. Imagine the vastness of this lake. Every visitor who attends will also be sure to enjoy the other natural ecosystems. With an area of ​​16,000 hectares, the lake has a length of about 28 km and a width of 8 km. It is only natural that Lake Matano has a depth of 590 meters.

Well, if you are interested in visiting the deepest lake in Southeast Asia, we can only take land and air routes. If you want to take the land route, the fare is relatively cheap, namely from downtown Makassar using a bus for Rp. 150,000 per person. We have to spend approximately 12 hours. As for the air route, it is only about 1 hour flight. But it really has to be a safety cost of around 1.2 million.

Historic Relics

Visiting Lake Matano for a tour, it doesn't feel right if you don't trace the history of the area. Moreover, Indonesia is known to have historical sites of the past. This uniqueness is what makes experts from the West often conduct research in Indonesia.

Based on information from local residents, Lake Matano turns out to have another uniqueness. At the bottom of the lake, it turns out that there is a cave that contains objects from the past such as spears, machetes, bowls and plates that are hundreds of years old.

Not only that, if we explore more deeply. Lake Matano also turns out to be home to a number of exotic fauna. Some of the fauna are rare animals that only exist in Lake Matanpo, namely the Butini fish ( Glossogobius matanensis ). Butini fish for local residents dubbed as ancient fish because of its brownish resemblance and shape like ancient animals. Besides Butini fish, other fauna that we can find are Bungka crabs (Paratelphusa), and freshwater snails (Brotia).

That's a glimpse of Lake Matano which is the deepest lake in Southeast Asia, as well as all the uniqueness and ecosystems that we can find. Perhaps, Lake Matano can be one of the main destinations for those of you who want to vacation in Sulawesi and its surroundings.