LAKES, BEACHES, FORESTS, fields, mountains, critters, rivers, waterfalls and mysterious stone effigy are just some of the things to enjoy between Toraja and the north.
There's plenty of distance to cover between the wildlife on the northern stretch of Sulawesi and the cultural wonderland of Toraja.
From Gorontalo to Palu is a windy, 18 hour slog.
However, between the beaches around Palu....
....and the placid Lake Poso, there's plenty of relaxation and wilderness.
Hunt out some strange megalith stone sculptures around Lore Lindu National Park.
Or eat some unusual dishes like "paniki"-bat meat.
Serious, multi-day hikes can be done into Lore Lindu to see wildlife and megaliths.
For us, a couple of days on the fringes of the park near Wuasa gave us some very good birding.
There's some very pretty village scenery around Wuasa, especially when Google sends you on a wild goose chase through the fields.
Our mission was to see megaliths, and we soon were following a "road" through 6 foot high weeds and slipping on mud.
But we found our megalith...in someone's front yard, between their washing and satellite dish!
Early mornings are moody and misty.
The village roads are quiet and there are plenty of falls, megalith and other spots within an hour of town.
Getting across the hills to Poso involves first finding a taxi, and then some beautiful but bumpy forest roads. Google maps road is a ten hour+ detour.
Poso town itself is best seen in the rear view mirror.
Tentena and Poso Lake are very attractive.
The town has a reasonably good selection of places to eat.
Seafood is everywhere, and giant eels are caught in these wooden traps.
We found a great hotel between the lake and the rice fields, and they rented us a bike.
It's a 70km drive from Tentena to the southern shores of the lake.
Within an hour there are many waterfalls and several quiet swimmable beaches.
Some of the falls are set up with coffee shops and warungs, and shelters by the water.
There is a small but visible Balinese migrant community near Tentena, where Balinese houses and temples are surrounded by rice fields.
If heading north, you have all this to look forward to. Heading south, 12 hours on a bus, but then the intrigue of Toraja.