Palu is the provincial capital of central Sulawesi with a
population of 330,000. Since I had a spare day before the eclipse, I decided to
tour around the city.
The main attractions are outside of Palu, including Lore
Lindu National Park, which features over 200 bird species, many of them unique
to Indonesia. Unfortunately, I was unable to visit the park due to lack of time.
Source: Flickr
Palu has a bit of a microclimate, due to being in a valley
surrounded by two mountain ranges. This meant that it’s relatively dry, making
it perfect for eclipse watching.
There aren’t that many local attractions, and you can easily
see the sights in a couple hours.
Palu’s population mostly consists of Muslims, although there
is a significant Christian minority. This meant that there was always a mosque
within earshot. The most prominent mosque in Palu is the Masjid Terapung or
more commonly known as the floating mosque.
Non-Christians are allowed to visit and inside the mosque I
met a few school children learning Arabic and studying the Koran. Although they
didn’t speak much English, nothing transcends language barriers more than a
game of high five.
Afterwards, I walked around the shoreline of Palu Bay and
stumbled upon an unfinished monument, which was erected in honor of the solar
eclipse.
Nearby, a fisherman was trawling for fish, with his kids
enjoying the sunny day.
Afterwards I headed to the peace monument, located in the
hills overlooking the city.
The views were stunning, although they had a peace
gong with no actual mallet to strike it with.
As the sun set over the mountains, I walked onto the Teluk
Palu bridge, which featured gorgeous views of Palu bay.
This clearly was the hangout spot for the local youth, and quite a few were taking selfies at a pedestrian area nearby.
I headed back to my hotel and called it a night as I had to
wake up real early the next day for the eclipse.
