Bogani Nani Wartabone: where maleo chicks dig their way out

Bogani Nani Wartabone is the largest terrestrial national park in Sulawesi, a block of lowland and mountain forest straddling the border between North Sulawesi and Gorontalo. It is named after Nani Wartabone, a Gorontalese figure from the independence period, and it was known for years as Dumoga-Bone.

Most visitors come for one bird. The maleo is stocky, black and white, with a helmet-like casque, and it does something almost no other bird does: it buries its eggs in warm sand and volcanic soil and leaves the chicks to dig themselves out and fly. Seeing that at dawn, in a quiet clearing, is the reason people travel here.

A forest the size of a small province

The park covers around 2,870 square kilometres, running from coastal lowland forest up into the mountains of the interior. That range is what makes it valuable: it holds one of the last large blocks of Sulawesi lowland forest, with fig trees, rattans, palms and rivers running clear over stone.

Its shape follows the watershed rather than a straight line on a map, which is why access points feel scattered. The main entry for the northern side is near Kotamobagu and Doloduo; the eastern side, including Hungayono, is reached from Gorontalo. Both are long drives on roads that are good in places and slow in others.

Because the park spans coast and mountain, the forest changes as you climb: tall lowland trees and lianas near the rivers, then mossy, stunted forest higher up where the cloud sits. That range is why the bird list is long, and why a walk of a few hours can pass through two quite different worlds.

Hungayono and the maleo nursery

Hungayono is a maleo nesting ground in a clearing of warm, dark soil, worked by rangers who guard the nests and move eggs to a hatchery when the odds look bad. Visits start before light. You walk in with a guide, wait at a distance, and watch pairs arrive to dig, lay and cover the hole again.

The rules are simple and worth respecting: stay behind the marker, keep voices low, no flash, no drones. The birds are habituated but not tame, and a group that crowds them ends the morning for everyone. Chicks that hatch in the hatchery are released nearby, and the rangers keep a record of what has come out and when.

Babirusa, anoa and the night shift

The park is not only about one species. Babirusa, the pig with tusks that curl back towards its own skull, lives here, along with the dwarf buffalo called anoa, Sulawesi black macaques and several kinds of hornbill. Most are shy, and a day on the trails often produces tracks, calls and dung rather than a clear sighting.

The reliable wildlife is nocturnal. With a guide and a red light, a night walk near the forest edge can turn up tarsiers clinging to thin saplings, their eyes reflecting back at you. It is a short, strange encounter, and it is worth paying for a guide who knows where the animals tend to sleep rather than crashing through the undergrowth.

Walking the trails

Trails range from an hour on flat ground to full days on muddy, root-covered climbs. Near the research station at Toraut the paths are gentler and the birding is good; deeper in, you need a permit, a guide and a realistic idea of your own fitness in heat and humidity.

Expect leeches in the wet season and take them seriously as an inconvenience rather than a danger. Long socks, quick-drying trousers and boots that can get wet are more useful than camera equipment. Leeches are easiest to remove with salt or a fingernail; do not pull at them in a panic.

Guides are compulsory on most routes and worth having: they read the forest in a way a first-time visitor cannot, finding a stick insect on a stem or a hornbill call behind the ridge. Agree the route and the price before you leave the trailhead, and carry more water than you think you need.

• Book a guide through the park office or your guesthouse before you arrive, not on the morning.
• Bring long socks, a head torch, a rain jacket and cash for the ranger and permit fees.
• Carry water for the whole walk; there are streams, but not all are safe to drink.
• Keep to the track at nesting grounds and never handle a chick or an egg.
• Allow a spare morning: wildlife does not perform to a schedule.

Getting in, and where to base yourself

From Kotamobagu, the road to Doloduo and the northern trails takes a couple of hours, depending on where you stop and what the weather has done to the surface. From Gorontalo, Hungayono is a longer half-day run, often in a 4x4 for the last stretch. There are no direct flights into the park, so a night on either side is part of the trip.

Simple homestays and guesthouses near the access points cost about Rp 250,000 to 500,000 a night, and most will arrange meals. Permits and guide fees are set by the park office and change from time to time; ask for the current figures when you book, and keep some cash aside. Do not expect ATMs or reliable mobile data once you leave town.

Questions people actually ask

Can I see a maleo without a guide?

Not at the nesting grounds, and you would not want to. The sites are guarded, the birds are sensitive, and a guide knows the timing and the distance. Arrange one through the park office or your accommodation.

Is Bogani Nani Wartabone hard to reach?

It takes effort. Fly to Manado or Gorontalo, then drive several hours, with the last section rough in places. Most visitors stay two nights near an access point and visit the forest at dawn and after dark.