Makassar

Paotere at dawn, Fort Rotterdam by noon, Losari at sunset

Makassar's classic day runs from harbour to seafront. Go to Paotere at sunrise to see Bugis pinisi schooners loading and the fish market, spend mid-morning in Fort Rotterdam, the Dutch fort and museum, and walk Losari's waterfront at sunset, when the evening food stalls open.

Early morning. Take a Grab north to Paotere, the old harbour where Bugis and Makassarese pinisi schooners still tie up. Crews carry sacks of rice and cement aboard for the eastern islands, and the fish market next door is busiest soon after sunrise. Stay out of the way of the loading and ask before photographing people.

Mid-morning. Head back to Fort Rotterdam, built by the Gowa sultanate and rebuilt by the Dutch after 1667. Walk the ramparts, then see the Museum La Galigo inside, which covers South Sulawesi's peoples, boatbuilding and the Bugis epic that gives it its name.

Lunch. Eat coto makassar at one of the coto houses near the fort, then wander along Jalan Somba Opu, the street of gold and silver shops.

Afternoon. Wait out the heat, then ride south to the reclaimed land at Center Point of Indonesia to see the 99 Domes Mosque, whose red and orange domes pile up like a small hill of lanterns. Families may prefer an afternoon at Trans Studio, a large indoor theme park nearby.

Evening. Walk along Losari for sunset, past the floating mosque on its piles over the water, and eat pisang epe from the stalls on the promenade before a late seafood dinner.

Coto, konro, pallubasa and grilled pisang epe in Makassar

Makassar's kitchen is built on beef, seafood and bananas. Order coto makassar, beef and offal in a peanut-thick broth with ketupat, konro ribs in black keluak soup, and pallubasa, a richer beef soup; finish with pisang epe, flattened grilled banana with palm sugar, at the Losari stalls.

Eat your way through these and you will understand why Indonesians travel here hungry.

Coto makassar is the city's signature: beef and offal simmered in a thick broth with ground peanuts and spices, served in small bowls with ketupat or burasa rice cakes. Coto houses open early and are busiest at breakfast and lunch. Pallubasa is its richer cousin, made with grated toasted coconut and often finished with a raw egg yolk stirred into the hot soup. Sop saudara, from nearby Pangkep, adds rice noodles, potato fritters and grilled milkfish on the side.

Konro is beef rib soup darkened with keluak nut; konro bakar is the same ribs taken out, glazed and grilled over charcoal, then served with the broth. Mie titi, crispy fried noodles drowned in a thick gravy with seafood and chicken, shows the city's Chinese side.

Fresh fish is everywhere. Pick it at a seafood restaurant on the coast and have it grilled as ikan bakar with a sour mango and chilli sambal.

Save room for dessert. Pisang epe, bananas pressed flat and grilled with palm-sugar syrup, is the Losari snack, and pisang ijo, banana in green rice-flour dough with coconut cream and syrup, is the iced treat for hot afternoons.

Samalona, Rammang-Rammang and Bantimurung in the dry months

Visit Makassar from June to September, when August averages about 15 mm of rain and the sea is calm for boats to Samalona and the Spermonde islands. The karst of Rammang-Rammang and the waterfalls and butterflies of Bantimurung make easy day trips; January can bring over 700 mm of rain.

Makassar works best as a base for short trips, and the season decides which ones are possible. From June to September the rain almost stops, with August averaging about 15 mm, and the sea is calm. From December to March the city takes huge amounts of rain, over 700 mm in a typical January, and boat trips and karst walks become difficult.

The Spermonde islands. Boats leave from the Kayu Bangkoa pier near Fort Rotterdam and from the Losari area for the low coral islands offshore. Samalona, 30 to 45 minutes away, has white sand and decent snorkelling; Kodingareng Keke is a tiny uninhabited sandbar further out. Charter a boat in the morning and bring water and shade.

Rammang-Rammang. About an hour and a half north in Maros regency, wooden boats glide along a river between towering limestone karst to a hamlet surrounded by rice fields. Nearby, the caves of Leang-Leang hold hand stencils and animal paintings among the oldest rock art known anywhere.

Bantimurung. A little further on, this park has a waterfall over a wide rock shelf and was famous for butterflies when Alfred Russel Wallace collected here in the 1850s. Weekends are crowded with local families; go on a weekday.

For longer trips, Tanjung Bira, with its beaches and boatyards building pinisi by hand, is about five hours south.