Ternate Island Travel Guide & Best Things To Do (Maluku)

Ternate is a small, cone-shaped volcanic island in the North Maluku province of Indonesia. It isn’t likely to ever become a big vacation spot for tourists, but it has some interesting sights and history.

During the 16th century, Ternate was one of the most important kingdoms in the ‘Spice Islands’ of the Moluccas, and European powers fought over control of the spice trade here. Even today, this little island is still the main gateway to the North Maluku province.

If you ever happen to be passing through Ternate on the way to somewhere else in Indonesia, it’s worth checking out.

Here’s a travel guide for some of the best things to see and do on the island!

How To Get To Ternate Island

There’s an airport in Ternate (TTE) with direct flights from Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Manado, and Ambon. If you’re coming from Bali, then you’ll need to transit in one of these places first.

You can shop for flights on Skyscanner, but it’s worth noting that all of the flights in Maluku tend to be a bit pricey by Indonesian standards since this area is only served by a few airlines.

Alternatively, you can take a boat from Halmahera to Ternate, which is what we did after hiking Mount Dukono. The speedboat ride from Sofifi harbor only takes about 45 minutes and tickets are reasonably priced.

How To Get Around The Island

It’s very easy to get around on Ternate because of how small it is.

There’s a good paved road that wraps around the island in a circle, and it only takes about 1.5 hours to drive the whole loop. Some of the side roads can be a bit steep, like the road to Ngade Lake, but the main road is tame and flat.

You can rent a scooter from your hotel, or hire a private driver with a car. That’s what we did. Ternate also has the Grab app, which is convenient for short distance trips.

Drone pic of another lake in Ternate, the Danau Tolire.

Best Things To Do & See In Ternate

• Tolukko Fort

The Tolukko Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1512 to control the spice trade in Ternate and the rest of the Maluku islands.

Throughout the years, it was controlled by the Portuguese, the native Ternate Sultanate, the Dutch, the British, and the Spanish.

You can visit the fort for a small fee and climb to the rooftop for views of Mount Gamalama. It’s a photogenic and interesting place to see.

Fort Tolukko

• Kalamata Fort

This is another colonial fort that was built by the Portuguese in 1540, and subsequently traded hands between the local sultanate and the other European colonial powers.

It’s located on the south side of Ternate, so it has nice views of the Tidore and Maitara islands across the sea, especially if you go up to the roof of the fort.
 

• Kastela Beach

This beach is one of the best sunset spots on the island, with a group of photogenic trees that looks kind of like the dancing trees in Sumba island.

We only watched the sunset here one time, but the colors were incredible!

Be careful if you wade out to the trees for a closer photo. The water is shallow enough, but I almost stepped on a sea snake that was swimming around the rocks.

Crazy sunset colors at Kastela Beach

• Ngade Lake

This lake has one of the most amazing views in Ternate, with the volcanic peak of Tidore island in the distance. A similar picture was featured on Indonesia’s 1,000 Rupiah cash notes.

The scenery was almost ruined by an ugly, silly bicycle zipline that was installed at the viewpoint, but thankfully it’s still possible to take pictures without it blocking the view.

They charge a fee for drone use, which we didn’t see until it was too late. There’s also a swing you can use for a small fee.

Ngade Lake with the neighboring Tidore island in the distance

• Tolire Lake

Tolire is a bright green volcanic lake at the base of Mount Gamalama. It was formed by a strong eruption of Gamalama in 1775 that killed 141 people and buried one of the nearby villages, creating this lake in the process.

According to local legends, Tolire is supposedly home to a white crocodile that guards the lake. We didn’t see any crocodiles when we were there, but the locals told us about how people have been attacked by them while fishing in the lake.

Tribun News shared a video in 2022 of a crocodile that was spotted in the lake, although no one knows how it got there, considering the steep edges of the crater.

We did see lots of lizards at the viewpoint, including the first iguana we’ve seen in Indonesia.

Tolire Lake

Drone pic of the lake

• Tolire Beach

This is a cool beach with black sand from the volcano, and views of Hiri island in the distance. It’s very close to Lake Tolire.

We saw a big red crab scuttling across the beach, and he paused long enough for me to take a picture.

Tolire Beach

Crab on the black sand

• Batu Angus

Batu Angus is a small park where you can see a field of jagged black volcanic rocks that were deposited by Mount Gamalama.

It’s a reminder of how the volcano’s constant activity over the centuries has continued to shape Ternate island.

Gamalama has erupted dozens of times in recorded history, sometimes violently.
 

• Gamalama Volcano

At the center of Ternate island sits Mount Gamalama, an active volcano.

You can hike to the top, but it takes several hours starting from Moya. This is an active, smoking volcano, so climbing it isn’t without some risk.

If you have a drone and don’t feel comfortable climbing to the top of the volcano, then you can stop partway and still take some great pictures of the peak.

Mount Gamalama and Lake Tolire. Notice the smoke coming from the volcano.

• Sulamadaha Bay

This is a nice bay with turquoise water where you can go snorkeling, although the best fish and coral is further out from shore.

It’s a hidden bay, so the only way you can reach it is to park at the black sand beach and walk through the jungle for about 300 meters until you find the bay.

There’s also a second bay to the east, which is used as a harbor for going to Hiri island.
 

• Jikomalamo Beach

This is another popular spot for swimming and snorkeling. There’s no real beach to speak of, but it has nice views of Hiri island.

There are lots of warungs for buying snacks or drinks while you’re there.

View of Hiri island from Jikomalamo

More Things To See Near Ternate

• Tidore Island

Tidore is the neighboring island of Ternate, and in pre-colonial times, the two kingdoms were fierce rivals.

Like Ternate, Tidore was also a key player in the spice trade, and this attracted the attention of Spanish colonizers, who built the Taula Fort there to defend against the Portuguese.

The island of Tidore is approximately the same size as Ternate, although it’s shaped a bit different. You can easily go between the two with a 15 minute boat ride.

The main thing to do on Tidore is to hike to the top of Mount Kie Matubu for views of the whole area. It’s a moderate hike so plan on spending at least half a day on it.
 

• Hiri Island

Hiri can be reached with a short boat ride from Sulamadaha. If you make a trip over there, it has a giant rock arch to see on the northwest beach, called Batu Balubang Gurabala.

The arch is pretty close to the shore, so you can walk out to it on the rocks when the tide is low. It’s a great photo spot.
 

Map Of Sights In Ternate Island

Here’s a map of some of the best things to see and do in Ternate and the surrounding islands. You can click on the icons for more info and directions.

Where To Stay In Ternate

• Villa Ma’Rasai – One of the nicest hotels in Ternate, with balcony views of the ocean and the volcano on neighboring Tidore island. They have a pool, restaurant, and included breakfast. If we go back to Ternate, this would be our first choice for a place to stay!
• Emerald Hotel – Midrange accommodation in town, with a restaurant and free breakfast.
• Kurnia Homestay – Budget friendly place with free breakfast, and the owner is kind and helpful. This is where we stayed on our first visit to Ternate, and it’s a good option if you don’t have a big budget.

Room at the © Emerald Hotel

Balcony view at © Villa Ma’Rasai

Other Tips For Ternate

• ATM: There are lots of working ATMs scattered across the island, but they generally give 50k notes.
• Credit Cards: Most hotels and restaurants here can’t accept cards, so you’ll want to have cash on hand.
• Cell Service: We had good 4G data in Ternate with Telkomsel, but reliable WiFi is still rare.
• Electricity: The island has 24/7 electricity, so you don’t have to worry about outages.
• Religion: Ternate is Muslim, but we didn’t notice any excessive noise from the mosques during our stay.
• Malaria: According to this Lancet study from 2018, there’s been a major reduction of Malaria in Ternate and the surrounding areas, which is great. I’d still be careful and use mosquito spray when traveling here. We didn’t take Malaria pills.
• Where To Eat: Some hotels and guesthouses can provide food, otherwise there are lots of cheap places to eat in town, and they also have a KFC and Pizza Hut if you’re craving western food during your stay in Ternate. We even ordered a meal from Solaria one evening and had it delivered to our guesthouse with GrabFood, which was super convenient.

Views of Tidore island from Ngade Lake

How Long To Stay

You can see all of the main sights on Ternate in a single day, since it’s a small island and everything is easily accessible by driving.

However, if you want to stay longer, then you could do day trips over to nearby islands like Hiri, Maitara, and Tidore.

Sunset at Kastela Beach

More Travel Guides For Indonesia

Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed this travel guide for Ternate island in Maluku.

Don’t forget to check out my other blog posts for Indonesia before you go!
 

See Also