STONE FOREST

The"Hutan Batu" stone forest has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since September 2023, due to its unique and imposing limestone formations of unparalleled magnificence. Loaded with a heavy historical past linked to the War of Independence around 1946, the site served as a refuge and hiding place for the locals, and it was easy for Dutch soldiers to get lost in the area.

The innumerable meanders of these limestone formations, most intensely located at the southern end of the stone forest, nicknamed the "stone labyrinth", abound with secret caves and cavities, numerous curtain-like interstices, countless small hidden rooms and small corridor-like passages, evoking a veritable journey through a natural labyrinth for a unique experience that only the most discerning will find their way through. It is highly recommended - indeed, essential - to visit with a local guide to avoid getting lost, and to avoid spending the night...

The Maros-Pangkep karst, known as the Tonasa formation, dates back 40 to 15 million years, from the Upper Eocene to the Middle Miocene.

The stone forest from Salenrang to Rammang-Rammang, was once a sea, raised by the frictional process of the earth's plates to become a distinctive stone forest. These karst formations are also said to be "living stones", as they continue to change shape over time, the process of karstification always ongoing.