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Kota Ternate

Gate of the palace of Ternate Sultanate.

Early map of northern Maluku made during the Age of Discovery. North is on the right, with Ternate as the rightmost followed by Tidore, Mare, Moti and Makian islands. The bottom is the Gilolo (Jailolo or Halmahera) Island. The inset on the top is Bacan Island. Willem Blaeu, 1630

Colonial-era painting of Ternate island, c. 18831889.

Sultan of Ternate's guard.

Kota Ternate

Maluku Islands

#2 Among Things To Do in Maluku Islands

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Kota Ternate, Maluku Islands Overview

Kota Ternate was voted as the happiest city in all of Indonesia in 2017. Ternate has a tropical climate and is a seismic region with active volcanoes and also belongs to the group of islands of the Ring Of Fire. Ternate is home to Mount Gamalama and at the foothills are the clove trees, the Hiri island is located in the northern tip and Tolire Lake lies in the northwest bordered by sheer cliffs. The region is dominated by the Muslims and the Ternate language is used for communication however the Indonesian language is also popular.

Ternate is also the largest city of North Maluku and the capital of the former Sultanate of Ternate and de facto provincial capital of North Maluku before being moved to Sofifi in 2010. The "Ternate Essay" of evolution by natural selection was written by Alfred Russel Wallace on this very island in 1858.

The place has a number of forts that were built during the colonial period by different empires as a mark of their period of Reign in the city, like the Fort Kalamata built by the Portuguese which is a star fort also known as the Red Wood Fort located in Kayu Merah village, and the Fort Tolukko built to control the clove trade by the Portuguese, and the Fort Oranje built by the Dutch is the largest fort on the island and was the headquarters of the East India Company, the Fort Kastela built by the Spanish.

Places to Visit

Apart from forts one can also visit the Palace of the Sultan of Ternate which is now a museum that displays artifacts, weapons, armor and Ternatean clothes. There are also few beaches and lakes on this island like the Tobololo beach, Sulamadaha beach, Laguna Lake and Tolire Lake. The Royal Mosque is also one of the popularly visited places at Ternate by tourists. Ternate's restaurants like the Royal's Restaurant, Kedai Mita, Floridas, Rumah Makan Popeda Gamalama offers the most tasty Indonesian food.

Things to Know

The majorly spoken language is the Ternate language but the Indonesian language is also widely spoken. The city is known for its marine tourism so don't forget to take up a bit of snorkeling and diving while you're at Kota Ternate.