Watch the Solar Eclipse Festival 2016 at Ngata Baru, Palu

A total solar eclipse is a rare and spectacular event that can only be experienced along a relatively narrow strip over the Earth’s surface. Sulawesi is one of the few locations in Indonesia where the total solar eclipse will be visible for the duration of 2 min 55 seconds.

The path of the sun eclipse shadow in 2016 crosses Indonesia, starting at the Indian Ocean,   west of Sumatra. Then the shadow will move across Indonesia and out into the Pacific Ocean, with maximum visible duration of just over 4 minutes to the Southern part of Guam and will end north of Hawaii. Luckily, Indonesia is the only significant landmass where the eclipse passes over.

In order to celebrate the total solar eclipse, the Solar Eclipse Festival 2016 will be held starting from 7 to 11 March 2016. The celebration will take place at Ngata Baru, in the Sigi regency, Central Sulawesi, the highest spot where people will have a vantage point to observe and enjoy ths rare total solar eclipse.

The festival will feature workshop space, an art gallery, a healing zone and a kids area. The workshop space will cover various educational discussions and activities by guest speakers and facilitators who are highly skilled in their expertise, focusing on the main topic – the extraordinary total solar eclipse. 

Other subjects will include art, music, culture, science, psychology, anthropology, health, astrology, environment and more. Activities like yoga, movement, meditation, open mic, language exchange, film and documentary screenings will also be held there.

The art gallery will exhibit multi-media artwork by some of the best local and international artists of our time, while the kids space will have a line of fun activities for the little ones – circus, arts & crafts and performances. The healing zone pays homage to Indonesian traditional healing and herbal medicine (jamu); with a private and secured healing space hosting local healers and qualified therapists to provide various holistic therapies, traditional massages, reiki and more daily.

 How to get there

Ngata Baru can be reached within less than half an hour's drive from Palu, capital city of Central Sulawesi, or 15 minutes' drive from Mutiara Airport of Palu.

Flights

There are three direct flights daily from Jakarta to Palu, namely by:

Lion Air: 5:00-8:35 am and 4:55-8:25 AM, and

Garuda Indonesia: 6:10-9:50 AM