Poso ( Old Spelling: ''Posso'') is the administrative capital of

Poso Regency Poso Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 7,112.25 km2, and had a population of 209,228 at the 2010 Census and 244,875 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 248,345. The p ...

, Indonesia. It is the main port and transportation hub for the central-southern coast of

Central Sulawesi Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 fo ...

. Its urban area consists of three districts,

Poso Kota Poso Kota is a district in Indonesia. It is located in the Poso Regency of Central Sulawesi. Along with the neighboring districts of North and South Poso Kota, this district makes up the capital region of Poso Regency, Poso Poso ( Old Spelling: ...

, North Poso Kota, and South Poso Kota. Poso lies in the middle of the province on the shore of the

Gulf of Tomini The Gulf of Tomini ( id, Teluk Tomini), also known as the Bay of Tomini, is the equatorial gulf which separates the Minahassa (Northern) and East Peninsulas of the island of Sulawesi (Celebes) in Indonesia. The Togian Islands lie near its cent ...

, right in the central part of Sulawesi island. With a total population of 47,477 in 2020, it is one of the biggest and the oldest towns in the province. Poso began to develop as a small

port town A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

located at the mouth of the Poso River at the end of the 19th century—making it one of the oldest towns in Central Sulawesi, and its presence was considered important for the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

to control the southern region of Tomini in the early days of their arrival. Poso was the administrative center of Landschap Poso, Onderafdeling Poso, and later Afdeling Poso during colonial times. In the midst of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

made Poso one of their military posts. Post-independence, Poso was chosen as the capital of the newly formed Central Sulawesi in 1948 before the capital was moved to

Palu Palu, which is officially known as the City of Palu (Indonesian: ''Kota Palu''), is the capital and largest city of Central Sulawesi. Palu is located on the northwestern coast of Sulawesi and borders Donggala Regency to the north and west, P ...

in 1951. The central location of Poso has made it a stopover either from the north to the south, or from west to the

east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

of Sulawesi. It is for this reason that the population of Poso consists of many different ethnicities, religions and backgrounds. People living in Poso are spread from the coastal area to the mountainous region, with the main sources of income being trade and services. Poso is crossed by Trans-Sulawesi National Highway and served by

Kasiguncu Airport Kasiguncu Airport is an airport in Poso, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra ...

, linking it to other cities in Sulawesi such as Palu and

Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, ...

Geography

Climate

Poso has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Tourism and culture

Poso can be reached by plane from

or by bus from many other big cities on Sulawesi, and is situated on the equator. It features tropical rain forest, seashore gardens and other natural scenery. Sintuwu Maroso Square is the main

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

and located in central Poso.

Rumah Katu Marine Park Rumah Katu Marine Park ( id, Taman Laut Rumah Katu), is a marine water park situated in the city of Poso, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The park is located in Madale Beach, about 10 km from the center of Poso. In Rumah Katu, outbound games like ...

is the

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other ...

located 10 km from the center of Poso. Modero is a well known traditional dance which is performed during celebration of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

harvesting (Padungku), usually in the evenings.

References

Sources

Books

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Reports

Websites

* * * * * * * {{authority control Populated places in Central Sulawesi Regency seats of Central Sulawesi