Pusentasi Exotism, Natural Giant Well In Donggala

DONGGALA - Central Sulawesi holds many natural beautys that are no less attractive than tourist destinations for other provinces in Indonesia. This province is surrounded by diverse landscapes, ranging from mountainous highlands to bays and beaches.

Visiting this area will amaze travelers. There are many choices of tourism with natural beauty that spoil the eyes.

About 50 km from Palu, the capital city of Central Sulawesi Province, tourists will find one of the unique and exotic tourist attractions, namely the Center of the Sea in the form of a giant well.

The giant well is located in Towale Village, Central Banawa District, Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi, or often known as Donggala Sea Center Tourism Village.

The location is not far from Palu City, it can be reached with a travel time of 1 hour 30 minutes by using land transportation, both two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles.

The smooth road conditions and beautiful natural scenery along the road make the journey feel close. Although along the way there have been several climbs, it is not an obstacle.

Visiting the Donggala Sea Center Tourism Village, travelers are also only charged an entrance ticket fee of IDR 2,500 per person.

Local people call giant wells a habit. The name Pusentasi comes from the language of Suku Kaili, the largest tribe that inhabits Central Sulawesi Province. This means the center and the tasi mean the sea.

Therefore, the giant well is known by the surrounding community as Pusentasi or Center of the Sea.

According to the local community's story, the Sea Center was formed based on natural events due to the sudden collapse of the soil into the ground which was then circular like a well.

The large well is 10 meters in diameter and has a depth of about 7 meters. The water inside is blue clear and tastes salt like sea water.

By the local community, it is believed that water from the Sea Center well can be used as a medicine for skin diseases. Another uniqueness is that the water in the giant well will tide when the sea water is receding and will recede when the sea is high.

The heat of the coastal weather while looking at the blue of the sea well seems to bewitching the visitors to immediately jump into this big hole. There are also stairs for visitors who want to feel the sensation of swimming in the well.

There will be found by local children who make jump attractions into wells. It appears that local children take turns jumping attractions into wells without the slightest fear.

They jumped from a wellbir about 5-7 meters high from the surface of the water. For the local community, it has become their habit to jump in a marine center well.

Dalvian, 13, admitted that he had swam and started jumping from the height of the well's lips since he was still in elementary school. He said he no longer felt afraid when he jumped.

He said he jumped to amaze visitors and then visitors would throw coins or some money at those who jumped.

Dalvian revealed that in a day when visitors were busy like the weekend, he could collect Rp. 100,000 to Rp. 200 thousand.

"The money is used to help at home, to buy rice," said the junior high school (SMP) student.

Another child, Fikram, 12 years old, admitted that he had started the habit of jumping from the lips of the well since childhood.

He also admitted that the money he got was to help his family in their daily lives.

Fikram said every coin obtained will be owned by each child who gets it so that it becomes the reason why children are scrambling to get coins thrown by visitors.

The Center of the Sea is always crowded with local and outside-district tourists to celebrate and take a shower by jumping from a height.

Some tourists also don't seem to want to miss the sensation of jumping from a height. However, it is not recommended for visitors who are not proficient in swimming because the depth of the well reaches 7 meters.

Donggala Beach

Not only giant wells, in the Central tourist village of the Donggala Sea, visitors can also enjoy the view of Donggala Beach, which is famous for its white sand. The beautiful coast for sunbathing enjoys sunlight and shady trees, suitable to be a place to relieve fatigue for a moment.

Donggala Beach is also the right place for visitors who want to enjoy the light of the sunset. In that place, visitors who want to stay or camp with their families are also allowed.

Dozens of visitors brought their respective camping equipment and then set up tents along the beachside. The atmosphere is calm by hearing the waves become an attraction for visitors to camp and spend time with those closest to them. Visitors who want to camp only need to pay Rp. 10,000.

Not only that, visitors can also enjoy the beauty of the sea by boarding the rented boat. The boat can carry about eight to a dozen people. Visitors only spend Rp. 10,000 to enjoy the beautiful sea of the Donggala peninsula.

Firya (18), a traveler from West Sumatra, said he visited the tourist village for the first time with his family.

He admitted that his family had recently arrived in Palu City and received recommendations to visit the tour.

"The beach is beautiful, pretty clean too. Later you want to try getting on that boat too, it looks like it's fun," he said.

Another traveler, Dara (17), also said that he liked the tourist attractions because the sea water and beaches were still clean. He admitted that he was enjoying a vacation with his family.

In addition, around the beach, there are also several small food stalls with dange, a typical food for the Kaili Tribe.

Dange is a food made from sago which is then burned and filled with several choices of flavors such as, roon, suwir fish, and brown sugar, at a price of Rp. 5,000/pors.

For visitors who want to rest while lying down, a place to rest is also provided in the form of small huts that can accommodate five to six people.

The manager of the Donggala Marine Center Tourism Village, Suharman, said the tour would reach the peak of the crowd during the long holiday or like during the Eid holiday.

Visitors can reach up to 2,000 every day during the Eid holidays. This number is different from normal days, such as on weekends, which reach 500 people.

According to Suharman, the tourist attraction has cleaned up again after being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He hopes that visitors can work together to maintain the cleanliness of tourist sites.

Hygiene is one of the keys so that tourist attractions continue to exist and shed prosperity for local residents, including on Donggala Beach and Pusentasi.