Kota Ternate

Introducing Kota Ternate

Clinging to the volcanic cone of dramatic Gamalama, Kota Ternate offers some lovely glimpses of neighbouring islands but is mainly useful as a base for exploring North Maluku. There are a couple of partly restored forts and a palace to visit. For now most other architecture looks rather drab and haphazard, spiced painfully in some suburbs by occasional ruins of churches gutted in 1999. However a massive land-reclamation and building programme seems set to transform the city over coming years. Several fine new mosques are already under construction.

Last updated: Nov 4, 2008