You will find stone statues all over Sulawesi, Indonesia. Although none are as big as the famous megaliths of Easter Island, the Sulawesi stone figures are just as intriguing. Fourteen of them have been discovered in the grassy plains of Bada Valley, central Sulawesi. To see the megaliths, guidebooks warn of days of trekking into a remote part of the island. Surrounded by mountain ranges, many settlements here are linked only by horse trails and footpaths. My mate and I were undeterred. The idea of seeing these ancient carvings was just too hard to ignore. So early one morning we left the town of Rantepao in southern Sulawesi crammed in a jeep with two other couples. It was a gruelling eight-hour trip, made bearable only by the forested mountain views. We spent the night in a losmen (guesthouse) in Pendolo, an idyllic village on the edge of enchanting Lake Poso. This lake is so big that if you stand on its shore, all you see is water; it is like the sea. The next day, a ferry brought us to Tentena, a village on the other side of the lake. At our losmen we found a guide for the trip. We were initially sceptical about Karel who appeared to be well into his 50s but all doubts vanished when he produced a map and confidently laid out the plans for our four-day trek. To see the scattered megaliths of Bada Valley, Karel said we would walk the whole way and sleep in village houses. The next thing was to get provisions. Karel bought rice, onions, potatoes, cabbage, eggs, flour, instant noodles, coffee and sugar. He must have noticed our concern as we stared disbelievingly at the growing number of bundles. He quickly assured us: “Don’t worry. I carry them. You just take your own things.” Phew! We set off on our adventure the next day. Our destination was Bomba, the main town in Bada Valley. The journey in a four wheel-drive took four hours because we were slowed down by muddy tracks, shoddy bridges, police blockades and engine problems. During the rainy season, the road is impassable and the trip can take three days. We began our quest the moment we arrived in Bomba. The walk took us through coconut groves and villages with quaint wooden houses. Right in the middle of the neatly parcelled padi field was our first megalith. It caught us completely by surprise; we even stepped on it thinking it was just a rock until Karel alerted us.
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