Discovering the Enchanting Paisu Pok Lake in Banggai, Indonesia

Paisu Pok Lake, nestled in the Banggai Regency of Indonesia's Central Sulawesi, has been a hidden gem until recently. However, with the proliferation of photos of this stunning lake on social media, it seems that the secret is out.

Our recent visit to Paisupok confirmed that it is as beautiful as the pictures portray. If you're already traveling in Sulawesi, reaching Paisu Pok is not difficult, and you should definitely make the trip, as Sulawesi Island is vast and filled with numerous wonders to see and experience.

This travel guide will provide you with comprehensive information on how to reach Paisu Pok Lake in Banggai, as well as essential details you need to know before embarking on your journey!

How to Get to Luwuk and Banggai

Paisu Pok Lake is located on Peleng Island, within the jurisdiction of Banggai Kepulauan Regency in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

To get there, the first step is to arrive in Luwuk. There are direct flights from Makassar in South Sulawesi to Luwuk Airport (LUW) every day. If you're departing from Bali, Jakarta, or other parts of Indonesia, you'll have to make a transit in Makassar before heading to Luwuk. You can purchase your flights on Skyscanner.

Upon arrival in Luwuk, taxi drivers will be waiting to take you to the town, which is just a 20-minute ride. We paid 50,000 Indonesian Rupiahs for our airport transfer.

From Luwuk Town, you can take a public ferry from Luwuk People's Port (Pelabuhan Rakyat) to Leme Leme on Peleng Island. The ferry departs every day at 2 PM and the journey takes 2 hours, but it usually arrives an hour late (Indonesian rubber time).

Tickets can be purchased on the spot for 54,000 Indonesian Rupiahs per person (approximately $3 USD). Currently, online bookings are not available, but tickets are not sold out.

The ferry is a large wooden ship that can carry 50 to 100 passengers. It has berths and benches, but they are not very comfortable.

If you prefer a more private space, you can rent a small double room with bunk beds and a fan. Each room costs an additional 50,000 Indonesian Rupiahs.

Alternatively, you can arrange for a speedboat to take you to some of the best attractions on Peleng Island, including Paisu Pok and Poganda Beach. This way, the journey from Luwuk will take about 1 hour, and sometimes you might even spot dolphins along the way.

The round-trip cost for a private speedboat tour like this ranges from 1.5 million to 4 million Indonesian Rupiahs (approximately 100to250 USD), so it's not cheap. However, it's faster than the ferry, and if you're traveling with friends and splitting the cost, it might be economical in some cases.

Regardless of whether you choose the ferry or the speedboat, the sea between Luwuk and Peleng Island is very calm, so I don't think waves will be a problem during the crossing.

How to Get to Paisu Pok Lake

The ferry from Luwuk will take you to the Leme-Leme Port on Peleng, which is still 23 kilometers away from Paisu Pok Lake.

From there, you can rent a motorcycle from Novpitri Homestay near the port or hire a private driver with a car. Google Maps shows that the drive takes 40 minutes, but in reality, it takes almost an hour by motorcycle because some sections of the road are damaged, and you have to slow down for safety.

There are very few cars on the road, and it's easy to find the lake. You won't get lost, especially if you've downloaded an offline map beforehand. Here's the location for navigation.

It's a 5-minute walk from the parking lot to Paisupok Lake, and the road is paved along the way.

After exploring the lake, you can take the ferry back to Luwuk from Leme Leme (departing at 8 AM every day), or head east to Salakan to continue exploring the Banggai Islands!

What to Expect at Paisu Pok Lake

Paisu Pok Lake is as beautiful as it appears in photos. We first saw it in the morning, and we thought it was stunning, but its color and clarity become even better when the sunlight shines on it.

You can rent a boat, canoe, or stand-up paddleboard to explore the lake, or swim and snorkel in it. The water is cold in the morning but feels great by midday, making it a perfect escape from the hot and humid weather in Sulawesi.

The interior of the lake is almost as beautiful as the exterior. Fallen logs and rocks give it character, and the color of the water seems to change with the light.

It's very clear, almost like glass, and you can usually see the bottom, even though some parts are actually deeper than 10 meters!

If you're skeptical, I haven't added any extra color or saturation to the photos in this blog post. This is how the water really looks. According to the locals, the name "Paisu Pok" means "black water" or "dark water."

There are only a few other places in Indonesia with such scenery, such as the blue Lake Labuan Simin in Kalimantan or the smaller Danau Kaco Lake in Sumatra.

Preservation of Paisu Pok Lake

This is a small and stunningly beautiful lake, so there's a risk of overdevelopment. I hope that both locals and tourists will take preservation seriously.

My wife, who is Indonesian, thanked the locals and politely asked/encouraged them to preserve the natural scenery and not cut down too many trees around the lake in the future. I'm concerned that this will happen as the lake becomes more popular.

The jungle is half of the beauty, and it would be very sad if they turned it into a tacky concrete theme park filled with swings, fake nests, and other silly photo opportunities, like what has happened at Alas Harum and some other popular attractions in Bali.

If you feel the same way and speak a bit of Indonesian, you might also want to encourage the locals to preserve this place. As long as you're polite, there's no harm in doing so. This natural scenery is already perfect. There's no need to improve it with more buildings.