Bantimurung

Alfred Russel Wallace collected here in the 1850s and wrote about it in The Malay Archipelago, describing the density of butterflies in the valley in terms that gave Bantimurung its name as the kingdom of butterflies - he recorded a large number of species, several new to science, and the site has been associated with him since. It is now part of the Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park in the Maros karst, with a wide waterfall pouring over a sloping rock slab that people slide down, caves including Gua Mimpi and Gua Batu, a butterfly breeding centre and museum, and karst walking. The honest position on the butterflies is that numbers fell heavily through collecting for the souvenir trade and habitat change, and while breeding and protection have improved things, this is not what Wallace saw.

What you actually see

• A wide slab waterfall - water over sloping rock that visitors slide down.
• Wallace's collecting ground - the valley he described in The Malay Archipelago.
• A butterfly centre - breeding, museum and display in the park.
• Karst caves - Gua Mimpi and others in the limestone around.

When to go

October to April for the most butterflies. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Butterfly numbers are far below what the site's reputation implies - collecting and habitat loss did the damage. Weekends are extremely crowded with domestic visitors. Framed butterflies sold at the gate are part of the problem.

Nearby

Rammang-Rammang is close; Makassar is south.