We recently spent a few days in Muna, an island in Sulawesi that has some spectacular caves, lakes, and natural sinkholes.
Most people visit Muna in conjunction with Buton, its neighboring island. They’re well connected by a short ferry ride, so it’s easy to go back and forth between the two islands.
The blue water sinkholes in Muna are kind of like the cenotes in Mexico, except without the crowds. There’s even a lagoon where you can swim with thousands of stingless jellyfish!
Another thing you can see in Muna is the prehistoric cave art, which is currently the oldest known human art in the world. It’s exceptional.
This travel guide will explain how to get to Muna, where to stay, and what to see and do on the island!
Drone pic of the lakes at Liwu Wandala
How To Get To Muna
Muna island is located off the coast of southeast Sulawesi. There are a few ways to get there.
It has an airport in the main city of Raha (RAQ) with flights from Makassar (UPG), but there’s only one flight per day, as of 2026. The flight time is a little under 1 hour.
The other main option is to fly to Baubau (BUW) in Buton from Makassar, and then take the ferry from Baubau to the Wamengkoli harbor on the south end of Muna. That’s what we did. The ferry ride only takes 30 minutes, and it can bring cars and motorbikes.
Either way, if you’re flying from Bali or Jakarta, you’ll need to transit in Makassar on the way to Muna. You can shop for flights at Skyscanner.
The third option is to take a fast ferry from Kendari to Raha. It departs twice daily and the journey takes about 3 hours.
You can swim in cenotes at the Moko lakes
How To Get Around
Once you arrive in Muna, the next question is how to get around.
You can rent a car or motorbike and drive yourself, or hire a driver with a car. We came to Muna from Buton on the ferry, and brought our driver and his SUV with us. It was pretty smooth and painless.
I’ll share some contacts for good tour guides later in the article. They can help arrange drivers, boats, and other things for you.
If you choose to drive yourself, the roads in Muna are in pretty good condition now. They used to be terrible, but most of the main roads were reworked recently.
There isn’t much traffic outside of town, so it’s not a hard place to drive by Indonesian standards.
Sea turtle at the Moko lake
Best Things To Do In Muna
• Moko Lakes
The Moko lakes are a group of blue water sinkholes in central Muna.
There are five lakes in total, all within a 1.5 kilometer stretch, but only three of them are good for swimming.
These are kind of like the cenotes in Mexico, except you might have them all to yourself!
Moko Lake #1
Ladders make it easy to get in the lake
The first Moko lake is the biggest, and the easiest to reach. It’s just 5 minutes off the main road, and there are plenty of parking spaces.
It’s a really nice lake, with bright blue water that’s great for cooling off on a hot day. There are some ladders for getting in and out of the lake.
There’s even a resident sea turtle you can swim with! He was apparently brought to the lake when he was young, which I don’t condone, but he has adapted and he’s semi-domesticated now.
He’s not afraid of humans, and he lives a fairly comfortable life in the lake. The locals said he’s lived there for a long time. Many years, in fact.
Sea turtle in the lake
Our guide swimming with the sea turtle
Unfortunately, the ease of access to the first lake also makes it popular with the local young people, and a lot of them have thrown their trash carelessly on the ground around the lake.
We saw an annoying amount of bottles, wrappers, and other plastic trash around the lake, and even a little bit inside the lake. This should never be happening in such a nice place.
The good news is that the second Moko lake is a bit more secluded, and it’s more natural.
It’s just a 300 meter drive from the first lake, but we didn’t see any people there, and almost no trash either.
There weren’t any ladders into the water, but there’s a rocky path that gives easy access if you want to go for a swim.
Aside from that, it was almost totally undeveloped, which is great.
Moko Lake #2
The third Moko lake is similar to the second one, but bigger. It’s secluded and surrounded by jungle.
You can reach it in just 5 minutes of driving from the first lake.
Again, we didn’t see any people at this lake and it was pristine. The water is so blue!
There’s a rocky path that leads to the water’s edge if you want to swim.
Moko Lake #3
This lake is still natural
• Napabale Lakes Trip
One of the top things to do in Muna is the boat trip at Napabale, which allows you to see several nice lakes, including the jellyfish lake.
This trip starts from a lagoon that at first looks totally surrounded by rocks, but there’s actually a small tunnel that’s been worn away by the tide, and you can exit through it, boat and all!
We went when the tide was low, otherwise I’m not sure if this is even possible.
Remember to watch your head, because the tunnel is incredibly narrow. You might even have to lie down to keep from bumping your head.
The boat guy will slow his engine and paddle through the tunnel, and it only takes a few minutes.
Once you pass through the tunnel, you’re now in the second Napabale lake.
The boat guy will cross from here to the open ocean, and then to a third lake called Liwu Wandala Lake. The whole boat ride is very tame and only takes about 30 minutes.
This third lake is incredibly nice, with bright turquoise water. It looks like Raja Ampat.
Liwu Wandala lake
Drone pic of our boat
The lake from above
From here, you’ll need to go ashore to trek to the jellyfish lake, which is surrounded by karsts and jungle on all sides.
There are multiple routes to the lake, but the one we used took about 15 minutes of hiking. It was steep at times, but never dangerous.
The lake has two different species of jellyfish. There are thousands of them, but they’re stingless and completely harmless, so you can safely swim with them. It’s amazing!
The lake is surrounded by steep walls
Finding a path down to the lake
Swimming with jellyfish
• Prehistoric Cave Art
Another thing you have to see in Muna is the prehistoric cave art.
There’s an entire complex of karsts and caves in the northern part of the island, but the best two caves to see are Liang Metanduno and Liang Kabori.
They’re just a short distance from the parking area, so you can reach Metanduno in 5 minutes of walking, and Kabori in 10 minutes.
Metanduno cave
A hand stencil in Metanduno cave was recently identified by researchers as the oldest known human art in the world. It’s believed to be at least 67,800 years old.
There’s lots of prehistoric cave art in other parts of Sulawesi, like Leang Leang, Rammang Rammang, and Sombori, but this is the oldest discovery so far, which is pretty fascinating.
Aside from the hand prints, they have lots of depictions of horses and other animals, although these aren’t quite as old.
Prehistoric art
Entrance to the first cave
• Wakumoro Pool
This is a natural pool in central Muna where the locals like to swim. It has nice clear water, and the pool is surrounded by giant trees.
Unfortunately this place was too crowded and littered to be anything special. There were so many pieces of plastic trash all over the parking lot and even some in the water! It was sad to see. It desperately needs a cleanup.
It still doesn’t hurt to stop here and take a look. You’ll probably be driving past Wakumoro anyway at some point during your trip, so you might as well check it out. The pool is nice.
Wakumoro pool
• Koo Cave
Koo cave (pronounced Ko’o) is a giant cave with two blue pools at the bottom.
The first view of the pools is amazing, with jungle and stalactites on all sides, and it can be reached in just 5 or 10 minutes using a metal stairway.
Looking at the two lakes from above
From here, you can hike down to the bottom of the cave in another 15 minutes, but there’s lots of awkward and slippery footing, so be careful.
I think each of us slipped and fell at least once on the way down, getting our clothes muddy in the process.
It’s still worth going to the bottom of the cave, though, because you have to see the blue pool up close. It’s incredibly blue!
We were lucky to have the sun shining into the cave when we were there in the morning, because the sunlight really brings out the color of the water.
The main pool
It’s so blue
At the bottom of the cave
• Laumehe Cave
This is a deep cave in south Muna that’s full of impressive stalactites.
It’s pretty easy to reach the mouth of the cave with a 10 minute walk from the parking area, and then there’s a convenient metal walkway with stairs leading down into the cave.
They supply helmets in case you bump your head on the ceiling, which you probably will a few times, like I did.
It took us about half an hour to each the end of the cave, aside from the time we spent taking photos, and the whole journey was spectacular. Don’t miss it.
The walkway doesn’t actually reach the end of the cave. It goes on and on!
Laumehe cave
• Bidadari Cave
This is an interesting cave that’s close to the road in south Buton.
You can reach it in just 5 minutes of walking, although the path down into the cave is a bit rocky.
Inside, there are several pools of clear water, and an open ceiling that pours sunlight into the cave. It’s cool.
Bidadari cave
• Other Things To See In Muna
There are still a lot of hidden gems and new places being discovered on Muna island.
We planned to go to some of these ourselves, but we ran out of time on this trip.
Here are some extra places I hope to visit in Muna next time I’m there:
- Inoli Lalibo Cave — A big cave with an extremely blue pool inside. It looks kind of like Koo cave, but the water is even more blue, if that’s possible. It’s also pristine and mostly untouched, unlike Koo. I was really hoping to go to this cave, but I didn’t have enough time. You have to do some trekking just to reach the mouth of the cave, and then there’s an extremely steep route to go to the bottom. It could be dangerous. Here’s a post on Instagram that shows how crazy the path is.
- Randano Ghaghe Lake — A remote lake in north Muna that’s still mostly unknown even to locals, but the water is a crazy color of green and turquoise. I wanted to see this lake, but it requires some trekking to reach it, and I ran out of time to go there.
- Bajo Villages — There are some sandbars in northwest Muna where Bajo villagers have built houses on the sandbars. You can visit them, but it takes about 2 hours of driving by car, and then 30 minutes by boat to reach the villages, so it’s almost a full day endeavor when you figure roundtrip travel time.
- Kotaeono Cave — This spot is just a 5 minute walk from the road, so it’s easy to visit. It’s a cave with a lagoon and a small boat where you can take pictures. At the end of the lagoon is a cave that leads to the ocean.
- Wantopi Beach — A crescent shaped sandbar. It’s near the Laumehe cave, so you can visit both places together if you have time.
- Pasi Bungi Lake — A big lake in south Muna that’s shaped kind of like a heart. There doesn’t seem to be much to do there except maybe fly a drone.
Above Koo cave
Lakes & lagoons at Liwu Wandala
• Buton Island
Most people visit Muna in conjunction with its neighboring island, Buton.
If you’re planning a trip to Muna, then you’ve probably already heard about Buton as well, since most flights go through there.
Buton has great waterfalls, caves, and exotic beaches. I wrote a separate guide for it, which you can read in the link below.
Read More: Buton Island Travel Guide
Swimming at Bahari beach in Buton
Cliff view at Napang Sangia in Buton
Map Of Sights In Buton & Muna
Here’s an interactive map of the main sights on Buton and Muna islands. You can use this to plan your trip.
The blue icons on the map are things you can see by driving, and the purple icons are things to see by boat.
Travel Itinerary For Buton & Muna
Here’s a sample 9-day itinerary you can use for your trip to Buton and Muna.
This matches our own itinerary pretty closely, with a few tweaks and improvements based on our experience:
- Day 1 — If you arrive at Buton in the morning, you can spend the day seeing things in and near Baubau town, like the Wameo traditional market, Malige palace, and Sultanate fortress. Then visit Lakeba beach, which is just outside of town, and do a short boat trip to the Batu Buti rock. If you’re still up for more activities, you can end the day by seeing Tirta Rimba waterfall or watching the sunset close to town.
- Day 2 — Do a boat trip to Siompu and Liwutonkidi islands. Relax on the beach at Napa Sangia and do the short hike up to the viewpoint on the cliff. Do a short detour by boat to Buata beach for more swimming.
- Day 3 — Spend the day doing a boat trip in southern Buton to see the Sampolawa river, Lasoka beach, Karamba floating restaurant, and Lakadao beach.
- Day 4 — Do the Samparona waterfall trek, which has two big waterfalls and a bat cave. You can swim at the waterfall after hiking. If you make it back in good time, it might be possible to do some other activities after the trek as well.
- Day 5 — Drive 2 hours to northern Buton to see more waterfalls: Lantangahi, Lapangan, and/or Kandawu Ndawuna. Some trekking and route finding is needed, so you’ll probably have to pick just two of the waterfalls to see in a day. On the drive out of Baubau, you can also enjoy some wonderful views of rice fields in the Balinese village.
- Day 6 — Visit the hilltop viewpoint at Bukit Wakoea, and the traditional village at Rongi. Then go for a swim at Bahari beach. On the drive back to Baubau, stop at Nirwana beach.
- Day 7 — Take the morning ferry from Baubau (Buton) to Wamengkoli (Muna). Make a quick stop to see Bidadari cave and Kotaeono cave in southern Muna, then drive north to the Moko lakes, where you can swim in clear blue water at the sinkholes.
- Day 8 — Drive to Napabale lake, and then take a short boat ride and trek to the jellyfish lake, where you can swim with thousands of stingless jellyfish. Next, drive to the caves at Liang Kabori to see prehistoric art. If you still have time, you can end the day by seeing the natural swimming pool at Wakumoro.
- Day 9 — Drive to Ko’o cave and do a short trek to the blue pools at the bottom of the cave. Alternatively, you can do the more extreme trek at Inoli Lalibo cave, which also has a stunning blue pool at the bottom. After that, go see Laumehe cave, which is more visitor friendly and has some of the best stalactites and stalagmites. You can also make a quick stop at Wantopi beach, which is close to the cave. When you’re done in Muna, take the ferry back to Baubau to finish your trip.
Blue pool at Koo cave
Driver & Guide Contacts For Buton
Here are some useful contacts for your trip to Buton and Muna. I can recommend all of these people from my own personal experience:
- Aspin Chatilombuz — Aspin was the main contact for our trip to Buton and Muna. He was a big help and answered lots of my questions before our trip. We were traveling with our 1 year old baby, and he was able to advise us which activities would be good with our baby, and which things would be safer for me to do alone with him, like trekking.
Once we got to Buton, Aspin arranged drivers, boat tours, and other activities for us based on what I wanted to see and do. You can contact him by WhatsApp at ☎ +62 823-7286-6231 or on his Facebook page.
- Laode Ibnu Rajab — Laode is affiliated with Aspin, and he was the main guide during our trip, since Aspin got sick a few days after we arrived. Laode is very friendly and helpful, and he knows all the good places to see in Buton and Muna. He also joined me for trekking to a bunch of different caves and waterfalls. You can contact him by WhatsApp at ☎ +62 822-3921-1302 or on his Facebook page.
- Mario Kojongian (Sulawesi Eco Adventure) — Mario’s company offers tours for all the nice places in southeast Sulawesi: Buton, Muna, Wakatobi, Labengki, and Sombori. He speaks good English, and he was happy to answer a bunch of our questions about Buton and Muna.
Unfortunately, he was busy traveling in Sumatra when we came to Buton, so we weren’t able to line up our schedules, but that wasn’t his fault. His company is high rated and he was a helpful contact, so I’d happily recommend him for a trip to Buton and Muna. You can contact him by WhatsApp at ☎ +62 821-9590-1528, or on his company’s Facebook page.
Moko lake
Where To Stay
Most of the accommodation in Muna is in Raha town, on the north end of the island.
Here are some recommended places to stay:
- Kadena Glamping Dive Resort — This is where we stayed. It’s one of the only options on the south end of the island, near the harbor in Wamengkoli. Kadena is a glamping resort for cave divers, and there’s even a cave behind the resort. It’s pricey by Indonesian standards, but the location is definitely convenient.
- NES Inn Hotel — This is currently the nicest hotel in Raha, as of 2026. It’s a 2 star hotel with free breakfast.
- DJ Hotel — If I was traveling solo and staying in Raha, this would probably be one of my top choices. It’s another 2 star hotel with free breakfast.
© DJ Hotel in Raha
Other Tips For Muna Island
- ATM — There are ATMs on the island, but they’re more scarce than in Buton, and may be less reliable. You can find ATMs at Raha in the north of the island, or Lombai in the south.
- WiFi — Don’t count on good WiFi here. Ours didn’t work except at the lobby.
- Cell Service — Local SIM providers like Telkomsel have good reception all across the island. I was even able to send texts while doing boat rides in the north.
- Infrastructure — They reworked the roads recently in Muna, so most of them are pretty good now, but there are still some rough pockets outside of the main travel areas.
- Apps — Maxim is available in Raha, but I’m not sure about Grab or GoJek.
- Malaria — According to this Lancet study from 2018, malaria has been majorly reduced in Muna island, which is great. We didn’t take Malaria pills, but we were careful to avoid bites. Ironically, the only place we ever saw mosquitoes in Muna was at our hotel, and nowhere else.
- Conservation — Some of the places we went in Muna had a disappointing amount of plastic trash, which is common in Indonesia. It was especially bad at Wakumoro pool and one of the Moko lakes. We picked up some trash at every place we went in Muna, and our guides did too. I’d encourage you to do the same if you’re able. Even if each of us only cleans up a little bit of trash, it adds up to a lot when all of us do it.
Turquoise water at Liwu Wandala
Best Time To Visit Muna
Normally the best time to travel in Sulawesi is during the dry season, especially from May to October.
We went to Buton and Muna in mid to late April, and the weather was perfect for beaches, boat trips, and swimming holes. The caves are nice in any weather, although they look best when they have some sunlight.
You can go to Muna in any month, but I’d probably avoid Indonesia’s rainiest months, which are typically December through February.
Majestic sea turtle
More Indonesia Travel Guides
Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed this guide for visiting Muna island in Sulawesi.
Don’t forget to check out my other travel guides for Indonesia before you go!
See Also
