Buton is widely popular for its massive reserve of asphalt and several other minerals. For years, Buton is known for its natural resources. In the last few years, though, people start to realize that this island is much more than that. Buton has huge tourism potential, which is not yet maximized.
For a start, there are many beautiful beaches on Buton. The capital city of Bau-bau has several wonderful coastal areas. Meanwhile, several beaches are inaccessible due to poor transportation infrastructure. Here are some of the most popular and beautiful beaches on Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi.
Kamali Beach
It safe to say that Kamali is the icon of Bau-bau. The actual beach is not overly special. However, it is located in an important part of the city. The Kamali beach covers a large area, including a wonderful dragon monument. There is a green Dragon looking over the sea. This is the place where the people of Bau-bau spend their weekends to have fun.
Katembe Beach
In the local language, Katembe means ‘freshwater’. Legend says that there was a freshwater well in this beach, though now it’s gone. The beach has soft white sand, stretching roughly 1,5 kilometers. When the tide is low, you can see the wavy pattern of the sand. There are some gazebos and rest area for the visitors of this beach.
Lakadao Beach
This beach is located on the southeastern part of the island. This beach is some 40 kilometers away from Bau-bau, with bad road condition in some places. It can be said that Lakadao is a small stretch of white sandy beach with several boulders protruding. One of the boulders are actually quite big there are some coconut trees growing on it. People also build a shack on it.
Nirwana Beach
This one is located on the southern outskirt of Bau-bau. This beach has a vast white sand area with calm waters. This is probably the most popular beach in the entire Buton Island. You can see the outline of the nearby Kadatung Island from this beach. This beach is almost never empty. It can be very crowded on the weekends too.
Mowuru Beach
Located on the northwestern part of the island, on the western coast of a peninsula. Mowuru is pretty much still a pristine beach. It starts gaining popularity in the last few years, mostly due to the rise of social media, especially Instagram. It has wonderful soft white sand and dramatic cliff.
One Mopute Beach
Technically, One Mopute Beach is located on a different island; the Kadatua Island. However, this island is still part of Buton Regency. It has a large white sandy area with a strip of sand that only visible during low tide. The most striking landmark is the viewing tower. This beach is the icon of this island.
Koguna Beach
This beach is located almost on the westernmost point of the island. Even though it faces a relatively open sea, the water is still calm and safe to swim. Like most of the beaches in Buton, there is barely any improvement you can find on this island. The beach is still in its pristine condition, with soft white sand.
Buton is a great place to explore if you love pristine beaches. However, the infrastructure is not quite there yet. You might have to bear terrible road conditions to explore the hidden gems; the beautiful beaches on Buton.
