Tolire Lake, Between the Beauty of Nature and Its Mystical Stories that Tempt to Visit

Have you ever heard of Lake Tolire? Or put it this way, have you ever heard of Ternate City before?

Ternate City is a city located on Ternate Island. This city is in the province of North Maluku, Indonesia. The city of Ternate was once a sultanate called the Sultanate of Ternate.

The Sultanate of Ternate, also known as the Kingdom of Gapi, is one of the 4 Islamic kingdoms in the Maluku Islands and is one of the oldest Islamic kingdoms in the archipelago. Founded by Baab Mansur Malamo in 1257.

So, that's just a little info about the city of Ternate, which is also famous for its natural beauty. As is the case with other regions that are included in Eastern Indonesia which are rich in natural beauty, Ternate is no less good in terms of its tourism charm.

This time, I will share my travel story in Ternate. Precisely when visiting a beautiful lake full of unique legends. The name of the lake is Lake Tolire.

To go to this lake, this time I was with a friend from Ternate. The easiest way to get to this lake is by motorbike. Because Ternate Island is not too big, in one day we can surround this island.

Lake Tolire is located about 10 km from the city center of Ternate. Besides its unique shape, it also has an interesting legendary story. Lake Tolire is under the foot of Mount Gamalama, the highest volcano in North Maluku.

The lake itself consists of two pieces. Local people call it Big Tolire Lake and Small Tolire Lake. The distance between the two was only about 200 meters.

Of these two lakes, Lake Tolire Besar has its own uniqueness. This lake resembles a giant baking sheet. From the top edge to the surface of the lake water with a depth of about 50 meters and an area of ​​about 5 hectares.

While the depth of the lake itself is unknown. Until now no one has measured the depth of this lake. But according to ancestral stories, the depth is many kilometers and is directly related to the sea.

Fresh water in Lake Tolire Besar is home to various kinds of fish. However, none of the local people dared to fish or bathe in the lake. They believe that the lake, whose water is yellowish brown, is inhabited by many demonic crocodiles.

Another uniqueness of this lake is that if you throw something into the lake, no matter how strong the throw is using a stone or other object, for example, it will never touch the lake water.

In fact, when throwing from the edge of the lake, the lake water looks under the feet of the thrower. Intrigued by this, I tried to try throwing stones as hard as I could. And the result, the stone does not reach the middle of the water.

There is another legendary story in this lake, according to stories circulating in the local community, many treasures are stored at the bottom of Lake Tolire Besar.

This treasure belonged to the people of the Sultanate of Ternate when the Portuguese colonized Ternate in the 15th century. At that time, the people of Ternate threw their valuable treasures into the lake so that the Portuguese troops would not take them away.

So far, there has been no specific agency or party that has conducted a special investigation into the truth of the community's confession.

However, some time ago, a Brimob member used sonar to detect objects at the bottom of the lake. As a result, it was indicated that there were metal objects at the bottom of the lake.

Are you interested in hunting for treasure in Lake Tolire?

Another legend tells that Lake Tolire Besar and Tolire Kecil, according to local people's stories, were once a village where the people lived in prosperity.

This village was then cursed to become a lake by the ruler of the universe, because one of the fathers in the village impregnated his own daughter.

When the father and daughter who were impregnated by him were about to flee out of the village, suddenly the ground where they were standing fell and turned into a lake. Lake Tolire Besar is believed to be the father's place. Meanwhile, Lake Tolire Kecil is believed to be the girl's place.

Believe it or not, the stories of the people of Lake Tolire have become a legacy of legend from our ancestors and are the cultural and natural wealth of our beloved country, Indonesia.

Wow, how interesting are the stories on Lake Tolire? So, in my opinion, Ternate is one of the places that you must include in your list of places to travel.