Gorontalo Province

After apart from North Sulawesi, Gorontalo become an independent province on December 2000, with the capital of Gorontalo itself. There are some opinion about the meaning of Gorontalo name, like; Hulontalangio, which is a name of a tribe that resided in the area; Hua Lolontalango, which means cavemen who used to walk back and forth; Hulutalangi, which means a nobler, Huluo Lo Tola, which means a place where snakehead fish breed; Pongolatalo or Pohulatalo, which means a waiting place; Gunung Telu, which means three mountains; Hunto, which means a place that is always flowed by water. In my opinion the last meaning is the suitable one for Gorontalo that lies on Minahasa Peninsula.
The local inhabitants are coming from Gorontalo ethnic with Gorontalo traditional language. The tourism objects are commonly coming from the historical site, like: Orange Fortress, Ju Panggola Graveyard, Nani wartabone monument, Limboto Lake and Otanaha Fortress.
Gorontalo, is nestled in the calm waters of the northern shoreline of the Tomini Bay, on the southern fringe of Sulawesi's protective northern arm. Here the weather is balmy and equatorial, the landscape punctuated by chains of mountains.
Being the main gateway to the diving mecca of the Togean Islands and only a 1 hour flight from Manado, Gorontalo is easily reached and often passed through. However, stop to have a look around and you may be surprised by what Gorontalo has to offer, along with its unique diving environment.
How to get there
Visitors to Gorontalo no longer need to travel overland. Regular flights now connect Gorontalo with the outside world. Daily flights are available from Jakarta viaMakassar ( to Gorontalo with Lion Air and Sriwijaya Airlines. Recently Garuda Indonesia has also opened daily flights to Gorontalo from Jakarta, Denpasar (Bali), Surabaya and Makassar. Jalaludin Airport is the primary airport of Gorontalo City and is located about 20 minutes from downtown Gorontalo. From Manado, Wings Air now has daily flights to Gorontalo, leaving every evening.
If you prefer to travel overland, that option is also availale and private transport can be arranged in Manado with a driving time of about 9 hours by private transport. Alternatively, you could go by bus, and there are several bus lines available. The bus trip from Manado to Gorontalo takes about 10 hours. Fajar Indah is a recommended company. Roads are mostly in good condition, with a few small dirt and rock sections under repair. By sea there are passenger ships such as the KM. Tilongkabila and a ferry ship directly from the Gorontalo port.
Source: https://www.indonesia-tourism.com/gorontalo/