You cannot miss Mount Gamalama when you fly into Ternate, and the volcano commands your attention from the moment the airplane approaches to land. Its perfect cone rises straight out of the sea, dominating everything around it. At 1,715 metres, it is not the tallest volcano in Indonesia by any means, but its presence is absolutely commanding. I found myself on this fascinating Indonesian island in October 2024, making a quick stop on my way to Halmahera. Though my visit was brief, it left quite an impression.
Gamalama is no ordinary mountain – it is an active volcano that is an integral part of life here. It has erupted more than 80 times since the 1500s. Its most recent significant activity occurred in 2011 and 2015, when ash clouds halted flights and displaced residents from their homes. A particularly catastrophic eruption in 1775 nearly destroyed the entire island, permanently altering its topography.
Yet the people of Ternate have transformed this demanding neighbour into a remarkable asset. The volcanic soil provides exceptional fertility for farming, and the community has developed sophisticated responses to the mountain’s moods. Well-planned evacuation routes are integrated into daily life, with regular drills maintaining preparedness. The Indonesian government’s volcanology centre maintains constant vigilance, employing modern monitoring equipment to track every subtle movement.
During a morning exploration of the lower slopes with my guide Alexius, I encountered extraordinary formations where ancient lava flows met the sea. Some of these structures, dating to the 1700s, resemble frozen waterfalls of stone. Close by, Lake Tolire, a serene green volcanic lake mirrors the sky above, while the air carries the sweet fragrance of clove and nutmeg trees – the very spices that once made this modest island globally significant.
Tales of Spice and Power: Ternate’s Golden Age
The Portuguese arrival in Ternate’s harbour in 1512 kickstarted their discovery of Europe’s most coveted commodity source. Cloves flourishing on these volcanic slopes were exceptionally significant, with a kilogram in 16th-century London priced the equivalent of US$ 1,200/ UK£ 1,000 in contemporary currency – quite a remarkable sum for dried flower buds.
The Sultan of Ternate presided over what might be termed the world’s first spice superpower. His kingdom’s control of the global clove trade afforded him unprecedented influence. The Sultanate had established a formidable empire across the Maluku Islands, maintaining trade relationships with Chinese and Arab merchants since the 1300s.
When the Portuguese expedition, led by Francisco Serrão, who developed a notable rapport with the Sultan, made landfall, they believed they had discovered unparalleled opportunity. Their construction of Fort São João Bautista in 1522, now known as Fort Oranje, represented their attempt to dominate the spice trade. However, their subsequent actions – price manipulation and presumptuous behaviour caused significant local resentment.
The arrival of St Francis Xavier in 1546 introduced additional complexity to this politically charged environment. Despite his considerable reputation from missionary work in India and Japan, Xavier encountered substantial challenges. Islam was deeply integrated into Ternatan society, with the Sultanate having embraced the faith since the 1460s, establishing governmental and cultural systems around Islamic principles. The timing proved particularly unfortunate, as local dissatisfaction with Portuguese political interference had reached a critical point.
Moreover, the Sultan’s court included numerous learned Islamic scholars capable of engaging in sophisticated theological discourse. Xavier’s efforts resulted in several hundred conversions, primarily within the Portuguese quarter, but following his departure in 1547, most converts returned to Islam, drawn by the Sultan’s influence and the deep connection between Islamic faith and Ternatan identity (see notes 1). Today, a very small Christian community survives on the island as a testament to the Jesuits’ presence, a legacy of perseverance amidst cultural and spiritual complexities.
The Portuguese presence dawned in 1575 through the strategic acumen of Sultan Babullah, who skilfully leveraged rivalries between European powers, forming alliances with English and Dutch interests. The subsequent Dutch East India Company (VOC) administration, beginning in 1607, implemented even more stringent controls, including their notorious ‘monopoly system’ and ‘extirpatie politiek’ – the systematic destruction of clove trees on other islands to maintain high prices.
An Island of Faith: Ternate’s Islamic Identity
Ternate cannot be described without pinpointing how central Islam is to the island’s identity. Today’s Ternate echoes with the call to prayer from over hundreds of mosques. The Grand Mosque, built in 1610, is the Islamic heart of the island, its architecture blending Indonesian and Islamic traditions. I’ll admit—getting through the dawn prayers wasn’t exactly a breeze, especially with the loudspeakers amplifying every word. There was a time when this call to prayer over microphones felt familiar, even comforting, thanks to my childhood in Lucknow, my hometown in India, where mosques dotted every corner of the locality. But those days are long behind me now. Familiarity, it seems, does not always last forever. When hundreds of mosques broadcast simultaneously at 4:30 AM, restorative sleep becomes a distant memory.
Walking through the old town, I discovered how Ternate’s Islamic faith shapes daily life on the island. The rhythm of the day moves with prayer times, marked by the gentle exodus of people heading to neighbourhood mosques. Between prayers, these mosques are community centers where children study, elders gather, and neighbours catch up on local news.
What caught my eye was how seamlessly tradition meshes with modern life. Young people wearing traditional dress check their smartphones outside mosques. The call to prayer now comes through sophisticated sound systems, while WhatsApp groups coordinate religious activities. Even the Grand Mosque has Wi-Fi, though they ask you to switch your phone to silent during prayer times, a sort of juxtaposition with prayers being broadcast over loudspeakers.
Furthermore, alongside this vibrant expression of faith, Ternate has faced challenges from a number of individuals swayed by extremist Islamic ideologies. There were episodes of religious riots that impacted its communities who were left scarred with bitter memories of violence, bloodshed and murder. Religious tensions between the Muslim majority and the small Christian minority disbalanced and tore into the island’s delicate social fabric. These conflicts often revolved around disputes over religious practices, land, and political power, exacerbated by economic inequality and historical grievances. Efforts to address these tensions include local peace agreements and interventions by the Indonesian government, but the scars of these episodes remain etched in the cautious interactions between the island’s religious groups. Despite these challenges, the resilience of Ternate’s people continues to evolve, indicating complex yet a deeply human portrait of coexistence.
Local Islamic life has its own unique flavour here. Restaurants serve halal food with a distinctly Maluku twist. During my brief time here, I chose to unwind and explore the culinary delights of Ternate, and I spent my evenings at local fish restaurants, savouring fresh seafood prepared with unique Ternate spices. Alcohol was notably absent from the menus and unseen in any shops, a reflection of the island’s strong religious values. Beer, while occasionally available on the black market, often comes at exorbitant prices, you might end up paying double or even more for a bottle of beer compared to Bali. What struck me most was not just the depth of faith, but how naturally it exists alongside modern life, influenced by centuries of the island’s tradition. In Ternate, Islam is a part of the island’s very character, as much a presence as the volcano watching overall.
Beyond the Horizon: The Islands Around Ternate
Stand at Ternate’s harbour as the sun rises, and you will see a world of islands emerging from the horizon. Each one holds its own stories, secrets, and sacred peaks. These Ternate’s neighbours are a part of an ancient network of spice islands that once drew traders from around the globe.
Tidore: The Sister Isle
Tidore rises from the sea just south of Ternate, its beautiful volcanic cone is perfectly symmetrical, gracefully balanced, and majestically rises from the deep against the horizon. Its elegance surpasses that of Mount Gamalama for sure. Tidore reaches 1,730 meters skyward, its slopes wrapped in clove trees and clouds. Once Ternate’s greatest rival in the spice trade, Tidore now feels like stepping back in time. The sultan’s palace, the “Keraton Kesultanan Tidore” still stands proud on the hillside, its weathered walls holding centuries of stories. Traditional villages dot the volcano’s slopes, where life moves at a gentler pace than in bustling Ternate.
Walking through Tidore’s markets, you still catch the scent of cloves and nutmeg that made this island famous. Local vendors will tell you their spices are better than Ternate’s, an echo of an ancient rivalry that once influenced global trade. The Dutch East India Company thought so too, building their regional headquarters here in Tidore rather than in Ternate.
Halmahera: Land of Wonders
East across the strait stretches Halmahera, the giant of North Maluku. It is an island of startling contrasts – pristine beaches curve along its fractured coastline, while dense rainforest covers its mountainous interior. Here, you can find some of Indonesia’s best-kept secrets: coral reefs where barracuda schools swirl like living tornadoes, and remote beaches where monitor lizards leave tracks in the sand.
The island’s heart holds treasures of its own. Towering waterfalls cascade through forests where birds of paradise perform their elaborate courtship dances. Active volcanoes dot Halmahera’s spine, including the restless Mounts Gamkonora, Ibu, and Dukono. During nights, these crater glow red, reflecting off the clouds above. Halmahera and its volcanoes, people, religion and its land are a subject for another blogpost.
Island Hopping: A Maritime Adventure
Getting between these islands is part of the adventure. Traditional wooden boats called kora-kora still ply these waters, their designs barely changed from the days of the spice trade. Modern ferries and speedboats offer faster options, but they follow the same ancient routes that brought cloves and nutmeg to the wider world.
The journeys themselves offer extraordinary views. On clear mornings, you can trace the line of volcanoes from Ternate through Tidore to Mount Dukono on Halmahera, often trailing volcanic plumes into the blue sky. Dolphins frequently play in these straits, while sea eagles patrol overhead.
Hidden Gems
Scattered between the larger islands lie smaller treasures. Maitara Island, nestled between Ternate and Tidore, is so perfectly framed by its larger neighbours that its view once graced Indonesia’s 1,000 rupiah note. Mare Island, just off Tidore’s coast, hides some of the region’s most pristine coral gardens. Even the smallest volcanic islets hold surprises. Some host seasonal colonies of nesting seabirds, while others shelter fishing communities that have worked these waters for generations.
Today, these islands are connected by shared histories, family ties, and trade still bind them together. Festivals often involve multiple islands, with boats ferrying families and participants between shores. Mobile phones and internet have added new layers to ancient connections, WhatsApp groups coordinate inter-island fish markets, while Facebook helps extended families stay in touch across the waters.
Yet some things remain unchanged. Fishermen still navigate by the stars when needed, and each island maintains its distinct character. In an age of increasing uniformity, the islands beyond Ternate remind us that some places prefer to keep their unique rhythms, crafted by volcanoes, carved by seas, and their histories etched by centuries of spice-trading.
Final Impressions
Ternate left me with a complicated impression of its raw natural beauty juxtaposed with Islamism, which has deeply influenced Ternate’s social fabric. While the island’s volcanic nature and cultural history are undeniably striking, my experiences were coloured by the subtle undercurrents in the atmosphere. This dynamic interplay of natural splendour and societal complexity left me questioning Ternate as much as it inspired. Nevertheless, I thought about how a community has taken everything nature and history have thrown at it , fire, colonialism, change, and crafted something uniquely their own.
Lastly, Gamalama is a perfect metaphor for Ternate itself. Like the fertile soil it creates, the challenges here have given rise to something remarkable: a place where faith runs deep, tradition remains strong, and people have learned to thrive in the shadow of their mountainous guardian. For travellers willing to venture beyond Bali’s beaches, Ternate offers something increasingly rare – a glimpse into a world where history feels alive, and every day brings a reminder of nature’s raw power. However, like it not, get ready to rise and shine at 4:30 am – no alarm clock needed.
Notes
1. Primary and secondary resources offer valuable insights into Francis Xavier’s mission in Ternate and its challenges. His personal letters, compiled in The Letters and Instructions of Francis Xavier edited by M. Joseph Costelloe, provide first-hand accounts of his experiences and reflections. Portuguese colonial records and local oral histories, such as those found in Malay and Javanese chronicles, shed light on the socio-political tensions and resistance he faced. Georg Schurhammer’s Francis Xavier: Apostle of the Indies and Japan is a definitive biography, while John W. O’Malley’s The Jesuits: A History contextualises Xavier’s struggles within the broader Jesuit mission. Academic articles like “The Limits of Conversion: Francis Xavier in the East Indies” (Journal of Jesuit Studies) express his challenges, complemented by regional histories like The Spice Islands in Pre-modern Global History by Sarah S. Sutherland, which examine Ternate’s religious and political dynamics. Additionally, works on Southeast Asian Islam, such as Peter Riddell’s Southeast Asia and Islam: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, highlight the entrenched Islamic context that shaped Xavier’s mission. These resources, accessible through academic libraries, Jesuit archives, and platforms like JSTOR, provide a comprehensive foundation for understanding this pivotal chapter in missionary history.
