Tanjung Bira

On the beach, men build ships. Not small boats — hundred-tonne wooden phinisi schooners, constructed without a single blueprint, using hand tools, ironwood planks, and knowledge passed from father to son. The hull takes shape directly on the sand, its ribs curving upward like a whale's skeleton. When complete, the entire village will drag it into the sea. This is Tanjung Bira, where the Bugis and Konjo people have built ocean-going vessels for centuries, and where the craft of wooden shipbuilding survives in a form recognisable to medieval sailors.

Tanjung Bira is a peninsula at the southeastern tip of South Sulawesi, renowned as the centre of traditional phinisi schooner construction. The nearby villages of Tanah Beru and Ara maintain a wooden shipbuilding tradition recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Master builders (punggawa) construct vessels of up to 300 tonnes using hand tools and no written plans — hull shapes are held in memory and transmitted orally. Phinisi schooners are still commissioned for cargo transport and luxury dive charters throughout Indonesia. The peninsula itself features white-sand beaches, clear water, and modest reef diving. Bira Beach faces south toward the open sea, with views to the islands of Selayar and Liukang. The area is 5-6 hours by road from Makassar. Accommodation ranges from beach guesthouses to a handful of mid-range resorts along the shore.