GUA LEANG LEANG

The Leang-Leang caves, which mean "many caves" in the Makassar language, are located in the province of Maros, about an hour north of Makassar, in the heart of a limestone region.

Excavations have revealed traces of human presence dating back 5,000 years (3000 B.C.), preceding the first Austronesian migrations from Taiwan to the Philippines and then to the Indonesian archipelago, beginning around 2000 B.C. These prehistoric caves (around 55 in all) are decorated with cave paintings and handprints in red and ochre negative.