Ternate, an island off the west coast of Halmahera in northern Maluku, was once the seat of an important kingdom which prospered from the spice trade. The Portuguese, the Spanish and the Dutch vied with each other for influence on this island. A stronghold of Islam in the otherwise predominantly Christian province of Maluku, Ternate nevertheless carries the clear imprints of both its pre-Islamic past and its period of contact with the West, especially the Portuguese.

The old sultan's palace in Ternate town is now a museum. In the vicinity are the ruins of old Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch forts. The remnants of the Dutch Fort Orange are right in town.

About five kilometers west of the town, on the slope of a 1,715 meter tall volcano in the middle of the island, is Afo, with its giant clove tree, said to be more than 350 years old.

Morotai Island, just off Halmahera's northern arm, was an important air-base during world War II, first for the Allies and later for the Japanese until its recapture near the end of the war. The ghosts of war still linger in this area, where many wrecks of aircraft and rusting guns lie abandoned in the bushes.