Sumba, The Island of Warriors & Spirits

01

Arriving in Tambolaka

This trip starts upon arrival in the airport of Tambolaka, West Sumba, a regional center in west Sumba. Later on you will tour this regional center. The area is dotted with megalith monuments, typical for Marapu, the prevalent belief on Sumba. You will also visit a beach were traditional production of salt takes place. Several villages have houses built in traditional Sumba style with conical roofs. Visit a local market, the harbor and the Museum of Sumba. In the afternoon proceed to Waitabula for visiting Sumba Cultural Houses and traditional market where the local people activities selling and buying their daily life need include the hand weaving of Ikat. Ikat refers to intricately painted cloth, used as marriage gifts. It is a very common weaving technique in southeast Indonesia.
02

Exploring West Sumba

Three days will be spent exploring the region of West Sumba, the heartland of Marapu belief. While driving around you'll occasionally meet a traditionally dressed Sumba warrior, watching over his herd of small Sumba horses. You will visit a number of traditional villages with odd sounding names as Kodi, Lai Tarug, Pero, Tosi, Anakalang…. They are all well-known for their unmistakably Sumba-styled houses, covered in conical roofs. Some of them have roofs higher than 10 m. Spend a while at the picturesque salt lake of Waikury. Plenty of stone megaliths refer to an animist past, in which the spirits played an important role. Numerous fascinating villages dotted the landscape. Inside the village boundaries , there are lots of houses with characteristic cone-shaped rooftops. Some of them are higher than 10 m. Megalithic graves are scattered in and around villages and little towns. Tarung, located auspiciously on a hill, is the spiritual center of Marapu religion. There are waterfalls and stunning beaches. You will also visit the place where the yearly Pasola takes place, a unique series of fertility rites.
03

Exploring West Sumba

Exploring west sumba.
04

Exploring West Sumba

Exploring west sumba.
05

Leaving Sumba

This trip ends at the airport when you are leaving the island for your next destination.