nusa tenggara

Sumba

Megalithic tombs, ancestral houses and one of Indonesia's strongest textile traditions.

Understand this place before you visit

The place

A large, dry island east of Bali with savannah hills, empty coastline and clan villages built around tombs.

Clan communities holding Marapu ancestral practice alongside Christianity.

Ritual life organised by clan; Pasola horseback tradition in the west; ikat as a record of lineage.

Corn, rice, freshwater fish, betel nut hospitality, ceremonial meat.

Rolling savannah, limestone cliffs, waterfalls and long undeveloped beaches.

West Sumba

Peaked roofs, megalithic tombs and a community that decides together how visitors are hosted.

Low tourist intensity 6h

Kaliuda, East Sumba

Rambu Kahi's colours grow behind her house. You bind, dip and see why one hinggi can take a family a year.

Low tourist intensity 4h

Ratenggaro, Southwest Sumba

A community-hosted afternoon in a southwest Sumba clan village where the river meets the sea and the tombs stand in front of the houses.

Low tourist intensity 3h

Southwest Sumba

Sumba's small, tough horses are family property and status. A keeper takes you out across the grass hills at the end of the day.

Low tourist intensity 3h

Praiijing

A hilltop clan village in West Sumba with towering peaked roofs and a community-run visitor rota.

Ratenggaro

A southwest Sumba clan village of very high peaked roofs and stone tombs, standing where the river meets the sea.