Makassar >> Rammang Rammang >> Rantepao
After pick-up in Makassar, we will visit Rammang Rammang. This is the third largest karst landscape in the world. It is so rough and surreal that we could easily imagine having entered a Jurassic Park scene.
We take a beautiful boat ride and make a short hike through the village, caves and limestone mountains.
Then we continue the drive to Rantepao, where we will stay at an authentic place in a Tongkonan. Our guide or the village cook will prepare us a traditional meal, which we will end the day with.
Rantepao >> Lemo – Tampang Allo – Suaya – Bebo – Karuaya – Kete’ Kesu >> Rantepao
Visiting the Southern area of Torajaland will feel as if a cultural documentary has been brought to life. These are the must-sees of Tana Toraja.
Typically we visit Lemo with its hanging tau tau effigies, the burial cave in Tampang Allo, the animistic villages Bebo and Karuaya, the grave of the seven royal families in Suaya, and the burial site in the picturesque Kete’ Kesu.
Around Karuaya and Tampang Allo there are also beautiful rice fields where we could walk around if weather- and rice field conditions allow.
In the afternoon we drive to an authentic village around Rantepao and check in to our Tongkonan accommodation. Relax, enjoy the view, and meet the kind locals as your guide or the village cook prepares your traditional diner.
Nothing is set in stone so we can also visit other sites in the South if you wish. Subject to ceremony schedule and your wishes, we could on this day also visit a funeral or a wedding instead.
Rantepao >> Pana – Kata – Sumpiak – Lolai – Bela – Salu
After a delicious home-made breakfast in your Tongkonan, we drive to Pana. We visit the old stone grave, and then start our scenic day trek. We pass Kata – located in the middle of rice fields – and then continue to Sumpiak.
We will have lunch in the forest or in the rice fields. Then we continue the trek through bamboo forests and around cacao- & coffee plantations where we realise again that the delicious chocolate we eat and the daily coffee we take originates from a tree fruit. We may also see banana-, papaya- and ananas trees.
At dawn there is also a chance to see buffaloes grazing in the fields, or bathing in the rivers. Torajan buffaloes are a bit spoiled: If they don’t feel fresh and clean, they have difficulties falling asleep. The joke goes around that the Toraja farmers bath their buffaloes more than themselves.
Eventually we arrive at the remote, mountain village Salu. Salu is a quiet place with traditional Tongkonans and Bugis houses, and a beautiful panorama of rice terraces. We’ll check in to our Tongkonan and say hi to the kind villagers while our guide or the village cook prepares a traditional diner.
Rantepao >> Lombok Parinding – Bori – Palawa – Tinimbayo – Batutumonga – Loko Mata – Kata – Kayurame >> Rantepao
After our home-made breakfast, it is time to pack and say goodbye to the villagers. We explore the less touristic North, which is the most scenic region of Tana Toraja with beautiful trails through mountain villages.
We visit the stone graves and rice barns in the village Lombok Parinding, the megalithic stones in Bori, and the traditional village Palawa and Tinimbayo.
Lunch will be served in Batutumonga, where we enjoy a beautiful panorama of rice terraces. After lunch, we drive to Loko Mata to see the boulder grave.
At Loko Mata we start our scenic trek of 2-3 hours through rice fields, bamboo forests, cacao and coffee plantations, until we arrive at Kayurame, from where we return by car to Rantepao.
This will be our last night in Rantepao.
Nothing is set in stone so we can also visit other sites in the North if you wish. Subject to ceremony schedule and your wishes, we could on this day also visit a funeral or a wedding instead.
Rantepao >> Lake Tempe / Floating Village >> Sengkang
After a home-made breakfast at our Tongkonan, we drive towards Sengkang. Underway we make a stop at Bambapuang for a refreshment and to see the stunning Buntu Kabobong, better known as the Erotic Mountain.
Upon arrival in Sengkang, we check in at our hotel and have lunch. Then we visit Lake Tempe, which is a shallow lake fringed by wetlands with traditional floating houses and a large population of birds. There are around 30 floating houses inhabited by traditional fishermen.
We cruise on the lake with a long tail boat and visit a traditional floating house where we can enjoy drinking tea or coffee and eating fried banana (Pisang Goreng) with the locals. Finally, we cruise back and return to our hotel in Sengkang.
Sengkang >> Bugis villages >> Bira
We are picked-up in the morning, and drive via the Bugis Villages and through a scenic landscape to Tanjung Bira.
Bira could easily be ranked among the most beautiful beaches of all Indonesia. The white sandy beaches have a soft texture like flour. The crystal clear water had a light turquoise color. The panorama from the beach is captivating. And because it is Sulawesi, Bira is still relatively unknown to Western travelers.
To honour this immense tropical vibe of this exotic beach, we will spend the night at the beautiful beachfront BaraCoco Bungalows. Each of the bungalows features a beach view and a spacious terrace with a hammock.
You can spend the free afternoon with various activities such as snorkelling, diving or just relaxing on the beaches, and you can enjoy dining at the on-site restaurant which overlooks the white sandy beach.
Bira >> Tana Beru >> Makassar
Breakfast in the morning with a breathtaking beach view from the restaurant.
Free program in the morning, and then we start our return. We stop at Tana Beru. Here we will visit the boat-building center to see how the big, traditional Pinisi boats are built.
After lunch enroute, we proceed to the airport or your hotel in Makassar. This is where our Sulawesi adventure ends and we say goodbye to the driver.
Lemo. Perhaps the best known and most crowded burial site in Toraja. The sheer rock face has a series of balconies with tau tau, wooden statues of the dead persons inside the graves.
Kambira Baby Graves. The most famous baby grave site in Tana Toraja. Torajans from Kambira would carve a hole into the trunk of a Jackfruit tree and place the baby in it. Over time the living tree would grow around the hole sealing the baby into the trunk. Unfortunately, the trees have died by now. This somewhat dark site holds around 20 deceased infants.
Kete Kesu'. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is perhaps the best known traditional Torajan village with Tongkanan houses. Visit the rice barns, hanging graves, or start a scenic trek from here.
Suaya. Seven royal families from Sangalla are buried at this famous and relatively quite burial site. The wooden effigies tau tau are in balconies that are cut in the large rock face.
Tampang Allo. Perhaps the least known of the fabulous must-sees in the Southern area: A beautiful, natural cave that has been used in the past as burial site, and where you find tau tau and some human bones.
Lampio. Lampio is a traditional weaving village in Toraja. It is the authentic equivalent to the touristic and commercial Sa'dan village.
Bebo and Karuaya. Traditional villages, where the villagers still have a traditional, animistic belief. The walk from Bebo to Karuaya takes around 45 minutes, during which you see both traditional Torajan houses and beautiful nature.
