Toraja Discovery & South Sulawesi Beach

📍 Makassar Hasanuddin international Airport – Makassar City center (17 km): 30 minutes

Arrive at Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar. 

Recommended flights (not included in package and quoted separately – airfares and schedules subject to change without prior notice): 
Domestic:  from Denpasar to Makasar JT-746, departing at 07:00 and arriving at 08:20 

An airport assistant will bring you to your private car and driver for the transfer to your hotel in the city center of Makasar. 

Remainder of the day and evening at leisure.

Dinner at leisure.

Overnight in  Makassar. 
 

Inclusions:

📍 Makassar – Pare Pare (155 km): approximately 4 hours 30 minutes Pare Pare – Rantepao (175km): approximately 5 hours 30 minutes

The island of Sulawesi is one of the four larger islands of Indonesia and has been known as Celebes, by the Portuguese, and Ujung Pandang, by the locals. This stunning island is as rich in culture and history, as it is in exceptional experiences.

Check out from the hotel and depart for Toraja via Pare Pare. 

The journey takes you through several villages of the Bugis people whose stilted houses line magnificent mountain passes. Stop at a local restaurant in Pare-pare for a late lunch.

Driving continues through the hills reaching Rantepao in the late afternoon. Rantepao is the small capital of Toraja, with an estimated population of around 450,000. The Toraja ethnic group is renowned for their elaborate funeral rites, traditional houses and spectacular carving and dancing. You will spend the next two days exploring the Toraja villages and learning about their unique culture.

Check in to the hotel in Rantepao.
 
Dinner this evening is at the hotel.

Overnight in Rantepao.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

This morning after breakfast, if the schedule permits, have the chance to immerse yourself in the bustling life of the Torajan’s with a visit to their, once a week traditional Buffalo market in Bolu. This market is important to the local society as buffalos and pigs are an essential part of the intricate funeral ceremony.

Note: Bolu Market is open every day but Market day (busy days) only held once every 6 days. In case there is no market on the day you visit, we will replace it by a visit to a local market in Rantepao.

Head to travel to the south of Toraja to visit two traditional villages and their surroundings.

Begin with a drive to Lemo and Suaya villages which are enveloped by cliffs pierced with graves and tau tau (hanging effigies) of deceased nobility.

Later, continue to discover the secrets of baby trees in Nongnongan. These cliffs are also referred to as the ‘death balconies’ due to their perilous location.

Lunch in Rura Raya beside the homestay there is ‘Tongkonan’ (Local people house) where you can hear about the spiritual elements of ancestral Torajan architecture. 

This afternoon, visit Londa village where wooden coffins are suspended by ropes and poles extending from the cliffs.

Continue to Kete Kesu, a village which has one of the finest ensembles of Tongkonan (Toraja traditional houses). These boat-shaped houses have tall roofs made of slender bristles and create strange silhouettes in the sky. The Tongkonan facades boast many carved and painted motifs and a buffalo head wood adorns the wealthiest homes. Kete Kesu village also has a rice granary of the traditional Toraja country style.
Return to the hotel late this afternoon. 

Dinner will be served in the hotel. 

Overnight in Rantepao.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

Proceed to Palawa, a typical Toraja village, and on to the highlands of Batutumonga for stunning views across the Toraja valley. 

Savor a lunch at Mentirotiku local restaurant.

According to your preference, take a 1 or 2 hour light trek through fascinating Toraja villages. 

OPTION: 1 HOUR OR 2 HOUR TREKKING

Perched on the slopes of Mt Sesean, these villages offer beautiful views of rice fields dotted with large black rocks, remains of ancient volcanic eruptions. A 1-hour trek will take you through the village of Lempo and Tinongbayo while the easy two-hour walk takes you through the villages of Bori and Tikala where you will get to meet the locals and observe their traditional lifestyle and customs. These two villages have ancestral stone circles, part of the local lore of the Toraja people, with each stone representing an important noble who has passed away. They also feature impressive Tongkonan houses. 

Return to Rantepao with a stop at a Todi weaving factory where the ancient technique and motifs for Torajans textile known as Ikat’s are preserved. 
    
Return to the hotel late afternoon.

Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight in Rantepao

Note:

- Between July and September (dry season) many funerals take place and during this period many Toraja migrants return home for the holidays. The program will be tailored to allow for an attendance of such ceremony during stay in Toraja if desired and possible.

- On weekends (Saturday and Sunday) such ceremonies do not take place, and there is never any guarantee that it will be possibly to attend

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Rantepao – Enrekang (91 km): approximately 3 hours Enrekang – Sengkang (103 km): approximately 3 hours 40 minutes

This morning after breakfast, check out from the hotel for today’s journey to Sengkang, a former capital of the Bugis kingdom which overlooks Lake Tempe, the largest lake in Sulawesi.  

Leave Rantepao and drive to Palopo on the way to Sengkang. 

Stop enroute in Sengkang where a late lunch is served in a local restaurant

After lunch, continue to visit a local silk home factory in Sengkang before check in at the hotel

Enjoy a Local Bugis style feast dinner at the hotel.

Overnight in Sengkang.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Sengkang – Wantampone (67 km):approximately 2 hours Wantampone – Bira Beach (147 km): approximately 5 hours

Rise early this morning at 05:15 to take advantage of the picturesque scene across Lake Tempe.  The Bugis people have a unique housing style where their traditional houses float on the lake. Take this opportunity to travel on a local longboat to enjoy the Bugis hospitality with a cup of tea or coffee, and maybe some fried bananas (a favorite snack in Indonesia). There are about 30 houses that remain on the lake and participate in the old traditions of fishing and fish drying.

Return to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast and check out , leave Sengkang and drive to Watampone on the East Coast of Sulawesi where early lunch is served in a local restaurant.

From Watampone,  drive more to the south to Cape Bira on the south-eastern tip of Sulawesi.

While en route, stop at a Bugis village to witness the cultivation of sugar cane, rice, and chocolate

Late in the afternoon arrive in Bira and check in to the hotel.

Dinner at leisure.

Overnight in Bira

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

This morning after breakfast, go by local fisherboat to the nearby island of Liukan. Profit some time to snorkel in these stunning waters. (snorkel, mask and fins provided).

After snorkling, visit the local fishing village of Konjo where we can see some traditional ikat weaving.

Next,  enjoy a picnic lunch on the island after which there is some more time for exploring the island or relaxing on the beach before returning to the hotel on the mainland.

Remainder of the afternoon is free at leisure.

Overnight in Bira. 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Bira Beach – Tanah Beru (12 km): approximately 30 minutes Tanah Beru – Makassar (179 km): approximately 6 hours

Breakfast is served in the hotel, and take advantage of time at leisure.

Around 12:30, after check out,  depart along the South coast of Sulawesi towards Makassar.  

On the way,   make a stop at Tanah Beru village which is famous for the phinisi ships being built there following ancient traditional methods. 

Stop in the village of Bonto Saluang where we make a short walk to Bissappu, a 70 m drop waterfall set in lush tropical surroundings. 

Upon arrival in Makassar, check into the hotel.

Overnight in Makassar.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

📍 Makassar City center - Makassar Hasanuddin international Airport (17 km): 30 minutes

After breakfast, be picked up by the guide and driver, and depart for a short sightseeing tour of Makassar.

Start with a visit to the bustling Paotere harbor to learn about the famed Bugis Phinisi Schooner shipbuilders of the region and continue to the city's most iconic landmark, Fort Rotterdam. 

It is possibly one of the best-preserved Dutch forts in all of Indonesia after renovation; visit the La Galigo Museum to find out more about Sulawesi's variety

Return to the hotel and it is free at leisure until time for the transfer to the airport.

Lunch at leisure.

Recommended flights (not included in package and quoted separately – airfares and schedules subject to change without prior notice): Lion air from Makassar to Denpasar JT747 departing at 18:50 and arriving at 20:15  

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast