Description
Highlights of this safari:
- Discover Mapassar’s Dutch colonial past
- Explore Sulawesi’s lush green environments by foot
- Enjoy a canoe trip on the Walennea River interacting with locals, visiting temples and spotting wildlife on the way
- Visit traditional Toraja villages to learn about their culture, cuisine and their day to day habits
- Hike through the mountainous area of Rantepao
Short overview:
- Day 1: Makasar
- Day 2: Sengkang
- Day 3 – 6: Toraja/Rantepao
- Day 7: Departure
Program & Route:
Day 1 – Makassar, Hotel Fave / Pantai Gapura.
Upon arrival you will be picked up at the airport and transfered to your hotel in town. The rest of the day is free for you to spend. You can visit places of interest or relax in your hotel. Makassar (called Ujung Pandang between 1972 and 1999) is the lively capital of South-Sulawesi and because of its central location the city functions as a gate to the eastern islands of Indonesia already for centuries. Makassar also has a rich historical past with two powerful kingdoms that were able to resist the Dutch colonial forces for many years. The fort of Rotterdam (Benteng Ujung Pandang) in the center of Makassar is a well-preserved remains of the past. In the evening the boulevard starts to live when many pushcarts are placed near the waterside and start selling all sorts of food until late in the night: for seafood dishes this is the right place to go. A part of the boulevard is closed for traffic and here you can enjoy a nice sunset.
Day 2 – Sengkang, Hotel Pondok Eka/ BBC Hotel.
Today you will leave by chartered transportation and English speaking guide to the small town Sengkang, more than 200 km. north of Makassar. The first stop will be at the traditional sailing harbor Paotere. Next stop will be at the small Bantimurung Park known for its beautiful waterfall, its lush green vegetation, several caves and many butterflies. Here you will have the opportunity to explore and visit the caves with stalactites and stalagmites.
Near Bantimurung you will make go a short walk to see thousands of flying foxes (bats). After a two hour drive, you will arrive in an area of tropical forest and rice paddies at your lunch spot. A delicious meal is served, seated on the floor in the house of a Bugis family. After lunch it will take about two hours to reach Sengkang. Sengkang is a small and quiet town with a population that is almost 100% Islamic Bugis who dominantly live in traditional wooden pile dwellings. It is the capital of the district of Wajo, one of the most influential Bugis states of the sixteen-century.
Alternatively you can participate in an exciting optional excursion near the limestone cliffs of Maros. Here you will go on a wonderful walk and canoe trip in an area seldom visited by tourists. You will be walking into this amazing area via rice fields and small villages. You will visit a well hidden cave in which you can find some prehistorical prints. By small canoe, passing nearby limestone cliffs you will leave this area and continue your tour by car.
If you are interested in spotting the endemic Macaca Maura monkeys, we can arrange this in the Kairenta park, north of Bantimurung. This optional excursion also includes a fortyfive minute walk through a dense and beautiful forestal area.
Day 3 – Rantepao, Hotel Indra/ Herritage.
Early in the morning you will walk with your guide from the hotel to a small local pier were you board traditional colorful motorized canoes. The canoe trip will take you through the small Walennea River to the Tempe Lake, a lake that covers an area of at least 1.000 hectare in the dry season and expands to around 35.000 hectare during the wet season when all surrounding areas are flooded. On the lake you can observe the local fisherman catch fish in different ways using nets, fishing rods and bamboo fences. More than 20 species of water birds can be seen at this lake. Some of the fishermen live in floating houses near the edge of the lake. You will visit a floating house to drink tea or coffee together with its inhabitants. After returning to Sengkang you will visit some small villages nearby by minibus to see the process of traditional silk weaving. At certain days of the month it is also possible to see the cocoons or the spinning of the fine silk threads.
The mountainous district of Toraja is the homeland of several ethnic groups who are called Toraja (Toraja means ‘the people of the mountains’ or ‘the people of the west’. The Toraja call their traditional religion Aluk to Dolo (rites of the ancestors) and they live according to the patron that was defined by the ancestors and gods. These include the impressive rituals accompany the burying of the deceased. The beautifully carved houses with the remarkable roofs, the so-called tongkonan, are also built according principles of Aluk to Dolo. Although most Toraja are Christian nowadays, many traditions live on.
Day 4 & 5 – Rantepao, Hotel Indra/ Herritage.
During two days you will visit several Toraja villages by minibus and a Torajan guide to get a good picture of the culture of past and present Toraja. These picturesque villages are located in an amazing mountainous landscape dominated by rice terraces and bamboo forests. You will see the different ways the Toraja bury their death, like hanging graves as it was done in the old days and the well-known stone graves guarded by puppets, tau-tau, high up a rock. In addition, the baby graves in the trunk of big trees as well as huge richly carved traditional houses with their rice barns will be on the program these days. You will also visit the Sadan area, where women still occasionally weave the traditional textiles.
On the evening of day four you will enjoy a Torajan meal served in a traditional home in a small kampung on a short distance of Toraja. Most famous is the pa’piong manuk: chicken with grated banana stem cooked in a bamboo tube. Cooked young fern and red rice are the perfect match for this chicken dish. If you arrive on time you can witness your meal being prepared.
Day 6 – Rantepao, Hotel Indra/ Herritage.
Today you will be driven to the starting point of a wonderful four hour easy to moderate trekking. You will be walking at high altitudes (900-1300 meter) with amazing views. You walk through rice terraces balancing on narrow rice dikes and via small dirt roads only used by local people. The villages you pass are traditional and in some you will stop to have some tea and enjoy a picnic lunch.
In the afternoon you will be picked-up by car and driven to your hotel in Rantepao.
Dag 7 – Departure
In the early morning you will drive by car to Makassar. This interesting and varied route will take around nine hours; so prepare for a long day in a vehicle. You will arrive in Makassar or at the airport in the afternoon.