South Sulawesi Discovery

Welcome to South Sulawesi! Upon arrival at Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar, you’ll be met by our guide and transferred to your hotel. Later, we enjoy a brief city tour, visiting Fort Rotterdam, a well-preserved Dutch fortress, and Paotere Anchorage, the busy harbour where traditional Bugis and Makassarese schooners still dock.

Makassar - Rammang-Rammang - Sengkang. After an early breakfast, we depart at 7:30 for the journey to Rammang-Rammang village. After an hour’s drive, we arrive at the jetty where the friendly locals greet us. We board a traditional canoe and glide along the Puteh River, passing dramatic limestone karst formations and lush Nypa palms. We take a gentle walk through Berua Village and enjoy a traditional snack of fried banana with tea or coffee at a local home. Afterwards, we paddle back and continue a soft trek through the Karst Towers of Limestone Park, with lunch served en route.

Later, we travel to Sengkang and head straight to Tempe Lake, where we board a motorised canoe to visit fishing families living in floating houses. We enjoy coffee and snacks at one of the houses before returning to Sengkang to check in at our hotel for the night.

Sengkang - Rantepao. We start the day with a visit to a traditional silk factory, where skilled Buginese women weave intricate silk fabrics. Then we journey through the scenic landscapes of Siwa and Palopo as we make our way to Toraja. On arrival in Rantepao, the heart of Toraja, we check in at our hotel.

Today, we delve into the unique culture of the Toraja people. We begin at Lemo, renowned for its Tau Tau statues and hanging graves, then continue to the baby graves of Kambira. These sobering hollowed tree trunks are where deceased infants were once placed.

We visit Londa to see its ancient tombs, where the deceased are placed among the rocks rather than buried. After lunch at a local restaurant in Rantepao, we travel on to Karuaya to enjoy the beautiful Toraja panorama before taking a short walk to Kete Kesu, one of the oldest Toraja villages. Here, we find rows of original Tongkonan ancestral houses and traditional rice barns adorned with colourful woodcarvings. We spend a second night at our hotel in Rantepao.

Rantepao - Timonbayo - Batutumonga - Bori - Pallawa - Sa’dan Tubaranna - Rantepao. This morning, we embark on a journey to Timonbayo for panoramic views of rice fields scattered with ancient megalithic stones.

We continue to the burial cave of Lokomata before heading to Batutumonga, where we take a short trek, soak in the beautiful scenery and experience a glimpse of Torajan village life. Lunch is served at a local restaurant in Batutumonga.

In the afternoon, we visit Bori to see its impressive collection of megaliths, then continue to Pallawa and Sa’dan Tubaranna, traditional Torajan villages famed for their intricate weaving. This evening, we enjoy a farewell dinner at our hotel.

Our south Sulawesi adventure comes to an end after breakfast and check out. An included transfer takes you to the airport in Palopo - from here you'll need to book a flight back to Makassar, where you can connect for your next destination.