The Megalithic Tombs of Sumba

In western Sumba the dead are buried under stone. Villages such as Ratenggaro, Wainyapu, Praijing and Tarung are built as tight clusters of houses with tall peaked thatched roofs, and between the houses lie slab tombs cut from limestone, some of them enormous, carved with buffalo horns, human figures and geometric bands. The stones were quarried and dragged into place by the whole community, a process that took time and animals and was itself part of the point. Many households still follow Marapu, the local ancestral religion, and the tombs sit at the centre of village life rather than at its edge. Ratenggaro adds a coastal setting, its roofs standing against the sea.

What you actually see

• The slab tombs - carved limestone graves set between the houses.
• Peaked thatched roofs - the tall towers over the houses at Ratenggaro and Praijing.
• Carved motifs - buffalo horns, figures and bands cut into the tomb stones.
• The coast at Ratenggaro - the village and its tombs above an empty beach.

When to go

Sumba dries out and turns brown from around May to October and greens up after the rains, and the dry months are the easier ones for the rough roads between villages. Mornings avoid the worst of the heat, since the island has little shade. Ceremonies happen through the year and are family occasions, so ask before entering a village where something is clearly underway.

Honest expectations

Every village has a guest book, a donation and often a request for betel nut, and in the busier ones the asking is persistent, particularly from children. Roads are rough and distances take longer than the map suggests. Some villages have been rebuilt after fires, so the thatch is newer than it looks. Sumba has little tourist infrastructure outside a handful of expensive resorts.

Nearby

The waterfalls and beaches of West Sumba are within an hour or two; the airport at Tambolaka serves flights from Bali and Kupang.