Tanimbar Islands

The Tanimbar group lies in the far south-east of Maluku, and its material culture is among the most distinctive in Indonesia: the natar, stone platforms built in the shape of a boat with a raised prow, standing in village centres as the focus of ritual and social order, of which the example at Sangliat Dol with its long stone stair up from the sea is the best known; carved wooden ancestor figures, tavu, and the tall openwork prow ornaments that reached European collections in the colonial period and now sit in museums in Leiden and elsewhere; and ikat weaving with dense geometric motifs. The islands were fought over in the Second World War and are remote today, with limited flights, basic accommodation and very few visitors of any kind.

What you actually see

• Stone boat platforms - the natar at village centres, with Sangliat Dol the largest.
• Carved ancestor figures - the tavu and prow ornaments of Tanimbar tradition.
• Geometric ikat weaving - the distinctive cloth of the islands.
• A stone stair from the sea - the ceremonial approach at Sangliat Dol.

When to go

September to March; Maluku's seasons run against Java's. Four days.

Honest expectations

Flights are few and cancelled often; ferries are long. Accommodation is basic and banking limited. Much of the finest historical carving is in European museums, not on the islands.

Nearby

Kei is north; Ambon is the Maluku gateway; Timor is west.