Wairinding Hills

The Wairinding hills east of Waingapu are a stretch of the East Sumba savanna where the land folds into long smooth ridges with almost no trees, and their appeal is entirely about season and light: from around February to April after the rains they are green, from June they cure to gold and then to pale straw, and at sunrise and sunset the low sun rakes across the folds and separates every ridge, which is why photographers come. Horses and cattle graze them - Sumba has a long horse culture, and the animals in the frame are working stock rather than scenery. There is nothing built here beyond a track and a collection point where local people charge for access, which has itself been a subject of some friction. It is a stop, not a site.

Highlights

• Treeless folded ridges - the savanna hills running back from the road.
• Seasonal colour - green after the rains, gold and then straw through the dry.
• Grazing horses and cattle - working stock on the hills, not decoration.
• Raking low light - sunrise and sunset separating the ridges.

When to go

February to April for green, June onwards for gold; dawn or dusk. Half a day.

Good to know

There is nothing here but the view - no facilities at all. Access charging by local collectors is informal and has caused friction. Midday flattens the hills completely.

Nearby

Waingapu is west; the East Sumba ikat villages are south.