Landscape
With its vast rolling plains and rugged limestone hills woven together with fields of corn and cassava, the island of Sumba offers its own unique wonders in the eastern part of Indonesia’s archipelago.
Amidst the wild jungles and valorous valleys, Sumba’s countryside is speckled with hilltop villages. Local tribe homes featuring traditional towering thatched roofs cluster around unique megalithic tombs where to this day villagers honor their ancestors in the prehistoric religion of Marapu. Miraculously, the Sumba culture has preserved most of its indigenous traditions for hundreds of generations such as the sacred art of woven textile and the tribal horse-mounted spear throwing sport known as Pasola.
Pristine white sand beaches, untouched waterfalls, sparkling mangroves, ambient caves, secret lakes and remote lagoons lay inland like hidden gems, waiting to be discovered and explored.
A drive through Sumba’s landscape is a journey into a land before time, where local fishermen wade through rivers, wild horses graze on hilltops, children climb coconut trees and traffic is a herd of majestic buffalo gracefully making their way to their next waterhole bath.
A surfer’s paradise, Sumba has long been secretly known as a barrel buffet, where sharing a wave with another surfer is a rare event, but sharing a wave with a porpoise or dolphin is more than likely.
The women of Sumba are true artisans, seamlessly crafting hand woven textiles in traditional Sumbanese patterns with natural dyes. Visitors are invited to watch the intricate and meditative process of ikat weaving.
Our Village
Located in the south-western part of Sumba in a beachside village named Kerewe, Alamayah’s surrounding area offers an abundance of gifts to travelers searching for raw and untouched destinations. Cultural experiences include visiting traditional tribes and villages, exploring megalithic stone tombs, and witnessing pre-historic rituals. Perhaps most unique is the exciting custom known as Pasola jousting festival, where once a year, hundreds of warriors on horseback charge into each other hurling spears to appease the Marapu and ensure a good yearly rice harvest. This festival, held between February and March, is believed to bring fertility to the land.
Getting Here
Our domestic Tambolaka Airport (TMC) receives daily flights from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar (DPS). Flight and airline options are below.
current flight schedule
BALI TO SUMBA
2 x daily flights by Wings Air | Estimated flight time 1 hour and 25 minutes
• 1 x daily flight by Nam Air | Estimated flight time 1 hour
SUMBA TO BALI
• 2 x daily flights by Wings Air | Estimated flight time 1 hour
and 25 minute
• 1 x daily flight by Nam Air | Estimated flight time 1 hour
ALLOW US TO ARRANGE YOUR RETURN FLIGHTS
baggage allowance up to 20 kg, and all baggage handling
return transfers from Tambolaka airport to the villa
US $500 per person incl. airport taxes
RETURN AIRPORT TRANSFERS
If you wish to book your flights directly with the airlines, we are happy to provide vehicle transfers at 1jt IDR each way, in a shared or private car from Tambolaka Airport (Sumba) to Alamayah, where you can enjoy a gorgeous drive through the Sumba landscapes.
If you wish to book your flights directly with the airlines, we are happy to arrange VIP transfers to and from Tambolaka (airport) Sumba to Alamayah where you can enjoy a beautiful drive through the Sumba landscapes.
THE JOURNEY FROM SUMBA AIRPORT TO ALAMAYAH
The 2-hour drive from Tambolaka Airport to Alamayah is a breathtaking journey through magnificent Sumba landscapes. A dramatic contrast to the bustling streets of Bali, the spectacular scenery starts at sea level and climbs 500 meters to sky high Rijewa rocky mountain summits, a journey richly lined with lush teak and mahogany forests. The road then winds down to the town of Waikabubak, passes through traditional settlements, past the Sewah waterfalls, the emerald rice fields, river valleys and dense forests, and finally opens up to a view of the majestic Indian Ocean.
It is not uncommon on this journey to catch a glimpse of women wading through rivers, children climbing coconut trees and water buffalo grazing. The journey winds downhill through local villages, finally revealing your hidden destination: Alamayah.
