STEP 1 - D/1 – Denpasar – Tambulaka – Waikabubak (West Sumba) : Greeting at Tambulaka airport then transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon, visit of Waikabubak, its traditional market and the surrounding villages: Prai Ijing, Tarung, Waitabar. Tarung is regarded as an important spiritual center by the followers of Marapu religion. It is where we find the most impressive megalithic tombs of the region. On the hill, in the middle of the bustling modern town, a group of traditional houses still stands, in spite of government’s hopes to relocate its inhabitants toward other districts. During your visit, please feel free to ask for Pak Dani Ratu Langgu, spiritual leader of Marapu, and add your name to their list of guests in support for their struggle to protect the village from destruction. Back to hotel in late afternoon. Night at the hotel. Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

STEP 2 - D/2 – Waikabubak – Lamboya - Waikabubak : We depart early morning (around 4-5am) towards Lamboya to reach the site where the Pasola takes place. Descent to the beach to see the Rato (great priest) harvest the sacred worms ‘Nyale’ then the ritual call to the Pasola. This ceremony is dedicated to the arrival to the goddess Ina Nale “the mother of the sea-worms” and marks the beginning of the rice transplanting season, a new cycle of fertility. Two groups of horsemen armed with spears (not as sharp as during the ancient tribal wars) will oppose each other in the most exciting ritual of Sumba. Lunch on the site of the Pasola. Back to hotel in the afternoon. 1hr 30min of transfer Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner The Legend around the Nyale A legend tells that the daughter of the Moon’s king feeling saddened by the harsh conditions of humans’ existence sacrificed her own life to ensure them more plentiful harvests. The body of the princess turned into a multihued worm living in the ocean, and coming out once yearly on her reproduction day, to bring fertility to earth. The priests collect a few specimens to scrutinize and make the predictions of the year to come. After this ritual, the Pasola may start.

STEP 3 - D/3 – Waikabukak – Region of Kodi - Waikabubak : After breakfast, we head toward the region of Kodi, located on the western part of Sumba. Reputed as a stronghold of Marapu culture, Kodi and its surroundings offer a remarkable landscape of traditional houses with amazingly high roofs. We stop in many villages: Tosi, Parona Baroro where are found the highest roofs of the island, Rotenggaro with unusual stone graves scattered in its surroundings, then the village of Ranggabaki. Picnic, probably on a beach. In the afternoon, we stop in Waitabula and Waijewa to admire the coffee plantations on the way back to our hotel. Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

STEP 4 - D/4 – Waikabubak – Tambulaka - Denpasar : Transfer to Tambulaka airport after eating breakfast. Meal : Breakfast End of program