[ INDONESIA ] - Wae Rebo, Welcoming Civilization.
August 21, 2017
Finally, finally, finally!
I got a chance to visit Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia.
I have been dreaming to see this beautiful piece of land in East Indonesia. Now, I’m going to share a little bit of my story from there. This post going to highlight Wae Rebo, one of traditional village in Manggarai, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia.
Wae Rebo village at a glance
Ok, let’s begin!
First of all, just to let you know that in order to visit Wae Rebo, you have to hire a local guide. Local guide simply means a guide from Wae Rebo itself. I don’t really know how to do that since I joined an open trip from Fun Adventure and they already arranged everything. But pretty much sure that you can find one once you browse it on google.
Me and 11 others who joined this open trip already started our trip from Labuan Bajo and sail around Komodo National Park and go back to Labuan Bajo again. So, our overland trip started from Labuan Bajo ( 05:00 ) to Denge Village ( around 13:30 ). Denge Village is the last village before we start our trekking to Wae Rebo. Before we arrived in Denge Village, we stopped by at Wae Rebo Lodge at Dintor Village to have lunch.
Once we arrived in Denge, we took an “Ojek” ( Motorcycle Taxi ) for Rp.50,000,- ( Return ) to go up the hill for about 2 KM long. After that, we have to use our feet to hike. :)
If you forgot to bring your trekking pole, you can rent a piece of wooden stick there for Rp.10,000,-. It is very helpful to have one of those. Trust me.
way to the magical village
mystical view
So, we walked around 5 km more up and down the hill. During the peaceful walk there, I wonder how the Wae Rebo people found this place. It’s like in the middle of several hills with a very steep terrain. But I believe that it’s what our ancestors did, try to find an isolated place far from the colonizer.
After about 3.5 hours of walk, we finally arrived at the last rest area. There, the local guide has to beat ‘kentongan’ which is a traditional tools to give a signal from afar. It is, as I mentioned before, to give a sign to the people in Wae Rebo that there will be a group of guest coming.
Then we continue to walk around 10 mins to Wae Rebo. During our walk from the last rest area to Wae Rebo, we are not allowed to take any pictures. I don’t know why but we just respect the local rules. Once I stepped my feet at Wae Rebo, I feel so amazed, I kept saying this in my mind,“How this breathtaking place is still exist in this country while I live in a totally different place in the same country”
We were welcomed in the main building by the leader in Waerebo. The welcoming ritual so called “Pa'u Wae Lu’u” is to ask for protection from their ancestors’ spirits for us ( guests ). Guests are welcomed as their relatives who come home from afar ( Yes, from wherever you are ). After the ritual is done, we can do our activity as usual and we can take as many pictures as we want.
Kepala Suku in Wae Rebo
inside the Mbaru Niang for guests
We stayed in Mbaru Niang, the name of their traditional house. One of the houses is specially used for guests. They only have 7 houses and it can’t be less or more. Their houses amazingly have 5 floors. The first is where they live, second is to keep their harvest, third is to keep seeds, fourth is to keep food supplies for the dry season, and fifth is to keep an offering for their ancestors that is only put once when they build their house. There is also a sacred place called “Compang” in the middle. They believe that above the Compang there are their ‘Protectors’ who keep their village united and living in harmony. No one is allowed to climb Compang except during their rituals to give offering for God and their ancestors.
Me with Compang at the background
Night sky view from Wae Rebo
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The following day we woke up early in the morning to see the sunrise. We walked a bit to get a perfect spot to see all of the houses with the beautiful background.
Once the sun rays hit the roof of the houses, I can’t stop gazing and keep wondering how magical it is. It is so beautiful that I feel touched.
Sunrise view
I believe that their tribes will always be protected and live in harmony as what they asked to God.
After the breathtaking sunrise viewing, I walked back to the houses. I watched their activities in the morning. Kids playing around, ladies grinding coffee beans. A very simple life that brings me back to 100 years ago. When humans live altogether with nature, keeping the ecosystem runs well. Again, I feel touched.
Traditional coffee grinding process
They always served us their local coffee which was very nice. I don’t drink coffee generally but I totally enjoyed their coffee. They also sell it as souvenirs there. But don’t worry because it’s all naturally made. They keep the coffee plants in the wilderness to make sure that it’s all made naturally without any chemicals. They also sell Luwak Coffee ( Civet coffee ) which is considered as the most expensive coffee in the world. Here, they don’t keep the Luwak in the cage ( like what other luwak coffee producer will normally do ). They let the Luwak in the wilderness and do what they have to do, eat the coffee beans, and defecate.
Fresh coffee beans I found during my way to Wae Rebo
Coffee time
After our breakfast, we packed our stuffs and must give a good bye to Wae Rebo. None of us want to live this beautiful village. Wae Rebo is definitely one of the “hike-worth” place, I must say. But, sadly we have to continue our trip. Before we leave, we give a good bye handshake to the leader, older men and women there ( It's a very normal Indonesian culture to give a good bye handshake ).
Our group picture with some kids from Wae Rebo
The way back only took us around 2.5 hours. But our memory about Wae Rebo will always be in our mind, and heart ( No Lies ).
Kids at Wae Rebo looking at their pictures in my friend's camera
Nowadays, the kids from Wae Rebo have to go to school at Dintor Village and live in a boarding house. Lots of them also go to university outside Flores. But they have one thing to always remember in their heart, that they have Wae Rebo to go home, no matter how far they have gone.
more information about Wae Rebo :
Price for local guide around Rp.200,000,-
Price for 1 night stay including meals Rp..350,000,-
Most of the profits are used for renovating their houses, and funding their education.
There is no phone, no signal at all, just enjoy your quality time there.
They use solar panels for electricity during the day ( you can’t plug any electricity stuffs during the day ) and genset at night.
They use solar panels for electricity during the day ( you can’t plug any electricity stuffs during the day ) and genset at night.
Disclaimer : All pictures are not allowed to use without permission
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