Tana Toraja is well-known as a mythical and exotic land which is full of culture and custom. People always say that the highland Tana Toraja is the perfect combination of nature and culture. There are so many magical nature sites which you can enjoy and also the cultural sites which is still maintained until now. For you the newbie traveler, here are the recommended sites which you need to visit in Tana Toraja.
8 Tourist Spots in Tana Toraja and the Details
1. Lemo
This site is really connected to Tana Toraja. It is the typical funeral of Torajan which the dead body is buried in a cliff. There are 75 niches are carved into the cliff. Some of the niches consists of tombs of dead body and some others consists of large tau-tau dressing in various colored clothes. Tau-tau is the wooden statues which represent the prestige of the dead people. You will find the Tau-tau makers around the funeral if you walk around a bit.
The fact notes that cliff funeral at Lemo existed since 16th century. It is located in 11 kilometers from Rantepao, the provincial capital. To get there you must walk along the path of paddy field.
2. Bori Parinding
This one is a breathtaking megalithic funeral site which will bring your imagination right away to the Stone Age. You can see a ceremonial ground which consist of more than 100 menhirs (standing stone pillars). Menhir is used to be a noble for the dead man. It is for celebrating the buried body.
At the back of the site, there is a real modern cemetery. Therefore, this site is used for cultural ceremonial and rituals for Torajan dead. To reach Boru Parinding you need to drive 15 minutes away from Rantepao.
3. Ke’te Kesu
It is the popular tourist attraction which becomes the representative of Torajan traditional village. It is entitled as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO since it is more than 300 years old. This site has 6 Tongonan, a big traditional building owned by the Toraja nobles where the dead ancient lives. Tongonan has saddleback roof which resembles the horn of buffaloes. Inside, there are 12 granaries to store rice. The beautiful thing of this building is that it is built in certain pattern with various colours such as red, yellow, white and black.
4. Londa
Londa is another cliff cemetery which has two burial grounds. The first is the cliff burials with the tombs dug out of the cliff face. While the second site is the caves with the corpses. The caves are open to visit, but you need the lights if you want to enter them. It is better to visit Londa in a day time.
5. Gunung Sesean
This one is for you who likes hiking and trekking. Actually it is just a hill but to reach the highest point you need 6-hour climbing. Tourist usually start to climb in the afternoon then stay overnight on the peak to enjoy the night beauty there. You will see the great scenery over the valley on the hillside.
6. Kambira
Another mythical funeral site is Kambira which entombed infants on the trees as the locals believe the babies are the medium to return to the spirit world. However, it is already 50 years since the last baby buried there. The babies who are dead before they grew their milk teeth were believed as sacred babies. So the people would carve the jackfruit tree and put the dead baby there.
7. Sillanan
It is another traditional village which is located in an isolated highland of Tana Toraja. Sillanan is 35 kilometers to the South of Rantepao. The village has some Tongkonan which are decorated beautifully. There are even horn buffaloes nailed on the wall. The horns are sacrificed for traditional funerals in Toraja.
8. White Water Rafting
To enjoy this extreme sport there are two rivers you can enjoy, the Ma’iting and the Sa’dan. There are also tour operators who will support you to have rafting at the both rivers. Usually the tour lasts for 2 until 3 days to have a complete adventure. The Sa’dan river is good for family rafting, while the Ma’iting is for you who likes to pump adrenaline.
Tana Toraja is a unique highland which really respects the ancestors and the dead. If you love mythical adventure, you should visit here soon.
