Tana Toraja: discover a thousand-year-old animist culture!

Welcome at Makassar airport and transfer to hotel. Makassar is the capital of the province of South Sulawesi, located on the Makassar Strait. Rest of the day at leisure.

In the early afternoon, visit the fish market, an essential meeting place, as fish is an important part of Indonesian culinary culture.

Transfer to the port of Paotere to admire the magnificent wooden schooners.

The tour ends with a visit to Fort Rotterdam, built in 1545 by Raja Tunipalangga: originally, it consisted of an earthen rampart known as a "makassar". It was not until 1634 that these were reinforced with stone walls, at the request of Sultan Alaudin. The fort was later (1667) conquered by the Dutch and renamed "Rotterdam" (Speelman's birthplace). Today, the fort has been fully restored and even houses a small museum retracing its history.

Morning transfer to the Maros region (once discovered by Alfred Wallace), renowned for its rice fields and karst peaks. Take a short stroll in the surrounding area and explore a 39,000-year-old cave with numerous cave paintings.

Your guide will also take you on a pirogue ride on a nearby river, home to many species of birds. Meet the local population, who live in houses built on stilts.

In the late morning, transfer to the seaside town of Pare Pare, then head up the Sa'Dan River towards the mountains, through magnificent scenery. The flat landscape is quickly replaced by thick coconut forest.

Stop en route at Bambapuang, where you'll have a view of a so-called "erotic" mountain. Arrive in Rantepao (capital of Toraja country) in the early evening. Check-in at your hotel.

Today, you begin with a visit to the Lem burial site. This is a rock face into which balconies have been carved, housing numerous figurines known as Tau Tau.

Transfer to the Suaya royal tombs and continue on foot to another interesting site: Tampangg'alo. In the afternoon, visit the Londa caves at the foot of a large cliff, home to coffins and scattered bones.

Easy hike to Kete Kusu village (renowned for its wood carvings and rice granaries), through rice fields, villages & bamboo forest. You'll also discover troglodytic tombs, as well as older, suspended tombs.

Preamble: the course of the three-day Toraja exploration program may be adapted if a funeral festival is held in the region at this time. Your guide will take you to attend the ceremony and meet the family of the deceased. Please note that no rituals in Toraja country are organized for tourists: everything is absolutely authentic.

In the morning, visit the village of Bori, famous for its megaliths carved in the shape of tombs, then Palawa (the largest in the region), and finally Sa'dan, renowned for its traditional textiles.

Transfer to the wild north of the Toraja region, offering magnificent panoramic views at 1,400 m altitude. Easy walk around Batutumonga through rice fields, traditional villages and bamboo forest.

Later, hike from Lokomata (where the tombs are carved out of giant rock) to Mariri, where you'll have the chance to meet children on their way home from school and stop off at some of the cutlery-making workshops.

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

Visit the colorful Rantepao market, where numerous buffalo & pigs are on sale.

Then it's time to attend a funeral ceremony (see Preamble).

In the afternoon, transfer to Pemancar, where you begin a lovely walk to Salu, through rice paddies and plantations (mainly coffee & cocoa).

Walking time: approx. 4 hrs

In the morning, we drive to the charming town of Sengkang, which stretches along the banks of the Walanae River.

In the afternoon, visit traditional silk weaving workshops.

In the early morning, transfer to the shores of Lake Tempe and board motorized canoes for an extraordinary discovery of this marshy lake, home to numerous bird species and an astonishing lakeside village. This is your chance to immerse yourself in the habits and customs of the villagers, for whom time seems to have no hold.

Overnight in the same hotel.

En route, we visit some of Indonesia's finest shipyards (in Tanaberu). These wooden boats are assembled by carpenters who still use ancestral techniques, with no construction plans, and based solely on skills that have been handed down from father to son for generations. These schooners, known locally as Pinisi, can be up to 30 m long and weigh over 200 tons.

Check-in at your hotel on the seafront in the afternoon.

Day at leisure. Possibility of discovering the nearby islands by traditional boat: emerald blue sea, white sand, snorkeling, barbecue... paradise on Earth!

Return to the hotel in the afternoon.

Morning at leisure until transfer to the airport, via the villages of Bulukumba, Jeneponto & Takalar, where you'll visit salt factories.