Lest you think that all my time in Tana Toraja was taken up with funerals and graves, here are some photos of a lovely walk we did (twice, with different guests) from Lempo to Batutumonga. Although it starts only a few miles out of Rantepao and is by no means ‘off the beaten track’, the walk takes you through some really stunning mountain scenery and through some real villages that are not (yet) official obyek wisata. This was definitely the most enjoyable part of both trips for me.
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| Passing by an average Torajan village |
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| View from a rice barn |
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| Happy as a buffalo in mud |
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| View across the valley towards Batutumonga, with church on the left |
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| On our second visit, the green rice fields had turned to yellow and it was harvest time. As we watched the locals threshing the rice, one lady joked (in Indonesian) that we had come to help. So we did, to great amusement. (photo by Wayne) |
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| View back across the rice fields. Two girls having lunch on a rock. (photo by Wayne) |
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| Our destination: Cafe Mentirotiku at Batutumonga. |
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| Enjoying the view, but feeling the chill at 1300 metres, with Chris, our guide, Martin, and Wayne (photo) |
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| The extended version of the walk took us further up the road to the impressive rock graves at Lokomata ... |
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| ... for a photo opp with this lovely local lady. In the background are the used saringan (funeral biers), used to bring the coffins to this burial site. |
Would I go back to Tana Toraja again? Yes, definitely, but next time it would be to do some longer treks. Funerals and graves? Been there, done that.
© 2014 Steve Dobney
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