Today we will go to East Sumba. It took about 5-6 hours by car. But before we go there, we will pass by some attraction place.
Mandorak Beach
From Sinar Tambolaka Hotel, we go to Mandorak Beach. Located at Southwest Sumba, It took about 1 hour to go to this place. This beach located at private place, and you can call this private beach. It is in a private land, and when we almost there, we will pass the rough route in the forest. It only us in there and some locals that stay in there, and we can enjoy the beach by ourselves. Unfortunately, when we to there the wind is strong so we can’t play in the water because the current is so strong.
The unique things about this beach is it’s surounded by beautiful coral reefs. And it has soft-textured and cream colored beach sand which easily sticky to your body. When the waves come, you can see the beautiful waves crash to coral reefs from the beach side.
Weekuri Lagoon
From Mandorak Beach, we go to Weekuri Lagoon. It only took 30 minutes to go there.
Weekuri Lagooon is a salt-water lake and it’s very beautiful. The lagoon getting the water from the nearby sea. The water enters the lake from rock crevices of coral reefs that surround the lake, actually. The next amazing feature of the lake is definitely its green bluish Tosca color. It looks unspoiled and crystal clear as well, in fact. The nuance feels comfy due to the presence of green plants and shady trees that surround the lake. Plus, the water features both warm and cold sensation, depending on the location where tourists may get in (credit).
The water is cold and really fresh. We get in the lagoon at noon so feels very refreshing. There’s a jumpboard in the cross land, the depth of the water when it is low tide is 3m and 5m when it is high tide. Some of us including me, try to jump from there. At first it feels scary but, it’s fun. Just trust yourself, conquer your fear and you can do it.
After tired to play in the lagoon, we go to clean ourself. You need to pay for clean water, IDR 10.000/bucket. Don’t expect the clean water is really clean. The local help us took the water from the well, and because it’s near the ocean, so the well’s water is a little salty. But it’s enough to clean our body. And don’t complain, because with this simple action, we can help the local to live. We have to be grateful to have enough water in where we live.
After take a bath and change to clean clothes, we go to eat lunch. This time, the guide bring us ricebox because there’s no restaurant nearby. So we eat lunch near the lagoon. After lunch, we continue our journey.
Praijing Traditional Village
2 hours from Weekuri Lagoon, we all arrive at a traditional Village. The people in this village a little different from Ratenggaro Traditional Village. Seems like they already more modern.
Praijing Megalithic Village has become the pride of the Indonesian locals for decades. Once arriving at the site, tourists may see 38 traditional villages directly. The fact is that there were 42 of them, but some of the houses got burnt several years ago. Here is the information. The locals call these houses either Uma Mbatangu or Uma Bokulu, which means “the big house”. These structures, indeed, become the main attraction that tourists can find in the village! Also, the site is surrounded by shady trees and lush bushes which make the location feel shady and comfortable. (credit)
Wairinding Hill
Located in the eastern part of Sumba 25 Km from the center of Waingapu City. This hill looks amazing with its vast and double-faced grassland vegetation. Called double-faced because the appearance is very different when visited in the rainy and dry seasons. When it’s raining it looks very green like the first picture that seems to take you to New Zealand. While when dry can be very brown as if in Africa. Exotic. there is no official entrance ticket at Wairinding, but every guest who comes is quarantined to fill in the guest book and give money as much as possible for the welfare of the surrounding community. In addition to the exotic hills, the beauty of the Wairinding hill feels complete with the presence of local children who play around the hilly area almost every day. They will always accompany every visitor who comes to this hill. (credit)
The sunset here is very beautiful and this place suitable for those who need relax and far away from the city. Sumba is famous for its sunset and the after sunset sky. So, you have to spare enough time to enjoy all of this.
The wind is strong and it’s getting cold. So we go back to the city to rest. The Waingapu city is bigger than Tambolaka and more crowded. We stay at Padadita Beach Hotel, one of the best hotel at Waingapu.
Padadita Beach Hotel Website
There’s no escalator in the hotel, so if you got 2nd floor / 3rd floor room, you have to climb the stairs. But the hotel will help you with your luggage. They have free airport shuttle too.
Cheerful Traveller's Diary 