Authentic Homestay
We love our life. We live it to the fullest, even though it is incredibly simple. We also love having guests over, share with them our home and food and stories. We welcome everyone to truly experience authentic Torajan lifestyle.
Where our guests stay
We built several bamboo bungalows surrounded by native forest and our organic garden. Each cabin is equipped with either a double or single bed, mosquito netting and a spacious front porch. We live a very authentic, hence very simple, lifestyle and invite our guests to share it with us. Washing and bathroom facilities are traditional Indonesian with squat-down toilets and cold showers. Coming directly from different hygienic standards might need some getting used to but we are confident you will manage.
We particularly invite families with children to stay with us as guests. Our granddaugher, the six-year old Adiba, would love some companions while strolling through the garden, playing games or attending English class.
We are currently still in the process of figuring out all the details for hosting guests, but please feel free to contact us with any questions and inquiries. As soon as we set up our profile on a booking website, we will add a link in here.
What we offer
You are invited to roam the garden as much as you want, listen in to English classes and riddle us with questions about the Torajan culture. We provide you with drinking water, tea, coffee and three traditional Indonesian meals a day. Our cuisine is predominantly based on rice, supplied with tofu, tempeh, fish and vegetables. We easily cater to vegetarians and vegans. If you wish to learn how to cook Torajan dishes you are most welcome to sign up for a cooking class. If you want to learn more about making chocolate from our cacao beans and roasting coffee, come and join our chocolate and coffee workshops.
What you can do here
Apart from the organic workshops we offer right here on our property, Tana Toraja has a lot to offer to both nature and culture enthusiasts. To visit the villages and observe traditional living styles, it just takes stepping out from the property and walking in any direction that the road allows. The people in the villages are exceptionally friendly and a 'hello' goes a long way. Oftentimes curiosity overturns language barriers and photo requests are frequent.
More typical tourist attractions include visiting the gigantic Jesus statue on Burake Hill overlooking the city, hiking up to one of several other viewpoints along the main road between Makale and Rantepao to admire the vastness of the Torajan Highlands, or visiting tourist villages, burial sites and the traditional houses (Tongkonans) marked as "Wisata" on any map. There is an abundance of local guides, that are more than welcome to teach you about customs and traditions.
For those preferring more physically challenging activities, there is a variety of hiking trails around, and renting out camping equipment is very common. While the dry season offers more time in the day for outdoor activities, the rain season turns this country into a green paradise.
How to get around
Our home is located in a village belonging to Rembon, about 8 kilometer west of Makale. Be aware, there is no public transport. You can reach us from Makassar by long-distance bus to Makale terminal. From there you will have to go by car or scooter. It is reccommended to rent your own transport in Makale, such that you are free to leave wherever you want without relying on asking for a ride. Ask us for reccommendations for rental companies, details on bus services or anything else.