Wae Rebo, trekking to the Mbaru Niang houses

Wae Rebo is a village in Satar Lenda Village, Rana Mese Subdistrict, East Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, where residents cling to ancient traditions and remain in cone-shaped palm roof houses called Mbaru Niang.

Wae Rebo or often referred to as the country in the cloud is located on a plateau on the island of Flores and is reached from Labuan Bajo, then travels overland to Denge for 3-4 hours.

Denge is the closest village to Wae Rebo which is located in a valley between mountains with 4 hours trekking. Tracks include rocky roads, uphill dirt roads to rivers with bamboo bridges.

Wae Rebo is the home of the Modo tribe and UNESCO awarded Mbaru Niang a form of cultural heritage conservation. The Wae Rebo community still maintains their traditional traditions and culture from generation to generation.

This village is one of the natural and cultural tourist destinations in Flores. Wae Rebo is in mountain valleys and plateaus, but residents prepare sleeping mats, clean thick blankets and dinners for visitors.

Dlium.com Wae Rebo, trekking to the Mbaru Niang houses

Wae Rebo trekking starts from Denge for 4 hours but along this hard journey you will get beautiful views on the right and left of the road. Travelers must hire a local guide from Manggarai as a guide and also as a porter.

The track towards Wae Rebo 8-9 kilometers which is very draining and makes the entire thigh and calf muscles burn. This village has a library and visitors can donate books.

Each visitor sounds "kentongan" or a bamboo bell placed in a bamboo building as a sign of arrival. Residents and tribal leaders then carry out a welcoming ritual, but visitors are not allowed to take pictures and videos.

The Waelu ceremony is a kind of welcome for visitors where the chieftain will deliver a speech and pray for visitors for safety, security and avoiding danger in life.

Yellow garden spider (Argiope appensa)

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