9 Practical and Economical Tips to Toraja
Who doesn’t know Tana Toraja or more popular as “Toraja”. The charms have been heard up to other countries. Toraja offers a variety of enchanting sceneries . It also offers plenty of cultural richness . The land is famous for their elaborate funeral rites, burial sites carved into rocky cliffs, massive peaked-roof traditional houses known as tongkonan, and colourful wood carvings.
No wonder , it became one of the favorite tourist destinations in this country. Toraja is located in South Sulawesi’s region while the capital city is Makassar. There are so many flight to Makassar from many cities in Indonesia.
Tana Toraja has been divided into 2 regencies that consist of Tana Toraja with its capital at Makale and North Toraja with its capital at Rantepao. The local government seat is in Makale, while the center of Toraja culture is in Rantepao. Most tourist attractions are in the district North Toraja. So, these are the following practical and economical tips for everyone who wanna make a trip to the land:
1. The journey starts from Makassar. I suggest for taking the night bus for travelling to Toraja. So, you can sleep while traveling on the bus.. It will save the hotel fees for 1 night stay … not bad right?
2. The departure time from Makassar is around 9 pm and arrive at Rantepao at 6–7 in the morning. There are many buses to go there.. The fare is between IDR 195,000 till 300,000 for business class and VIP bus … Yet, if you want to save your money, there’s also the economic bus..It’s starting from IDR 165,000. Of course the price will be decide your ease :-P
3. For the parents who bring the children , if you don’t want your child too tired along the journey , the trip can also be split into 2 times: Makasar-Parepare (stay in parepare) and the next day can be continued with Parepare-Toraja. Totally it will takes the same 8–10 hours.
4. In case you are a single traveler, i recommend for renting the motorbike in Toraja with a rental price about IDR 75,000–100,000 / day (excluding gasoline). Much cheaper than renting a car that costs almost IDR 500,000 / day. Do not be afraid to get lost because the location of tourist attractions that “must” be visited there (Londa, Kete Kesu or Lemo) are not far from the city of Rantepao (in the south of the city) and they are close to each other.
5. Prepare some pennies ( in IDR 5,000) because almost all tourist attractions charge a ticket of IDR 10,000–15,000 for local tourists ,yet its different for foreign tourists. In fact some of them are free (Pallawa, Lo’ko Mata). By the way , there are already some ATM (Automated Teller Machine) here, so don’t worry if you run out of cash … :-p
6. Another tips that help you to save the money is try to bring your own flashlight or head lamp because in Londa you need to go into the cave to see the location of the tomb inside its pitch black. Well, actually we could hire a lamp at a price around IDR 25,000. And there will be additional charge if you want someone else bring your lamp. So, by bringing your own lights from home, you can be even more efficient right?
7. If you want to explore the tourist attractions in the north (Pallawa, Bori, trekking in Batutumonga or rafting as well, this means you have to stay overnight in Toraja. Don’t worry there are a lot of homestay/ the guesthouse starts from IDR 80,000 . There will be so many choices, and the facility is quite good , especially for backpackers.
8. For the moslems which halal food is a necessity , actually there’s also a Muslim restaurant in the city, but if you are still in doubt, just buy bread / biscuits here. There are many grocery stores and there are even supermarkets in Rantepao. The price will abosultely cheaper than make a dinner at a restaurant, right?
9. For everyone who loves photography, it would be better if you bring more lenses such as tele, wide lens or fish eye so that you can take pictures of traditional house Toraja and the results will definitely be more stunning .. :-)
So, how is it? Are you ready for your trip to Toraja?
