EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Surrounded by lush green meadows and forested hills, tiny WAIKABUBAK consists of one dirt road and a few shops, plus several enclosed kampung with slanting thatched roofs and megalithic stone graves , where life proceeds according to the laws of the spirits. Tarung kampung, on a hilltop just west of the main street, has some excellent megalithic graves and is regarded as one of the most significant spiritual centres on the island. The ratu (king) of Tarung is responsible for the annual wula padu ceremony, which lasts for a month at the beginning of the Merapu new year in November. The ceremony commemorates the visiting spirits of important ancestors, who are honoured with the sacrifice of many animals and entertained by singing and dancing. Kampung Praijiang , a five-tiered village on a hilltop surrounded by rice paddies, is another fine kampung, several kilometres east of town. You can catch a bemo to the bottom of the hill and will be asked for a Rp1500 fee. Waikabubak enjoys an extended rainy season that lasts way into May, when the countryside can be drenched by daily downpours and it can get chilly at night.