BEST THINGS TO DO IN SUMBA

THINGS TO DO

Southwest Sumba

1. Swim at Weekuri Lagoon

Region: Southwest Sumba
Best for: Swimming, turquoise water and easy scenery
Combine with: Mandorak Beach + Ratenggaro
Time needed: 1–2 hours

Weekuri Lagoon is one of the easiest Sumba attractions to understand the second you arrive.

The water is ridiculously blue, the lagoon is protected from the open ocean and it is one of the few places in Sumba where I actually felt comfortable getting straight into the water rather than first studying the waves like they had personally offended me.

The lagoon is connected to the sea through channels in the surrounding coral rock, which is what gives it that clear saltwater look. It is one of Southwest Sumba’s signature natural attractions and is frequently highlighted in regional tourism material.

Walk around the edges before swimming because the view from above gives you a completely different perspective.

Good to know:

• Go earlier if you want fewer people.
• Bring water shoes if you dislike walking over rock.
• Combine it with nearby Mandorak and Ratenggaro rather than making three separate trips.

Car’s Tip: Bring water shoes if you have them. The exposed coral and limestone around the lagoon can be extremely sharp, and this is not the moment to discover how little protection wet flip-flops actually provide.

2. Visit Ratenggaro Village

Region: Southwest Sumba
Best for: Traditional architecture, culture and photography
Combine with: Weekuri + Mandorak
Time needed: 1–2 hours

Ratenggaro is one of Sumba’s most recognizable traditional villages.

The tall peaked roofs sit close to the coast, surrounded by enormous ancestral tombs and a landscape that feels completely different from the rest of Indonesia.

This is not an open-air museum. People actually live here.

That matters.

Ask before taking close-up photos of people, do not climb on tombs and expect that a local guide, donation or entrance contribution may be part of the visit.

My advice: Come for the village and landscape, not for a casual beach swim.

Important Safety Warning Around Ratenggaro: Do not casually swim in nearby river mouths or estuaries just because the water looks inviting. In January 2026, an 11-year-old boy was reportedly attacked by a crocodile at Muara Ratenggaro while entering the water after collecting crabs. Another fatal crocodile incident was reported in a Southwest Sumba river in February 2025. This does not mean Ratenggaro itself is unsafe to visit. It means crocodiles are a real consideration around some rivers and estuaries in Southwest Sumba. If someone says there are crocodiles, believe them. This is not the moment for independent research.

3. Mandorak Beach

Region: Southwest Sumba
Best for: Dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery
Combine with: Weekuri + Ratenggaro
Time needed: Around 1 hour

Mandorak is tiny compared with many Sumba beaches, but the setting is dramatic.

The water squeezes between limestone cliffs and crashes into a small turquoise cove. It looks almost too perfect when the weather is good.

I would come for the scenery rather than treating this as a guaranteed swimming beach.

And I would also visit with a local driver.

My own experience here was unfortunately much less pretty than the setting. We had an aggressive dispute over money with a group of men around the beach, and the situation became threatening enough that I was extremely happy we were not completely isolated. I want to be very clear that this experience does not represent Sumba as a whole. We met many incredibly kind people elsewhere on the island.

But I would personally visit Mandorak with a trusted local driver, ask about entrance or parking fees before entering and avoid getting pulled into an argument over money once you’re already there.

Car’s Tip: Take the view, take the photo and leave if the atmosphere feels wrong. No beach is important enough to prove a point over 50,000 rupiah. And I would not automatically swim here. The cove is narrow and directly exposed to ocean swell, so judge conditions when you arrive rather than assuming turquoise equals friendly.

4. Road Trip Through the Kodi Region

Region: Southwest Sumba
Best for: Traditional villages, coastal scenery and road trips

Kodi is less about one single attraction and more about the combination of villages, coastline, empty roads and open landscapes.

This is where some of Sumba’s most famous traditional architecture is concentrated, including villages with extremely tall peaked roofs.

If you are already visiting Weekuri and Ratenggaro, I would give yourself enough time to actually drive through the surrounding area rather than treating each stop as a pin on Google Maps.

5. Visit Pero Beach

Region: Southwest Sumba
Best for: Coastal scenery, fishing village atmosphere and sunset
Combine with: Kodi / Ratenggaro area

Pero Beach feels very different from Sumba’s more dramatic cliff beaches. It is a working fishing area with boats, an estuary and a much more local feel, which is exactly why I liked including it in a Southwest Sumba road trip.

I would not come here expecting the island’s most spectacular swimming beach. Come for the coastal atmosphere, fishing boats and scenery, especially if you are already exploring the Kodi region.

Bonus: Spend a Slow Day at Cap Karoso

If your budget allows it, Cap Karoso is one of the places where you can deliberately stop road-tripping for a day or two. The resort sits on Karoso Beach in Southwest Sumba, surrounded by the Kodi region and within reach of places such as Weekuri and Ratenggaro.

I would treat it as a luxury base or end-of-trip reset rather than one of Sumba’s essential sightseeing stops. After several days of rough roads, waterfalls and village visits, having absolutely nowhere urgent to be starts feeling surprisingly attractive.

THINGS TO DO

West Sumba

6. Visit Prai Ijing Village

Region: West Sumba
Best for: Traditional houses and accessible cultural visits
Base: Waikabubak

Prai Ijing is one of the easiest traditional villages to visit around Waikabubak.

The village sits on a hillside, with peaked traditional houses stacked across the slope and views over the surrounding countryside.

Compared with some more remote villages, it is relatively straightforward to include in a West Sumba day.

You may also see ikat, traditional clothing and local crafts here.

7. Swim at Lapopu Waterfall

Region: West Sumba
Best for: Waterfalls, swimming and forest scenery
Time needed: Half day

It cascades down a long stepped rock face into a pool surrounded by forest inside Manupeu Tanah Daru National Park.

The journey is part of the experience. Depending on road conditions, the last section can take longer than the map suggests, because Sumba apparently considers estimated arrival times to be merely a creative suggestion.

Bring proper footwear and allow more time than you think you need. If the water is high or muddy, don’t force a swim!

8. Explore Waikabubak & Nearby Traditional Villages

Region: West Sumba
Best for: Culture, local life and traditional architecture

Waikabubak itself is not where I would spend days sightseeing, but it is an excellent base for cultural exploration.

Around town you can reach several traditional villages, including Tarung and Waitabar, where Sumbanese houses and megalithic tombs remain part of everyday life.

Current local guides specifically recommend this area for visitors interested in traditional villages and Marapu culture.

THINGS TO DO

East Sumba

9. Watch Sunrise or Sunset at Wairinding Hills

Region: East Sumba
Best for: Landscapes, photography and golden/green hills
Base: Waingapu

Wairinding is probably Sumba’s most famous hill viewpoint, and it looks almost like two different places depending on when you visit.

The colour changes completely depending on the season. During wetter months they can be intensely green. Later in the dry season they become golden and dusty.

That means the version of Wairinding you see online may look completely different from the one you arrive at.

I prefer coming later in the afternoon when the light gets softer and the ridges become more defined. There isn’t a giant list of things to do. Walk. Find a viewpoint. Watch the hills change colour. Sometimes an attraction is allowed to simply look good.

10. Hiliwuku Hill: A Quieter East Sumba Viewpoint

Region: East Sumba
Best for: Rolling hills, road-trip scenery and photography

Hiliwuku Hill gives you another version of East Sumba’s huge rolling landscape, but without quite the same name recognition as Wairinding.

If you enjoy the inland scenery as much as the headline attractions, it is worth adding while road-tripping through East Sumba rather than driving straight from one famous stop to the next.

The landscape changes dramatically with the seasons, from greener hills after the rains to dry golden tones later in the year.

11. See the Dancing Trees at Walakiri Beach

Best for: Sunset
Location: East Sumba
Combine with: Waingapu

Walakiri is known for the small mangrove trees that become strange little silhouettes when the tide recedes. People call them the dancing trees, and once you’ve seen them at sunset it becomes obvious why every photographer on Sumba eventually ends up standing here with a tripod.

At low tide around sunset, their twisted silhouettes reflect across the wet sand and create the famous “dancing trees” photographs.

This is one of those places where timing matters more than the beach itself.

I would arrive well before sunset, check the tide and give yourself time to walk out across the shallows.

The mangroves and sunset are the attraction here, not a classic all-day beach day.

12. Look for Horses Around Puru Kambera

Best for: Horses, open landscapes and quiet coastal roads
Location: North coast of East Sumba
Combine with: Puru Kambera Beach and Waingapu

Sumba and horses are deeply intertwined. The island is known for its Sandalwood horses, and East Sumba is one of the best areas to experience those enormous dry landscapes where horses actually make sense in the scenery rather than looking like they were placed there for a tourism campaign.

Puru Kambera gives you that classic East Sumba combination of open grassland, coastline and horses.

This is one of the areas where you may see horses grazing across the savanna, particularly in drier months when the landscape turns golden.

Do not arrive expecting a guaranteed National Geographic moment with 60 horses galloping perfectly through sunset. They are animals. Sometimes they cooperate with your fantasy. Sometimes they stand around eating grass.

13. Visit Waimarang Waterfall

Region: East Sumba
Best for: Turquoise pools and swimming
Time needed: Half day

Waimarang feels more hidden than many of Sumba’s headline attractions.

The waterfall sits inside a rocky gorge with deep blue-green pools surrounded by cliffs.

The walk down can be steep and slippery, especially after rain, so wear proper shoes.

This is one of those Sumba stops where I would rather have more time than squeeze it between three other attractions.

14. Hike to Tanggedu Waterfall

Region: East Sumba
Best for: Gorge scenery, swimming and hiking
Time needed: Half day to full day

Tanggedu is very different from Lapopu. This place is sometimes describe it as Sumba’s “Grand Canyon,” which is slightly dramatic, but the geology is genuinely beautiful.

Instead of one large waterfall dropping through dense forest, Tanggedu is a rocky canyon filled with small cascades, blue-green pools and exposed limestone.

The approach involves walking in exposed terrain, so bring water and sun protection.

15. Visit Traditional Ikat Weaving Villages

Region: East Sumba
Best for: Textiles, culture and craftsmanship
Base: Waingapu

East Sumba is particularly famous for ikat.

These textiles are not just souvenirs. Patterns can represent animals, ancestry, status and local symbolism, and true handwoven ikat can take months to produce.

Around Waingapu you can visit villages and weaving centres where you can see the process from dyeing to weaving.

Prailiu is one of the better-known villages near Waingapu and is frequently included in cultural routes. Sumba Travel

If you buy ikat, expect genuine handwoven pieces to cost more than mass-produced fabric.

That is because somebody actually made it.

16. Visit Rende Village

Best for: Traditional architecture, megalithic tombs, history and ikat
Location: East Sumba
Combine with: An East Sumba culture day or Melolo

If you want to understand more of East Sumba beyond beaches and hills, the Rende area is worth making time for.

Rende is known for its traditional villages, megalithic tombs and ikat weaving, with much of the area’s cultural interest concentrated around Praiyawang Traditional Village. Academic research on Rende specifically identifies its traditional settlement, stone tombs and woven ikat as key cultural assets.

The village layout feels very different from the coastal scenery you’ve probably spent the previous few days photographing. Traditional houses sit around enormous stone graves, and the textiles you see here are not simply colourful souvenirs. Ikat is woven deeply into Sumbanese identity, ceremony and status.

Visiting Respectfully: This is a living community. Ask before photographing people closely. Do not sit or climb on the tombs. Do not enter houses without permission.

Car’s Tip: Handwoven Sumba ikat can be expensive because the real thing can take months to produce. If something looks incredibly intricate and costs more than your entire Zara outfit, that is not necessarily somebody trying to rip you off. Human labour remains expensive.

THINGS TO DO

More Scenic Places to Visit in Sumba

17. Road Trip Sumba’s Wild South Coast

Region: South Coast
Best for: Beaches, cliffs, surf scenery and road trips

Some of my favourite Sumba moments were not attached to a famous attraction at all.

The south coast is huge and exposed, with long beaches, cliffs, strong surf and very little development.

Places such as Watu Maladong, Marosi, Watubela and Mbawana work better as part of a road trip than as individual “must-see” attractions.

• Watu Maladong: One of my favourites for scenery. The beach has huge offshore rock formations and a raw, almost moody atmosphere. Come later in the day when the light gets softer.

• Marosi Beach: A broad, quiet beach with very little development. The surf can be powerful, so I would approach it as a scenic beach first rather than assuming swimming is safe.

• Watubela Beach: Another remote coastal stop where the journey is half the experience. Bring water and don’t expect facilities.

• Mbawana / Bawana Beach: You may still see old photographs showing the famous Batu Cincin rock arch at Mbawana. That arch collapsed in November 2020 following years of erosion, earthquakes and powerful waves, so do not plan the trip expecting to see the old formation.

The beach and surrounding cliffs are still dramatic, but current information and old photographs online can be confusing. Also be very careful around the shoreline. This coastline is exposed to strong Indian Ocean swell.

18. Stop at Palindi Piarakuku Hills

Best for: Savanna landscapes, photography and scenic driving
Location: Matawai La Pawu, East Sumba
Combine with: Hiliwuku Hills or an inland East Sumba road trip

Palindi Piarakuku is one of those places where the road itself becomes part of the attraction. The landscape is made up of rolling savanna hills, long ridgelines and open grassland that changes completely depending on the season. During the wetter months everything can be incredibly green. Come later in the dry season and those same hills turn the dusty gold that most people associate with Sumba.

Palindi Piarakuku sits in the Matawai La Pawu area of East Sumba and has become increasingly popular with local visitors and photographers. The area is also used for cultural events including the Humba Sandalwood Festival, where Sumbanese horses and ikat weaving form part of the celebrations.

Drive slowly, pull over somewhere sensible and let the landscape do its thing.

Best Time to Visit: Early morning or late afternoon. There is basically nowhere to hide from the sun in the middle of the day, and the lower light makes all those curves in the hills look far better anyway.

Car’s Tip: Do not confuse Palindi Piarakuku with a giant managed tourism complex. Facilities are limited, so bring water and snacks and don’t expect cafés or bathrooms to magically appear over the next ridge.

19. Spend a Slow Day at Lailiang or a South Coast Beach

Best for: Quiet beach time, coastal scenery and escaping the famous stops
Location: Bali Loku, Wanokaka, West Sumba
Combine with: Lapopu Waterfall, Waikabubak or a West Sumba coastal road trip

Lailiang sits on the Wanokaka coastline in West Sumba, in Bali Loku village, and is officially listed by the West Sumba government as one of the district’s natural tourism sites.

The beach itself forms a compact bay surrounded by green cliffs and vegetation, with pale sand and clear blue water. That said, this is still Sumba’s Indian Ocean coast.

I would judge the sea when you arrive rather than writing “safe for swimming” permanently into your brain because one person had calm water in 2016.

Why I Would Add It: Lailiang gives your itinerary a different kind of beach. Mandorak is dramatic. Pero is local and rougher. Watu Maladong is all about the rock formations. Lailiang is where I would go when I actually want to sit down for a while.

Car’s Tip: This works particularly well on a West Sumba day with Lapopu or the Wanokaka area.

BEST THINGS BY REGION

Best Things to do in Sumba by Region

Best Things to Do in Southwest Sumba

• Weekuri Lagoon
• Ratenggaro
• Mandorak
• Kodi
• Southwest coast
• Pero Beach
• Bonus: Cap Karoso

Best Things to Do in West Sumba

• Prai Ijing
• Lapopu
• Waikabubak villages
• Marosi / south coast

Best Things to Do in East Sumba

• Wairinding
• Hiliwuku Hill
• Walakiri
• Puru Kambera
• Tanggedu
• Waimarang
• Prailiu
• Rende
• Ikat weaving

THE ROUTE

How to Plan Sumba’s Best Attractions Into a Route

Do not build your Sumba itinerary by counting attractions. The island is too large and the roads are too unpredictable for that.

On our trip, one journey Google Maps estimated at around 1 hour 40 minutes took more than six hours, so group places by region and leave buffer time.

The easiest route is to travel in one direction across the island:

Waingapu → East Sumba → Waikabubak → West Sumba → Southwest Sumba → Tambolaka

If you have around a week, spend two to three days in East Sumba, one or two days around West Sumba and finish with two or three days in Southwest Sumba.

For the full route, airport strategy, road conditions and where to stay each night, read my Sumba Travel Guide.