Live together with the indigenous Mentawai Community and experience their lifestyle first-hand as you hunt, fish, make poisonous arrows, and take part in many other cultural activities together. You'll stay in a traditional 'Uma' alongside a local family and share in many daily activities together. The Mentawai people live on the island of Siberut – about 100 miles from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra – and can be reached by boat. They are the only animist community in Sumatra and believe that all things in nature possess a spiritual essence. They strive to live in harmony and peace with the nature around them.
Right for You?
Authentic Sumatra
Starts at:
$340/person
Speaks: English, French and Other Local Language
Highlights
- Visit and learn more about the people of the Mentawai community.
- Take part in cultural activities; such as hunting, fishing, making poison arrows, etc.
- Stay in an 'Uma', a traditional Mentawai house, and get to know the family.
Details
Arrive in Minangkabau International Airport, Padang. The guide will welcome you and explain the current condition about weather, ferry, brief of trek etc. Head off to the harbor right away. Dinner on board. The trip is about 10 hours, depending on the weather and you will arrive in Muara Siberut in the early morning.
Arrive early in the morning in Muara Siberut and go directly to Muncie village to have breakfast, shower and your team will get the supplies needed during your stay such food, water, permit etc. Once all supplies have been passed out, take a small motorized canoe up to the river and walk in the muddy jungle to reach the Mentawai village (takes a few hours depending on the level of the river). A moderate level of fitness is required for the trekking, the way can be slippery and muddy. Spend the rest of the day in the Mentawai traditional house called “Uma”, to get to know the family who welcomed you. The conditions are very basic, you will sleep on the floor with a mosquito net and thin mattress and shower in the river. But you will live a unique experience by sharing your difference and learning about a new culture in the jungle. The Mentawai live in total harmony with nature, and are animists.
Share daily life with the Mentawai tribe and take part in activities such hunting in the jungle, fishing, making poison arrow, making rattan basket, see the processing of bark clothes, cooking, see the processing of "sago” preparation, their principal daily food, trekking in the jungle, and if you are lucky, attend a traditional ceremony with chaman according their religion.
After lunch take a motorized canoe back to Muara Siberut, lunch, rest and shower and take the fast boat back to Padang at around 3pm and the journey takes 3 hours. Overnight on board and dinner. Depend on your next plan, we will drop you i.e to hotel, bus station or airport.
What's Included
Traveler Reviews
Your Local Host
Authentic Sumatra
Locally Owned Community Cooperative
Authentic Sumatra is a tour operator that is providing a unique way to discover Sumatra and does not follow the trends of mass tourism. Their aim is to help the local population to achieve better economic growth through tourism, while protecting their traditions and heritage.
Getting There
