The Most Incredible Hills in Sumba Island
Hills in Sumba island
Welcome to Sumba Island! Piece of paradise in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Exploring Sumba will give you such an unforgettable experience that will be memorized a whole life. The peaceful Sumba always makes travellers want to come back.
One of the main attractions to Sumba is its outstanding natural beauty. The island is characterised by deciduous forests and undulating limestone hills and valleys, which hide a number of breath-taking waterfalls, a unique population of unique indigenous bird species as well as plenty of other exotic wildlife. Sumba island also boasts stunning hills, where perfect green landscape meets the azure sky.
The best hills in Sumba island
Sumba Island has a natural charm that cannot be doubted. Besides having many unique beaches and waterfalls, Sumba also has many incredible hills. That is why the island is nicknamed the Land of a Thousand Hills because of its area which is surrounded by beautiful hills. Among others are the hills of Wairinding, Hiliwuku, Lendongara and the hills of Tenau.
Here are some of the best hills in Sumba Island if you want to start exploring the island.
1. Wairinding Hill
Wairinding Hill is no doubt Sumba’s most popular hill on the internet. It’s in East Sumba, about 45 minutes from Waingapu. A collection of vast savannah plateaus makes up this tourist destination. However, only during the rainy season, from November to May, does this meadow appear green. It transforms into a magnificent golden natural tapestry from July to October.
Due to its unusual shape and relaxing atmosphere, this fascinating hill has recently grown in popularity. Not only is it well-known for its lovely aspect, but it was also used as a filming location for Indonesian film director and producer Mira Lesmana’s “Pendekar Tongkat Emas” (Golden Cane Warrior).
Perhaps only the Indonesian locals and passionate travelers have ever visited before its popularity today. However, as the time goes by, other tourists start coming to the location as they are impressed by pictures or photos posted by the locals on the social media sites. No facilities reside on the hill, though. That means tourists can only find the pristine environment and unspoiled panorama there. Wairinding Hill also becomes a perfect location to witness either sunrise or sunset.
2. Tenau Hill
East Sumba’s natural beauty has an inexhaustible fascination that begs to be discovered. Aside from the charm of Wairinding Hill, there is another hillside that possesses elements comparable to Bukit Wairinding.
Tenau Hill is not far away from Waingapu city center; the trip from Waingapu takes around 20-30 minutes. The hill might be an alternate journey for people seeking serenity and calm while seeing Sumba’s natural beauty.
Tenau Hill provides a view of lush green grass that is pleasing to the eyes. Tourists visiting Tenau Hill will witness nothing but a row of lovely and peaceful hills for as far as the eye can reach. From higher land, rice fields, rivers, and the sea may be seen in addition to the vastness of hills.
The sunrise view from Tenau Hill is well-known. Overall, the view is breathtakingly beautiful at morning. You may see one or two couples performing a pre-wedding picture session here.
3. Hiliwuku Hill
Hiliwuku hill is located in East Sumba Regency, offers natural scenery that can make visitors feel at home for long. This spot is still fairly quiet of visitors so you can enjoy the beauty of nature in peace here.
To reach this Hiliwuku hill, it takes about 40 minutes by land from Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport, and is about 35 kilometers to the east from the center of the capital city of East Sumba Regency, namely the city of Waingapu.
From the top of this hill, you can see the beauty of the vast of savanna that is along this beautiful hill groups. Besides being covered by the savanna, from the top of this hill, visitors can see many wild animals and also domestic animals that are looking for food. Some livestock are usually guarded by a local resident shepherd boy.
If you want to visit Hiliwuku Hill when the grass covers this hill you can come from January to June because these months enter the rainy season and the grass here thrives. If you want to see the brown savanna that comes from dry grass, you can visit it from September to October. The reason is that in that month Sumba enters the dry season and the grass on Hiliwuku Hill will start to dry up. Both are equally beautiful in any way.
At night, the view of this hill looks even more beautiful with a sky dotted with stars. If you are lucky and the night sky is clear enough, you may be able to see the Milky Way galaxy. This sea of stars can be seen pretty much visible because the sky over Sumba is far from light pollution.
4. Lendongara Hill
Lendongara Hill offers a hilly landscape with the sea as its background. The green hilly area is so soothing to the eyes, plus the fresh and natural air feels like being above the clouds. This place is perfect for the best photo spots, especially when the sun is about to return to the horizon.
This hill is included in the area of Karuni Village, Loura District. The distance to the hill from Tambolaka, the capital of Southwest Sumba Regency is about 20 kilometers. The condition of the road to the hill is not too sound because of many potholes along. However, your fatigue will pay off when you are at the top of the hill.
Map of the best hills on the island of Sumba
In the following map we have marked the most incredible hills in Sumba island to help you plan your route around the island more easily.
