Onto Greener Pastures

After our interesting funeral experience in Tana Toraja, we headed out for a hike in the surrounding area. We had been looking forward to trekking through the hills and getting splendid views of the 'lush, green countryside' that our guidebook raved about. We had expected serene little farming villages and terraced rice fields of splendid shades of emerald much like we had been privilged to see in the mountains of the northern Philippines. But when we arrived in Tana, we discovered that most of the rice had been harvested already and the fields were caked and dry and since the area had seen a unusually long 4 month dry spell the 'lush, green countryside' was scorched and brown. Oh well. We figured that our hike may not offer as many 'spectacular panoramas' as the maps and books claimed but it would be nice to get out in the villages by way of our own legs.

We had chosen to take the route from the western side of the Tana Toraja region to a neighboring area: Mamasa Valley. The trip was to cover about 60 kilometers and take a total of three days. After three days in Rantepao, the tourist capital of Tana, we were ready to get out of this scorching hot place and took a truck to the little town of Bittuang. When we arrived in Bittuang, we found that our the trail for our hike would once again be plied by cars and motorcycles. Our thoughts of traveling to remote villages only reached by foot would not be exactly what we expected but when is it ever. We headed of in the middle of the day and the sun burned down from above but luckily the higher elevation made the temperature at least bearable.

Our first day was the shortest and we covered about 12 kilometers before arriving at our destination: the small village of Paku. The road to get here reminded both of us of the Western U.S. with pine trees surrounding us and the air as dry as the desert. It was a pretty deserted trail with only a scattering of houses along the way and the occasional Land Cruiser that passed by accompanied by a choking cloud of dust. When we did arrive in Paku we were greeted by a nice little village snuggled in a greener valley and many rice fields that had just been planted. We could only imagine the beauty of this place had it been wetter and greener but it still was not a bad place to rest our tired feet. After checking into the homestay and being served a welcome pot of tea, we decided to explore the small kampung (village).

The next morning we arose and made our way towards the village of Timbaan. This trip was a bit longer and a bit hotter than the previous day and we were greeted by a not so welcome steep hill for the final leg. During the last few miles we also met a young teenager who asked us where we going. He was evidently from the same village we were going to and when we passed his house he insisted that we stay there. It was still a little ways from what looked to be the main part of Timbaan (not to say that the main part of this village was too large) but we decided that it sounded like a good idea. Anyways the irrigated terraced rice field in front of the house offered one of the nicest views that we had seen along the trek and it allowed for the snapping of a few decent pics. Here we traversed the steeply terraced fields to bathe in the river, while the chilren watched and swam, since there was no bathroom at our homestay.

Our final day of the hike would bring us to Mamasa Valley but not before passing over a ridge that did not look so steep or far when we started in the morning. But three hours later when we were still hiking up, we realized that our eyes had deceived us and that we would certainly be sleeping well that evening. Once we finally started to head down we realized that this valley was a bit wetter and as we headed closer towards Mamasa the fields did get greener and the forest surrounding the trail a bit thicker. The last few hours of the hike was even met by a decent rainstorm and the lush, green countryside finally came into view.

The cultural highlight of this trip was a brief stop at a 400 year old boat-shaped house. The owners of the house were gracious hosts and even though their were language barriers, we had a good time trying to discuss the house as well as America. The house was impressive, even in its run down state, with its intricately painted designs and its very large posts (there was no more lumber like that left in the valley).

Mamasa was certainly not as touristy as Rantepao and overall the smaller town suited us better. We had a chance to rest and relax a bit the next day as well as tour around the market. The people of Mamasa share many aspects with the folks in the neighboring Toraja region and have a similar language, architecture and cultural traditions. While this area has not embraced tourism to the extent that Toraja has and their cultural traditions may not be quite as evident, this place was certainly worth a visit and the trek to get here made it even more enjoyable.