Ruteng, Land of Harmony
Ruteng
Ruteng is the soul of Flores where people live harmoniously with their culture, religion, and nature. It draws many people’s attention to the numerous large traditional buildings, churches, convents or congregations located in the city and on its outskirt. Lying at the foot of the mountains, Ruteng has a lot to offer for those who like adventure, trekking, and hiking and at the same time provides great opportunities for exploring and understanding unique local cultures and traditions. Places like Wae Rebo, a traditional village of cone-shaped buildings, hidden in the local jungle are definitely one of the highlights of Ruteng, and a ‘must-do’ for visitors. Another popular recommendation is a visit to the ‘spider’s web’ rice fields – a historical distribution of land forming a unique spider’s web pattern that remains today. Trekking around local rice terraces, it is also possible to visit ‘Tengkulese’, one of the highest waterfalls in Flores. This city also provides opportunities for learning about early history and ‘Homo Floresiensis’.
Based on cultural sites, you can visit; Wae Rebo traditional village, Todo traditional village, Ruteng Pu’u traditional village, Ruteng traditional market, spider web rice field, coffee agro-tourism,
If you dive deep into historical sites, you can visit Liang Bua Cave, the place where “Homo Florensiesis” was found.
For a pilgrimage tour, you can visit the cathedral church as the oldest church in Ruteng that was built in 1929 and you are also able to visit one of the convents for adoration.
For those who like to combine a visit to a traditional village and at the same time you are able to do a wellness-tour by joining a pilgrimage tour that you can visit one of the convents here in Ruteng. You can see the sample of the tour below;
We have three different options of programs provided for those who have special interests. For those who like more on culture and history, you can combine the visit to traditional village, you can
Full Day Tour in Ruteng
Here is the sample of a full day city tour in Ruteng that you will spend for 9 to 11 hours from 9 am after your breakfast to 6 pm before your dinner time. This city tour in Ruteng is customizable depending on your length of stay and your interest. From the above tourist attractions, you can explore Ruteng and its surrounding area in 1-4 days. For those who want to do Flores jungle trek, we recommend you to book at least 2 days before the due date because this tour is executed based much on the weather and involvement of local guide. Finally, you can see the our customized tour below for your reference where you will see the cultural sites of Ruteng by visiting the cone shaped house village of Todo, visit Cancar where you will be amazed by the unique way of distributing land shaped like spider web and then you will do a wellness tour by contemplating with the nuns at one of the chapels and in the afternoon, you will blend into the crowds of the people of Ruteng by visiting the traditional market where you can see the commodities sold for the people and see the people of Ruteng go shopping in the traditional market to fulfill their daily needs. This tour is fully guided by a tour guide who is a member of the tourist guide association in Indonesia based in Ruteng.
After having breakfast, you will start to explore the cultural city of Ruteng which is home to “thousands ” of churches in Indonesia. You will start with the exploration to the countryside of Ruteng to visit the unique land distribution like a spider web form and then head to the southwest to see Todo as one of the oldest traditional villages in Manggaraian tribe which is 2 hours from Ruteng. Your village tour here will be accompanied by a local tour guide. Every visitor who comes to see Todo or the Manggaraian traditional villages have to do Wae lu’u welcoming ceremony, a spiritual ritual before making tour activities inside the village by passing the donations apart from the entrance fees.
After exploring the village Todo, you will be back to the main road and have lunch at the authentic East Nusa Tenggara se’i babi smoked pork. From here, you will drive to the city of Ruteng to see the churches and if you have free time in the afternoon, you are able to see the traditional market.
Price per pax: IDR 1.650.000 (for min. 2 pax)
This tour includes:
- Private vehicles: Toyota Inova Minivan Activities and excursions as per itinerary
- Water gallon
- Professional English-speaking guide from Indonesian Tourist Guide Association
- Entrance fees to all tour destinations
- Donations for Wae lu’u Welcoming ceremony
- Guide and Driver’s meals
This tour does NOT include:
- Visa fee / arrangements if applicable
- Your dinner and accommodation
- Any alcoholic beverages Personal expenses such as laundry, telephone call, room service, mini bar, etc ➢ Personal health and travel insurance
- Tipping for guide and driver
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