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Food and Culture

Gastronomy and unique culture are increasingly important drivers of tourism. Indonesia is well known for culinary favourites such as nasi goreng, rendang and gado gado. It is equally well-known for the many and varied unique cultural experiences such as the gamelan orchestra and wayang shadow puppet performances.

‘Indonesia' is a singular term that names a particular nation, but there's nothing uniform about its culture. There are at least 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia, each with their own set of customs and distinctive cultural objects

Impact Adventures is developing tours to remote corners of Indonesia that highlight some of the lesser-known unique food and culture experiences.

The highlands of Attambua, East Nusa Tenggara

Atambua sits on the border of Indonesia and Timor Leste in East Nusa Tenggara. This tour of the Belu Regency hinterland takes you through cactus plantations in the savanna to an ancient fort in the highlands and a hidden paradise: the Mauhalek Waterfall.

The ancient Ranu Hitu Fort was built with coral rubble, neatly arranged by workers in ancient times and contains the tombs of ancient kings and also features cannons from Portugese colonial settlers.

The Mauhalek Waterfall is often referred to as 'heavenly waterfall' and has an almost fairytale appearance. As the falls hit the rocky surface, a wide cascade forms, a stunning site that is popular with landscape photographers. The falls are around 300km from Kupang.

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