10 Days Adventure Discover The Mentawai Tribe
04 Mei 2021 460 Admin
What Is This Trip About?
Allow us to be your guide to one of the most culturally diverse tribes of Indonesia: the Mentawai people. We offer the most authentic and immersive travel experience in Sumatra. Your perfect holiday getaway in Sumatra immersion the Mentawai tribe in their native forest will gain a life-altering experience by immersing yourselves in new cultures, understanding different people, better connected to the lives they live, and learning valuable skills that you can take back home. These great cultural immersion trips we crafted for travelers who seeking a real cultural experience and the opportunity to interact with locals and learn culture and tradition directly from those who practice it, this experience is available we aim for traveler who wants to stay longer and discover the Mentawai tribe.
Highlights of the experience
- Trip type > Small group & private ( you can request )
- Adventure route > Siberut, Mentawai island
- Level > Adventurous
- Recommend day to stay > 10 days
- Comfort > 2 / 5
- Price > $$$ Please contact us
The strong point of this experience
- Immersion and living in the deep jungle with the native Mentawai tribe.
- Explore off-beaten-the-track Siberut jungle & wilderness.
- Fully immersive cultural experiences.
- Real jungle life experiences
Trip Summary
Day 1 Padang - Siberut - Mentawai tribe
- At 06:00 a.m we will pick you up at the hotel Padang, and depart for Siberut Island with the Fast Ferry Arrive in North Siberut ( Pokkai ) and transit for 1 hour ( loading on/off goods and passager, during this stopover we will have lunch at the local restaurant. After Lunch continue to South Siberut with the same ferry. Arrive in South Siberut ( our destination ) proceed travel straight to a government settlement village by Minivan or pick-up car, and arrive at the government settlement village.
- Overnight in our transit village ( visiting waterfall ), in the evening preparation, our staff, equipment.
Day 2 Trekking to the remote jungle area
- Breakfast
- Start trekking to the Atabai jungle area to encounter the Mentawai tribe/shaman ( 5 hours trekking )
- Provide lunch on the way in the jungle
- Arrive in the Mentawai clan family, meet and greet The Shaman
Day 3 - 5 Jungle life experience ( camping, hunting and surviving )
- During these days we will
explore the jungle area, and experience the jungle life of the Mentawai people.
- Join or participate with the family for food preparation, and any other activities on our presence.
- During our stay, we will experience living traditionally like the Mentawai community.
- During our stay with the family, you can ask them anything you would like to know about their way of living, culture and traditions that they open want to talk it and answer your question.
- During our stay with the Mentawai family, you will learn jungle life skills/survival as the Mentawai do such as :
- 1). Learning to make a hut in the jungle in the Mentawai style
- 2). Learn how to weave baskets, and bags from Ratan or leaves that the Mentawai people usually use to support their daily life in the jungle.
- 3). Making poison for bow and arrow.
- 4). Making traditional Mentawai bow and arrow.
- 5). Hunting ( usually the will
start in the early morning, after scouting the area during the day and night ).
Day 6 - 8 Move to a different jungle area
- Move to different jungle areas / remote villages and meet other Mentawai families.
- During these days we will explore the jungle area, and experience the jungle life of the Mentawai people.
- Join
or participate with the family for food preparation, and any other activities
in our presence.
Day 9 Leaving the jungle remote area transfer to Siberut town ( government settlement )
- Farewell to the Mentawai family.
- Leaving the jungle area.
- Straight down the river by traditional motor canoe.
- Transfer to Siberut port by picking up the car.
- Overnight at a local house in
the village near by port.
Day 10 Leaving the remote village - harbor - back to Padang
- Breakfast.
- Transfer to Siberut port.
- Lunch at the local restaurant.
- Back to Padang.
- (Tour End).
Practical Information and Terms & Conditions
- You have to accept living in the same conditions as the local community in the remote village, sleeping in a very rudimentary comfort style on the floor with a mat (floor mat) with mosquito net this applies nights in the Mentawai jungle.
- Given the conditions of poverty and isolated areas, families that accept us to live and spend time with them, conditions of comfort and cleanliness are more than basic but far from being guaranteed for "Western standards". In this case, it is very important and necessary to be able to tolerate this short inconvenience, to be able to enjoy your full stay and overall experience.
- Because Mentawai traditional communities live in remote areas in the jungle forest, access to these communities is not simple and easy, so the conditions of a trek include quite a lot of muddy terrain, slippery and uneven ground (sometimes you have to walk on the log on the muddy ground that Mentawai make and use it as a bridge to access further route).
- Please bear in mind there is no electricity in the Mentawai jungle, charge your camera and phone, and bring an extra battery.
- The conditions in this trip, during which these stays are carried out sometimes felt like “pain” and required for each participant to have :
- 1). Good Mental Preparation
- 2). Great Adaptability
- 3). To be well informed before
departure about the culture and ways of life in Mentawai and the jungle. ( the
guide will give a little briefing and explain about this before we start
our trip.
- Because the Sumatra area is covered with rainforest and located right on the equator, it has a tropical climate, the weather is hot and humid all year round. The driest season normally starts from May to early September, although there are sporadic rains that may occur during this period. Rains are abundant between November and January. The average temperature is 27 - 33 C degrees on Siberut Island. Be ready for hot, humid, and hasty conditions.
Good things to know during our immersion stay
- Be mentally prepared to rough it out, as many tribes do not have the basic comforts of what Western standards used to.
- Give yourself time to connect during our stay.
- Be your true self while visiting, show your interest in them, and learn from them.
- Be present throughout the experience, they expect you to enjoy your time with them.
- Please avoid wearing expensive stuff or accessories like watches, necklaces, bracelets, or earrings, so as not to attract the attention of the tribe, they may be tempting and ask you to give to them, so this could be counterproductive and may even harm your relationships with the community.
- Ask for their permission before taking pictures.
Consider spending a few days living with them for an authentic experience.
Donts
- DO NOT assume the tribes understand your lifestyle.
- DO NOT inflict your lifestyle and comforts on them.
- DO NOT Try to make them fit into the outside society (avoid influencing them to any perspective, ideology, and other daily comforts that are essential to us).
- DO NOT be judgemental, every tribe has its customs, so be a good observer.
- Promoting good practice to spread the idea of being responsible for traveling Working with expert local guides and partners to achieve sustainable goals and practices.
- Bringing benefits to local communities when it comes to boosting their economic and social standard, teaching them about the tourism industry, as well as helping local children with ongoing education.
- Preserving culture and nature through eco-tourism responsible travel.
Our Commitment
- Promoting good practice to spread the idea of responsibility for traveling ∙ Working with expert local guides and partners to achieve sustainable goals and practices.
- Bringing benefits to local communities when it comes to boosting their economic and social standard, teaching them about the tourism industry, as well as helping local children with ongoing education.
- Preserving culture and nature through eco-tourism responsible travel.
Things to carry
- Small Backpack.
- Trekking pants, T-shirt, shorts.
- Trekking shoes (we would recommend rubber trekking boots).
- Dry bag (to protect your electronic devices, phone, camera, or document).
- Rain clothes/poncho.
- Personal utilities.
- Mosquito spray.
- Toilet paper.
- Torch, Suncream & Hat, Socks, Sandals, water shoes.
- Water bottle.
- First Aid and all medications that you usually take.
Get in Touch With Us
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