Cone houses
Traditional mbaru niang.
Josep M. Gracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jakub Hałun — CC BY 4.0 · Jakub Hałun — CC BY 4.0
An isolated traditional village in a green mountain valley at about eleven hundred metres in west Flores, home to the Manggarai people in seven cone-shaped houses of thatch and timber called mbaru niang, each shared by several families. It won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific heritage conservation award in 2012 after its houses were rebuilt the traditional way. Getting there is a journey in itself: a car from Labuan Bajo to Denge village, then about three hours' uphill walk through rainforest. On arrival villagers welcome you with a ceremony, then you spend a night in one of the cone houses, eating local food and the village's own coffee, grown around it. A fee covers the night and meals, a few hundred thousand rupiah per person, and a local guide is essential. Facilities are very basic, with no constant electricity or phone signal. Plan at least two days, with warm clothes, a torch and good walking shoes. It is a unique human experience for anyone seeking authentic traditional life.
Traditional mbaru niang.
Heritage conservation 2012.
Village food and coffee.
Manggarai, west Flores, about five hours from Labuan Bajo
Very hard from Labuan Bajo: the drive is about five hours and the walk three. Better to stay in Denge beforehand or in the village itself.