INDONESIAN CULTURAL ODYSSEY: Bali, Borobudur & Toraja

Explore the best this vast archipelagic nation has to offer.  Begin in the cool highlands of Torajaland on Sulawesi, with an amazing diversity of traditional societies.  The Torajan people are known for their highly ritualistic ceremonies, ceaseless funeral feasts and unusual methods of burial.  Walk around villages where all the houses look like ships and view the unique cliff side hanging graves.

Continue on to Yogyakarta, Java’s cultural heartland and the seat of the island’s oldest royal court.  Visit a pottery village, leather puppet, silver and batik workshops, and Indonesia’s liveliest shopping street – the remarkable three-kilometer-long Jalan Malioboro.  Climb up the spectacular Buddhist temple of Borobudur built between 750 and 850 A.D.  This massive stupa in the form of a three-dimensional mandala (concentric energy circle) contains over 1500 pictorial relief panels and incorporates 9848 square yards of stone surface qualifying it as the largest ancient monument in the southern hemisphere.

Arrive in tropical Bali, a tiny artistic enclave and the farthest outpost of the Hindu Empire. Journey to Sideman the spiritual heart of Bali and stay in a beautiful boutique hotel overlooking the rice terraces. Experience a deep interaction with nature. Relax in a gorgeous Balinese style boutique hotel in the mountain town of Ubud, known for its artisans and painters, and a wealth of historical sites. Walk in the surrounding countryside overlooking plunging river gorges, floating temples, twin lakes and tier upon tier of rice paddies with unsurpassed vistas. Explore the numerous temples and sights in this culturally and archaeologically rich area.

Festivals:  Celebrate Hindu festivals that are welcome and farewell ceremonies for ancestors, in which homes, gates and temples are beautifully decorated, and offerings are given for peace and prosperity.  Nyepi Day, Bali’s day of silence is celebrated throughout the island.  On the night before there are colorful processions and celebrations in the streets.

Destinations

Tana Toraja * Makassar * Yogyakarta * Pemuteran * Ubud

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