Full-Day Watublapi Tour with Live Cultural Performance

Traditional dance performance

Design Motifs

Hand Woven Fabrics on Display

Thread winding design

Threading on the loom frame

Show all 14 photos

Highlights

Watch the art of making tribal hand-woven fabrics

Enjoy local music, folksong and traditional dance performances

See a handicraft exhibition and interact with the locals

Savour the local delicacy and chew betel nuts

Buy souvenirs to remember this memorable trip

Maumere

art, rural, cultural

Private Tour

1 Day

Medium

English, Indonesian

Description

Explore the beautiful hillside village of Watublapi in Maumere, Flores and journey through rural settlements offering stunning views of the surrounding landscape. Get to experience traditional dances, local food, and the hand-weaving process of cotton fabric, providing a unique opportunity to discover the cultural heritage of Watublapi.

Itinerary

Watublapi Tour
- Our team will greet and pick you up from Frans Seda Airport in Maumere, Flores, or from Laurens Say Commercial Port in Maumere, wherever your cruise ship or yacht is anchored, or from your hotel in the Maumere area.
- We will then take you to the hillside village of Watublapi, passing through small rural settlements, and offering beautiful views of mountain slopes, valleys, and terraced farmland.
- During the journey, you can observe cashew nut plantations, cocoa, cloves, candle-nut, jackfruit, avocado, and more. Upon arrival at Watublapi village, you will be treated to traditional greetings and typical dances, followed by a chance to chew betel nut, smoke local tobacco, and taste "Lekun," a local cake, and Arak, a liquor made from palm fruit. Local music, traditional dances, and folk songs will accompany these activities.
- Have the opportunity to participate in a demonstration of traditional dances and observe the process of making hand-woven fabrics, from cotton seed separation to milling, dyeing, and weaving. Lunch will be served by members of the Bliran Sina Cultural Center, after which you can take a leisurely walk to enjoy the fresh air of the Watublapi village, and observe the drying process of cloves, cocoa, coffee, or other commodities, depending on the season.
- After the tour, we will take you back to your original location, with an optional stop in Maumere city for those who need access to the bank's ATM or for shopping.
Tour ends.

What's Included

Tour and transfers by private AC car, minibus or bus, depending on the number of participants

A package of live cultural performance

01 lunch (delicious local culinary)

Communication and pre-arrangement

Mineral water

Experienced English-speaking local guide

What's Excluded

Flight tickets and airport to and from Flores

Travel insurance, side trips and meals out of the tour program

Any expenses of personal nature and end-of-tour tipping for guide and driver (unless specified as included)

Know Before You Go

Watublapi is a small community in Sikka Regency, which is famous for its fine and high-quality traditional woven fabrics. While many other local weaving communities have turned to industrially spun yarn and chemical dyes to save time and money, Watublapi weavers still use handspun yarn made from local cotton and local natural dyes. In the 1980s, the villagers, along with German priest Pater Bollen, SVD--founded a cultural cooperative called Sanggar Bliran Sina with the aim of preserving and promoting traditional dances, local music, ikat weaving, and other local crafts. Under the enthusiastic leadership of Daniel David, a young man from Watublapi, Bliran Sina, it has turned into a well-established cooperative with more than 40 members who support each other in financial, educational and health matters. Additionally, Bliran Sina's outward orientation and collaborations with Fair Trade organizations, such as Threads of Life, have allowed Watublapi's ikat weavers to find their way to collectors around the world. Visitors who are particularly interested in woven ikat will have the opportunity to shop for high-quality hand-woven fabrics and other interesting handicrafts as souvenirs.

Private Visit or Optional Tour and Extension Tour Days Available Upon Request: ---

3 Hours Round Trip to Blikon Blewut Museum, an anthropological museum that offers various collections of local royal families’ old portraits, antique hand-woven cloths, ancient elephant fossils, prehistoric agricultural equipment, and so much more.

4-5 Hours Round Trip to Bukit Nilo, a strategic and beautiful spot that offers a spectacular view over Maumere city, Wuring fishing village and the Flores Sea with small outlying Islands in the North and Savu Sea into the South. There stands a sturdy large Holy statue of Mary, the “Mother of All Nations”. This place has become a favourite pilgrimage site, and there are visitors every day.

5 Hours Round Trip to Sikka, a traditional village on the South of Maumere. It offers a 150-year-old Portuguese Church, typical hand-woven fabrics of Sikkanese and a beautiful beach. Different from Watublapi, Dokar or other villages in the east of Maumere, the hand-woven fabrics from Sikka look much brighter and more colourful and still use hand-spun cotton thread and natural dyes.

4 Hours Round Trip to Doka Tawatana, another weaving village near Watublapi. It’s available on advance booking; live cultural performance, similar to Watublapi, but different in the surrounding environment, views, colours, background and story--much more cheerful in colours.

Kelimutu via Ropa beach, North Ende or from Maumere based on request.

What To Bring

Toilet paper

Other personal needs

Meeting Point

Frans Seda Airport, Jl. Adi Sucipto, Waioti, Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia or Laurens Say Harbor or Hotel Around Maumere town

Cancellation Policy

No refund in case of any cancellation.

Price

Persons
1 to 10	/person
11 to 20	/person
21 to 30	/person
31 to 50	/person
51 to 60	/person
This is a private tour

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Full-Day Watublapi Tour with Live Cultural Performance

Highlights

Description

Itinerary

Watublapi Tour

What's Included

What's Excluded

Know Before You Go

What To Bring

Meeting Point

Cancellation Policy

Price

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Full-Day Watublapi Tour with Live Cultural Performance

Highlights

Description

Itinerary

Watublapi Tour

What's Included

What's Excluded

Know Before You Go

What To Bring

Meeting Point

Cancellation Policy

Price

Check Availability Hide

Starting from

Can't Find the Perfect Tour? Tailor Your Dream Trip!

Create your own adventure!

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