Sulawesi, Java & Bali : Indonesian kaleidoscope

Welcome at Makassar airport and transfer to hotel. Makassar is the capital of the province of South Sulawesi, situated on the Makassar Strait.

In the middle of the afternoon, depending on your arrival time in Makassar, visit the fish market, an essential meeting place, as fish is an important part of Indonesian culinary culture.

Transfer to the port of Paotere to admire the magnificent wooden schooners. The tour ends with a visit to Fort Rotterdam, built in 1545 by Raja Tunipalangga: originally it consisted of an earthen rampart called a "makassar". It was not until 1634 that these were reinforced with stone walls, at the request of Sultan Alaudin. The fort was later (in 1667) conquered by the Dutch and renamed "Rotterdam" (the birthplace of Speelman). Today, the fort has been fully restored and even houses a small museum retracing its history.

In the evening, welcome dinner. An opportunity to get to know your accompanying team.

Morning transfer to the Maros region (once discovered by Alfred Wallace), renowned for its rice fields and karst peaks. Take a short stroll in the surrounding area and explore a cave that is almost 39,000 years old and contains numerous cave paintings. Your guide will also take you on a pirogue ride on a river near which many species of birds live. Meet the local people, who live in houses built on stilts. At the end of the morning, transfer to the seaside town of Pare Pare, then head up the Sa'Dan river towards the mountains, through some magnificent scenery. The flat landscape is quickly replaced by thick coconut forest. Stop en route at Bambapuang, where you will have a view of a so-called "erotic" mountain. Arrive in Rantepao (the capital of Toraja country) in the early evening.

The day begins with a visit to the Lemo burial site. This is a rock face into which balconies have been carved, housing numerous figurines known as Tau Tau. We then transfer to the royal tombs of Suaya and continue on foot to another interesting site: Tampangg'alo. In the afternoon, visit the Londa caves, at the foot of a large cliff, which contain coffins and scattered bones. Easy walk to Kete Kusu village (famous for its wood carvings and rice granaries), through rice fields, villages and bamboo forest. You'll also discover troglodytic tombs and older suspended tombs.

Note: the course of the three-day programme exploring Toraja country may be adapted if a funeral festival is taking place in the region at this time. Your guide will take you to attend this ceremony and introduce you to the family of the deceased. For the record, no rituals are organised in Toraja country for tourists: everything is absolutely authentic.

In the morning, visit the village of Bori, famous for its megaliths carved in the shape of tombs, then Palawa (the largest in the region), and finally Sa'dan, renowned for its traditional textiles. Transfer to the wild north of the Toraja region, offering magnificent panoramic views at an altitude of 1,400 m. Easy walk around Batutumonga through rice fields, traditional villages and bamboo forest. Later, hike from Lokomata (where the tombs are carved out of a giant rock) to Mariri, during which you will have the opportunity to pass children on their way home from school and stop off at some cutlery-making workshops. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

Visit the colourful Rantepao market, where many buffaloes and pigs are on sale. Then it's time to attend a funeral ceremony. In the afternoon, transfer to Pemancar, where you begin a lovely walk towards Salu, through rice fields and plantations (mainly coffee and cocoa).

In the morning, you drive to the charming little town of Sengkang, which stretches along the banks of the Walanae river. In the afternoon, visit the traditional silk weaving workshops.

In the early morning, transfer to the shores of Lake Tempe and board motorised canoes for an extraordinary discovery of this marshy lake, home to numerous species of birds and an astonishing lakeside village. This is your chance to immerse yourself in the habits and customs of the villagers, for whom time seems to have no hold.

Departure for Makassar airport and flight to Yogyakarta in the early evening. Your guide will meet you at Yogyakarta airport and transfer you to your hotel.

The morning is devoted to visiting Yogyakarta, the cultural capital of Java, and particularly the area around the Sultan's Palace, built in 1756, where life is good. Your city walk takes you to Taman Sari, known during the Dutch colonial empire as the "Water Palace", and then to the puppet and batik workshops. You will then visit the Prambanan temple complex, in particular Loro Jonggrang, a sumptuous 47-metre-high temple dedicated to the goddess Siva. It is considered to be the most elegant and breathtaking Hindu temple on the island of Java. Return to Yogyakarta in the late afternoon, where you spend the rest of your time strolling along Malioboro Avenue, Yogya's main shopping street. Overnight at the same hotel.

Early this morning you set off for the Menoreh hills, around 25 km west of Yogyakarta, overlooking the Borobudur plain. You then begin an original walk through superb landscapes, also along some ridges, which offer you an extraordinary panorama of the green rice fields below and the volcanoes on the horizon (Mt Sumbing, Mt Merapi and Mt Merbabu). Then, in the middle of the valley rises the imposing sanctuary of Borobudur, which you visit at the end of our walk. Transfer to Sukuh, on the slopes of Mt Lawu overlooking Surakarta.

Morning transfer to the Sukuh temple, the last bastion of Hinduism in Central Java in the face of the spread of Islam. The temple's original iconography, including phallic figures and large turtle-shaped tables, suggests the existence of initiation and even orgiastic rituals. You then set off on a walk towards the village of Tawangmangu, on the slopes of the Lawu volcano. This walk is an opportunity to discover some of the plant species found in this region, as well as admiring superb panoramic views of the surrounding pine forest and high-altitude plantations. You finish your walk by crossing the Tawangmangu park. Your first steps in the park will take you to a superb waterfall (Grojogan Sewu) in the middle of a tropical forest inhabited by a large community of monkeys. In the afternoon, transfer to Tumpang, on the outskirts of Malang, at the western foot of the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru massif. Overnight in a homestay.

In the early morning, 4x4 vehicles will take you to the Tengger region, where the famous Mt Bromo (2329 m) spits out its volutes, and the caldera that surrounds it forms a gigantic sea of sand. On this journey, you pass through the stunning forest of the Tengger-Bromo-Semeru National Park, skirting part of the crest of the Bromo volcano caldera, before descending to the sea of sand to reach the village of Cemorolawang (located on one of the opposite crests). Mt Bromo is the most revered of the Hindu Tengger people who live in the region. Climb the Bromo volcano in the afternoon. You can admire its crater, which resembles a steaming cauldron. It's easy to see why the Javanese once regarded this place as the entrance to purgatory.

In 4x4, you will reach the summit of Mount Pananjakan (2775m) very early on to witness a fabulous spectacle. You'll witness the world awakening in a lunar setting, with a breathtaking view of Mount Bromo, its sea of sand, and the Semeru volcano, both of which emit thick fumaroles. A unique experience! You can make another short ascent of Bromo in the bright colours of the morning, before returning to the hotel for breakfast. Late morning transfer to Ketapang at the eastern foot of Kawah Ijen.

At the end of the night, you set off again by 4x4 towards the flanks of Kawah Ijen. In the early morning, walk to the edge of Kawah Ijen (meaning the "green crater") where men extract sulphur from the edge of the world's largest acid lake. These real sulphur workers carry around 100 kg of ore on their backs for around 15 km to the processing plant! You will then witness the weighing and the various employment contracts. A very powerful and striking image of your journey. In the late morning, transfer to Pemuteran, a small seaside resort on Bali's north-west coast, far from the tourist concentrations.

Free day in Pemuteran (driver and guide available). Possibility of hiring a boat to observe the underwater world around the island of Mejangan, where all of Bali's richest fauna seems to have gathered. A veritable polychrome aquarium awaits you in these coral reefs! This is where Bali's rare starling has found refuge.

Morning at leisure, then in the early afternoon you set off for the heights of Bali. On the way, visit the temple of Pulaki, located at the foot of a cliff and inhabited by a large community of monkeys. The road branching off into the mountains is magnificent. Your destination, the small village of Belimbing, is surrounded by some of the most breathtaking rice terraces on the island.

Morning devoted to an extraordinary walk to discover the surrounding nature. Afternoon free to enjoy your hotel and its swimming pool in the middle of the rice fields.

Visit the Luhur Batukaru temple, set amid lush greenery and featuring several multi-roofed "meru", some dating back to the 17th century, dedicated to the ancestors of the Tabanan dynasty and to local protective deities. In the early morning, transfer to Jatiluwih, a small village in the middle of Bali's most beautiful rice fields, in the central-western part of the island. In the early afternoon, you will embark on a superb hike through the veritable ocean of rice terraces that surround you. Head back to Bedugul to visit the famous Hindu-Buddhist temple of Pura Ulun Danau. This temple, which appears to float on the waters of the lake, is one of Bali's most famous. A sacred place surrounded by verdant gardens dedicated to the Goddess Dewi Danau. After a short stopover at the local market, you finally head for Ubud, the cultural capital of the Island of the Gods.

This morning, you set off on a walk through superb rice fields towards Tampaksiring. A family of Balinese artists will welcome you to their traditional home and offer you a meal, no less typical, accompanied by Balinese dances. In the afternoon, visit Tirta Empul and its sacred pools where hundreds of Balinese come every day to purify themselves. Next, a visit to the Gunung Kawi temple. This is surely Bali's most impressive site, with the 9 tombs of King Wungsu's family carved into the cliff. Return to Ubud in the early evening, where you can wander freely around the village. In the evening, farewell dinner by the sea.