Waingapu - district in East Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia

Waingapu is the largest town of the island of Sumba in the Nusa Tenggara region of Indonesia.

Understand

Waingapu is the largest town on Sumba and the capital town of the East Sumba Regency.

Get in

Waignapu is the gateway town to Sumba and many visitors arrive here.

By plane

• Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport (IATA: WGP formerly known as Mau Hau Airport), -9.6681°, 120.3013°. A small single runway regional airport served by a few regional airlines. The main airlines are Wings Air (a subsidiary of Lion Air) and Nam Air (a subsidiary of Sriwijaya), with both offering flights from Denpasar (Bali) and the provincial capital Kupang. Susi Air operates routes to smaller airports on nearby islands, including various airports on Flores.

By boat

The Pelni passenger ship Awu calls in at Waingapu twice on its 14-day round trip of Nusa Tenggara. This allows access from Kupang and several other cities in the region. The Awu is by far the safest and best way to reach Sumba by sea.

The ferry experience is very enjoyable. When boarding expect a tussle as the usually friendly and courteous Indonesians will push and shove their way past anyone to get on. If travelling economy class do not expect to get a bunk in one of the many dorm style rooms. The spaces go quickly, so it might be worth taking along a mat to sleep on and a heavier weight sarong for if the weather changes. Quite frankly, it's better on the deck as the rooms are very hot and do have a very strong odour. On the subject of odours, be prepared for the bathrooms. Not well maintained or cleaned very often, just be aware. Wet wipes for washing hands are recommended.

Food is served 3 times a day, just listen out for the words "economy" on the loud hailer. Just follow the crowds. You'll need to take your ticket with you. It's not much, so you might want to bring along your own food; dry biscuits and so on. Bearing in mind the state of the toilets a lightweight diet may be in your favour. Hot water is available for a few thousand Rupiah from the little kiosk.

From Lembar to Waingapu is about 26 hours.

Get around

See

• Prailiu Village, 3 km from the city centre on the road to the airport has impressive megalithic tombstones and really good examples of hand woven Sumba ikat cloth, coloured with natural dyes in traditional designs.
• Rende Village (sometimes spelt Rindi) has large traditional houses with imposing megalithic tombstones, about 70 km east of Waingapu, or 7 km east of Melolo.

Do

Buy

Eat

• El Cafe Sumba
• Mr. Cafe
• Warung Makan Babi Guling "Muncul Jaya Indah": a simple yet nice Balinese eatery at an unsuspecting place. a portion of nasi campur (mied rice) is Rp 25,000 (as of Dec 2018).

Drink

Sleep

• Hotel Elvin, Jl Jend. A. Yani 73, +62 387 61443. 2 stars hotel in Waingapu.
• Hotel Merlyn, Jln D.I. Panjaitan. 2018-12-10
• Hotel Jemmy, Jln. Umbu Marahongu. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. Big accommodation with many rooms. Offer two types of rooms: a cheap room with fan, and room with aircon at double the price. Most cheap rooms don't even have toilet seat. They also sell food and beverages if you are lazy to go out. Rp 165,000-330,000 2018-12-10

Connect

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