Maringi Eco Resort by Sumba Hospitality Foundation

Top choice in Sumba


Where to start with this incredible complex: that it's a not-for-profit NGO where students from Sumba learn the art of hospitality before landing top hotel jobs in Indonesia? Or the brilliantly designed bamboo pavilions with giant glass oval doors and outdoor bathrooms? Maybe its sustainability, reusing water in the garden and harnessing solar. This is so much more than accommodation.

Culinary students led by an Italian chef cook lunch and dinner, using produce from the garden. When school's out, you might find yourself joining in Saturday movie nights, challenged to a student volleyball match, or happily putting yourself forward for a spa treatment as young staff learn to help guests relax and make their own oils.

After six months in this program, students who did not previously speak English teach primary school kids English as part of their course.

Wi-fi only available in the restaurant and bar; airport transfers available for 150,000Rp.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sumba attractions

2. Kampung Waitabar

18.2 MILES

It’s only a short stroll from most hotels to Prai Klembung and then up the hill that juts from the centre of town to Tarung and Waitabar. Kampung Waitabar…

3. Kampung Tarung

18.3 MILES

Tarung is home to five tribes, each with their own small, thatched shrine where only the local ratu (priest) is allowed to pray and commune with the…

4. Kampung Prai Klembung

18.33 MILES

It’s only a short stroll from most hotels to Prai Klembung, a nearby village with hefty concrete-slab tombs in an overgrown but atmospheric setting…

5. Kampung Tambelar

18.39 MILES

Has very impressive tombs and stone graves, with rows of houses with thatched roofs. Leave a donation of 20,000Rp or 50,000Rp if there are a few of you.

6. Kampung Pasunga

23.15 MILES

Right beside the main road to Waingapu, 22km east of Waikabubak, Kampung Pasunga boasts one of Sumba’s most impressive tombs. The most interesting grave…

7. Gallu Bakul

24.12 MILES

At Gallu Bakul, 2.5km down the road from the modernising village of Kabonduk, is Sumba’s heaviest tomb, weighing in at 70 tonnes. At its eastern end is a…

8. Weekuri Lagoon

24.35 MILES

Almost as far west as you can get on Sumba is one of the island's most magical spots, Weekuri Lagoon. On one side, locals and tourists rent black rubber…