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Your Sustainable Indonesia DMC

Khiri Travel Indonesia, a sustainable Indonesia DMC, aims to replicate the vast diversity of this magnificent country in its services and products. From camping on uninhabited islands in a simple tent with a fresh fish barbeque to luxury helicopter flights over archipelago reefs; endemic wildlife in Sumatra and Kalimantan, or the dragons of Komodo; ancient Javanese and Balinese cultures; adventurous hikes in remote Sulawesi; and the beautiful beaches of South Lombok, Khiri Travel will take you to each of these locations – and as the first certified Travelife company in Indonesia – we always have sustainability in mind.

With the equator running through its middle, Indonesia spans an incredible width comparable to the distance from Manchester to Moscow. To deliver consistent quality over each of the many islands we serve, we have our own offices and staff in five of Indonesia’s main destinations, namely, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Lombok and Flores. All corners of the country are represented by our office staff, guides and drivers.

Aini Wikamto

Managing Director

aini@khiri.com

From Our Blog

What Khiri Has Done In
Indonesia

Khiri Travel Indonesia strives to bring all of its travelers closer to the Indonesian people and discover their culture and traditions. What’s more, we are dedicated to ensuring that we have a positive impact on the destinations and communities that our clients visit. We support local projects and provide full-time jobs to local staff, rather than relying on freelancers, or outsourcing our business. Our suppliers are mostly small-scale family owned businesses, which we provide with knowledge and training to improve their services and develop their business models.

Indonesia Office

Jl. Panji Tilar Negara no. 5 Seruni, Ampenan,
Mataram 83115 Lombok – NTB, Indonesia
+62 370 647 390
+62 852 3971 7649 (Emergencies)
sales.indonesia@khiri.com

“In July 2015 we visited the beautiful island of Flores. I would like to thank you for assigning Peter Liwu as our guide during our 8 days trip by minivan from east to west. Peter has a thorough knowledge of the culture, the different tribes and nature of Flores, speaks English very well, and on top of that is a very nice person.”

– A Family from Netherlands

When to Go and What to Do
in Indonesia

JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC

January

Mekotek

Mekotek is a unique traditional village ceremony held only at Munggu village in Badung. Mekotek occurs once every 210 days on Kuningan Day, which is a Balinese Hindu festival day.

In this ritual, all the participating men in the village will be divided into several groups and dressed up in their traditional costumes. Then, each man will carry long wood sticks that will be used to stick together and form a pyramid shape. The group that finishes first will claim the victory.

Due to various poles involved, the sound of these poles hitting each other ‘tek tek’ is the Indonesian spelling of imitating the knocking poles’ sound. That is where the name “Mekotek” comes from.
This ceremony was performed to welcome the brave soldiers who came back from defending the Mengwi Kingdom in the war, and many villagers believe that this ritual is a prayer to God for safety and good health.

So, if you are within the area of Munggu village during Kuningan Day, don’t miss the chance of witnessing this unique experience.

February

Pasola Jousting Festival of the Sumba People

Pasola celebration is held every year on the Indonesian island of Sumba. It usually occurs between the end of February or the beginning of March. Pasola is a jousting festival where two participants sit on the horseback without saddles, charge at each other with wooden spears, and try to knock the opponent off the horseback. Which the word ‘Posola’ is taken from from ‘hola’. Even though it seems a little bit brutal, the meaning of this festival is to keep the spirits happy and bring a successful harvest season in the upcoming year.

March

April

Ubud Food Festival

Ubud Food Festival is one of the most significant culinary events in the country. It attracts tourism and organization all over Southeast Asia. The festival is a three-day event that takes place in mid-April in Ubud, Bali. During the three days of celebrations, there will be numerous well-known restaurants, food producers, and local as well as international chefs, with talks and workshops as part of the festival program. The organizations and the committee came up with a dedicated festival for food enthusiasts, driven by the passion for sharing the rich heritage of Indonesian cuisines with the world. Not only selling but there will be live performances, cooking demos, also meetings with top chefs and food experts from around the world. Visitors are welcome to join, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to taste your way through Ubud!

May

Waisak (Vesak) Observation of the Life of Buddha

Waisak is one of the most important Buddhist festivals in the world. While only one out of six Indonesians is Buddhist, this is still one of Indonesia’s main religious celebrations. Waisak, also known as Vesak Festival, is celebrated to commemorate the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Gautama Buddha.

Every year, the schedule is different since it is planned according to the full moon day, which usually falls in May.

The event is a public holiday across Indonesia, although the main ceremony takes place at Java’s Borobudur temple. You will see thousands of monks and Buddhist devotees gather at Borobudur temple carrying holy fire and holy water during the celebrations.

On arrival in the Borobudur temple, people circle the temple three times in the clockwise direction before receiving blessings from the temple gurus. Then, they release paper lanterns into the sky to symbolize enlightenment of the universe.

June

July

Rambu Solo (Tana Toraja Funeral Festivals) - Sending the Dead to the After-life

Rambu Solo, also known as Toraja Funeral Festival, is another ceremony that allows you to experience the more traditional Indonesian culture. It usually occurs between July and September, celebrated all over the country by the Toraja people. One of the festivals is the Rambu Solo funeral ceremony, intended to send the spirit of the dead on their new journey to the afterworld. It involves many fascinating funeral rites performed by the family to reduce their misfortunes and any kind of bad luck to the family of the deceased.

Visitors are welcome to join and observe the whole ceremony.

August

September

October

November

Galungan

Galungan is one of Bali’s major and most important Hindu festivals. This celebration is to commemorate the victory of “Dharma”, or good over the “Adharma”, or evil. The date of the event changes every year since it follows the 210-day calendar system called “Pawukon”, so it’s held twice a year. This event takes place for ten consecutive days, where the festival’s opening day is marked by the celebration of Galungan, which celebrates the gratitude to the gods and the ancestral spirits by inviting them down to earth to dwell in the home of their descendants. The closing day is called “Kuningan”, which signifies the deities ascending back to the heavens.

The festival is very important for the Balinese, similar to Nyepi or New Year when everyone returns and rejoices with their families.

The entire island will be made extra special during the festival with all kinds of traditional decorations. Most special is the tall bamboo pole called ‘Penjor’ decorated with young coconut leaves, fruits, and flowers set up at the entrance of every house and temple.

A ceremony called Ngelawang is performed during Galungan in every village. It is a ritual to expel evil and any negative spirit, which is performed by ‘Barong’ – a divine protector in the form of a mythical beast. The barong is invited into homes throughout the village to restore the balance between good and evil.

During the Kuningan closing festival, you will see a special offering made of yellow turmeric rice. This is the color of the god Wisnu, the protector and member of the Hindu trinity. Also, it is believed that at the event, the Supreme God Sang Hyang Widi is invited to earth to give blessing for all the people as a closure to the series of Galungan festivals. This is a fascinating festival to observe and be a part of if you’re visiting Indonesia in November.

December

Suwat Water Garden Festival

The Suwat Water Garden Festival, also known as the Water War, is held annually in the last week of December until the first week of January in the area of Suwat Village in Gianyar. This 3-day festival showcases multiple cultural performances and activities including a rice planting race, tug of war, duck and pigs catching competitions, and the crowd’s favorite water war. Similar to Songkran in Thailand, people use buckets, water guns, or anything that could scoop water from the river and splash it on others. This is believed to wash away all the bad luck from the previous year and start anew.

On the first day, people in the village make their way around their homes collecting trash, especially plastic waste, and whoever collects the most wins a special prize. Many also visit the temple to pray early in the morning. On the second day, you will see people gather at the local river to prepare for the last day event, followed by traditional games and activities in the middle of the paddy fields. The last day, called ‘Siat Yeh’, symbolizes washing and cleaning one another with a new spirit in the new year, which is when the water fight takes place.

This festival welcomes all the locals, visitors, and tourists. If you are around Gianyar at this time, join in and enjoy this festival!