Belaraghi Village
Belaraghi Village
4.7
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- Scenic115829413419 contributionsWe spent a wonderful 2 days with William Doi as our guide around Bajawa and the traditional villages, including Belaraghi for one night. William is an exceptional guide and very experienced guide. I can highly, highly recommend him. He is such a powerful advocate for the people of the villages and has done so much to help them protect their culture and way of life over the years. William was brilliant with our 3 children, and is so skilled at reading people and what they need. We visited 3 villages in total, went to a market, visited his own home, ate local food, stayed in Belaraghi overnight which was very authentic. The local people were very kind and welcoming. Mama Maria had us sleeping in her home. She was a lovely lady. We experienced a chicken sacrifice which was a great honour (though we found it very difficult as I'm not sure if it was killed immediately) a delicious local dinner and we woke in the morning to hunters returning from the jungle with a big snake. I would have loved to spend more time with William as a guide. My 11 year old son is planning his return to Flores at age 18, for trekking and immersion into traditional life! William can be contacted on +62 812-3984-4115. Thankyou William!!! Love Melinda, John, Ziggy, Indy and Llewyn ❤️Visited September 2024Traveled with familyWritten October 31, 2024
- Beire G1 contributionVery beautiful and still authentic village! They welcomed us so warmly even if we couldent fully understand each other! Very cool experience. The guide William is also very helpful and translate what is been said for you. His mission is to protect the village, a very good person!Visited June 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten July 30, 2024
- Frederic F4 contributionsThe best way to spend a night in Belaraghi, at homestay, is with William (+6281239844115). unique experience, in a real traditional village. The next day he takes you to a seaside savannah, full of buffaloes!Visited November 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten November 26, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.7
38 reviews
Excellent
28
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8
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2
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Frida F
Vitinia, Italy11 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
Flores Indonesia and William Doi Guide.
August 2023
In August me and my husband had a wonderful 18 days trip in Indonesia, and the part we liked the most was the Flores island, where our daughter Flavia joined us.
We were very lucky to be guided by William Doi in a five nights and six days tour starting from Ende. Also Hendra, our driver, was really good and nice.
William is fantastic Guide and he knows the island and the local people very well, and he told us a lot of things about Flores customs and nature leading us in the most characteristic areas including, unforgettable, the traditional Belaraghi village which is still isolate and uncontaminated. In this village very few tourists arrive and William also helps the village to remain authentic by trying to get some help from the Indonesian State.
We also spent two nights camping on a desert island in the 17 islands archipelago.
William, Hendra and the boat "captain", who led us to the island, organized everything perfectly bringing everything you need to sleep, eat and snorkel in a wonderful coral reef.
They were all careful, kind and thoughtful taking care of our every need.
They also took us to see the flying foxes (hundreds of giants bats), really impressive.
It was a really unique and priceless experience.
Then, after crossing the hinterland, William and Hendra took us to Bajava and then to Ruteng, with many surrounding attractions including rice paddies (also the spider web rice paddies), hot springs, volcanoes, bamboo forrests and still more!
We concluded our journey at Labuan Bajo, where we continued independently with two beautiful days at sea to discover a wonderful protected marine area and its Komodo Dragons.
We highly recommend contacting William Doi to have such a beautiful and immersive experience in Flores.
Thanks you Indonesia and thanks you William, Hendra and the "captain" for the wonderful holiday!
Frida, Andrea and Flavia from Rome.
Rome, September 10, 2023
August 2023
In August me and my husband had a wonderful 18 days trip in Indonesia, and the part we liked the most was the Flores island, where our daughter Flavia joined us.
We were very lucky to be guided by William Doi in a five nights and six days tour starting from Ende. Also Hendra, our driver, was really good and nice.
William is fantastic Guide and he knows the island and the local people very well, and he told us a lot of things about Flores customs and nature leading us in the most characteristic areas including, unforgettable, the traditional Belaraghi village which is still isolate and uncontaminated. In this village very few tourists arrive and William also helps the village to remain authentic by trying to get some help from the Indonesian State.
We also spent two nights camping on a desert island in the 17 islands archipelago.
William, Hendra and the boat "captain", who led us to the island, organized everything perfectly bringing everything you need to sleep, eat and snorkel in a wonderful coral reef.
They were all careful, kind and thoughtful taking care of our every need.
They also took us to see the flying foxes (hundreds of giants bats), really impressive.
It was a really unique and priceless experience.
Then, after crossing the hinterland, William and Hendra took us to Bajava and then to Ruteng, with many surrounding attractions including rice paddies (also the spider web rice paddies), hot springs, volcanoes, bamboo forrests and still more!
We concluded our journey at Labuan Bajo, where we continued independently with two beautiful days at sea to discover a wonderful protected marine area and its Komodo Dragons.
We highly recommend contacting William Doi to have such a beautiful and immersive experience in Flores.
Thanks you Indonesia and thanks you William, Hendra and the "captain" for the wonderful holiday!
Frida, Andrea and Flavia from Rome.
Rome, September 10, 2023
Written September 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lucas H
1 contribution
Sep 2022 • Friends
Experiencing a visit in this village is such an insane experience. It definitely teaches you life. People are the most welcoming and talk to you as they can and explain the story of their life. They life from nothing but seem the happiest people. Wonderful experience thanks to the best guide on island, William. He was the first guide to open this village to tourist to help the village in building toilets etc.. and improving their life.
Don't hesitate to reach him, everything we did with him was just insane and out of the basic tourist stuff, without even talking how William become a real friend and we are still in touch more than a year later.
His what's app : +6281239844115
Don't hesitate to reach him, everything we did with him was just insane and out of the basic tourist stuff, without even talking how William become a real friend and we are still in touch more than a year later.
His what's app : +6281239844115
Written August 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
giwman
Athens, Greece13 contributions
Jul 2017 • Friends
It is a unique experience to spend o night in those villages. The hole atmosphere was magical. The conditions were difficult, me and my friend shared a room with another couple, we slept on the floor, the pillows and blankets were far from clean, the 'toilet' was outside the house and it was a nightmare. We fed the ancestors through a ceremony and had dinner with the locals. We also had a tour in the village the next morning and when we returned there were some money missing from our bags..
Written August 10, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charlie L
29 contributions
Oct 2018 • Couples
We went on a 2D/1N trip to Belaraghi village with Wilhelmus Doi, the guide recommended by other TripAdvisor people. It cost about $200 for the two of us, and included an all-day (9-to-4) hike (mostly downhill, mostly scree) to the village on day one, overnight with chicken sacrifice ceremony, and then a visit to an arak distillery and a beach on day two. On the whole, we are glad we did it - but do return with mixed feelings.
PROS:
1. Wilhelmus has excellent English and can take even the most complicated questions
2. He has a clear love of the outdoors and interest in environmentalism
3. He has a genuine connection (and concern for) the local Belaraghi villagers, and he is a true Ngada local (so he speaks the same local dialect as the villagers, and his father was a wise man in a different village with similar rituals).
4. Belaraghi itself is a quaint and picturesque village with welcoming locals who are so generous that we almost felt embarrassed by their kindness to total strangers. It is also quiet - we were the only tourists there that night.
CONS:
1. The tour was very expensive - and for cash-strapped travelers, the village can be reached 100% by motorbike. Or the day we left, another guide (maybe cheaper?) was taking tourists to Belaraghi for an overnight that also included traditional dancing. Maybe future guests could also just ask Wilhelmus to cut out the whole of day 2 - to return to town right after breakfast at the village. We did not really feel the trips on day 2 added much value.
2. Wilhelmus sometimes didn’t really “guide.” Once we arrived at the village, he didn’t take us around or explain anything, as he seemed more keen on just chatting to the villagers (without translating at all for us). Instead, we had to interrupt them to ask questions, or at times just walked around on our own.
3. On the second day, our driver was drinking hard alcohol (with Wilhelmus and his son) at the beach. To be more specific, at the arak distillery, they purchased a 500ml bottle of arak (alcohol content 40-60%) to take to the beach and started doing group shots after lunch. If we hadn’t asked them to stop halfway through, it was clear that they had every intent of finishing the entire bottle (which again, would be equal to casually polishing off a bottle of tequila or vodka) before driving back for over an hour up a windy mountain road in a car without rear seat belts. This is unacceptable and was extremely uncomfortable: it shouldn't be our responsibility to nanny anyone about drinking and driving. Future guests may want to make this clear with Wilhelmus in the future— no drinking for the driver.
4. If you’re often hungry, bring snacks! On day 2, we had breakfast at 7am and then lunch at 2:30pm. Normally on trekking tours, the guides provide extra snacks but not on this one.
In closing, despite the sticking points, we're happy that we did the tour. We learned a lot about the local culture and it was an interesting glimpse into the fast-changing village life in these remote parts of Indonesia.
PROS:
1. Wilhelmus has excellent English and can take even the most complicated questions
2. He has a clear love of the outdoors and interest in environmentalism
3. He has a genuine connection (and concern for) the local Belaraghi villagers, and he is a true Ngada local (so he speaks the same local dialect as the villagers, and his father was a wise man in a different village with similar rituals).
4. Belaraghi itself is a quaint and picturesque village with welcoming locals who are so generous that we almost felt embarrassed by their kindness to total strangers. It is also quiet - we were the only tourists there that night.
CONS:
1. The tour was very expensive - and for cash-strapped travelers, the village can be reached 100% by motorbike. Or the day we left, another guide (maybe cheaper?) was taking tourists to Belaraghi for an overnight that also included traditional dancing. Maybe future guests could also just ask Wilhelmus to cut out the whole of day 2 - to return to town right after breakfast at the village. We did not really feel the trips on day 2 added much value.
2. Wilhelmus sometimes didn’t really “guide.” Once we arrived at the village, he didn’t take us around or explain anything, as he seemed more keen on just chatting to the villagers (without translating at all for us). Instead, we had to interrupt them to ask questions, or at times just walked around on our own.
3. On the second day, our driver was drinking hard alcohol (with Wilhelmus and his son) at the beach. To be more specific, at the arak distillery, they purchased a 500ml bottle of arak (alcohol content 40-60%) to take to the beach and started doing group shots after lunch. If we hadn’t asked them to stop halfway through, it was clear that they had every intent of finishing the entire bottle (which again, would be equal to casually polishing off a bottle of tequila or vodka) before driving back for over an hour up a windy mountain road in a car without rear seat belts. This is unacceptable and was extremely uncomfortable: it shouldn't be our responsibility to nanny anyone about drinking and driving. Future guests may want to make this clear with Wilhelmus in the future— no drinking for the driver.
4. If you’re often hungry, bring snacks! On day 2, we had breakfast at 7am and then lunch at 2:30pm. Normally on trekking tours, the guides provide extra snacks but not on this one.
In closing, despite the sticking points, we're happy that we did the tour. We learned a lot about the local culture and it was an interesting glimpse into the fast-changing village life in these remote parts of Indonesia.
Written October 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tina Dragon
Halmstad, Sweden27 contributions
Jan 2018
It was a secret tip and should remain one. If you post too many pics with location on IG/FB this too will become a tourist attraction with busses and lots of Chinese in a year or so. Your choice
It's too beautiful and authentic to be ruined. Please keep it to yourself.
It's too beautiful and authentic to be ruined. Please keep it to yourself.
Written August 19, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Liling T
Singapore, Singapore140 contributions
Jun 2018 • Friends
Was able to visit and take a scroll in the villages. It was a good culture walk through to understand.
Written July 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WVE
Mechelen, Belgium71 contributions
Jul 2016 • Family
Beautiful traditional village. We stayed overnight in the house with a local family. When they start to do the ritual offering of a chicken to inform their ancestors of the good intentions of you as a visitor, you will get a very intense experience.
Don't just go an visit the village for an hour or so, spend the night with one of the families. Don't expect luxury however nut absolutely welcoming and friendly locals. If you don't like dogs, please know they have like a 100 dogs (or a little less probably:-)) all over the village
We were here with kids (10 and 12). For them the experience was even more intense and probably a little on the border of what you can expect from a child.
Don't just go an visit the village for an hour or so, spend the night with one of the families. Don't expect luxury however nut absolutely welcoming and friendly locals. If you don't like dogs, please know they have like a 100 dogs (or a little less probably:-)) all over the village
We were here with kids (10 and 12). For them the experience was even more intense and probably a little on the border of what you can expect from a child.
Written August 7, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
metboef
Rome, Italy66 contributions
Jun 2016
The view on arrival is wonderful. The village is spread on a cliff near the sea. All the women come out to show their ikats at a very cheap price. Nice for pictures and smiles
Written June 29, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Champagne&Wine&Me
385 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
What an adventure to reach this village ... BELARAGHI !!!
Sooo glad We made it after going through the rocky way/road up and down.
Beautiful place in an amazing set up ... Warm welcome by the locals ...Truly an unforgettable experience we had.
Do not miss visiting this village when your in Flores ... It's sooo worth it!!
Sooo glad We made it after going through the rocky way/road up and down.
Beautiful place in an amazing set up ... Warm welcome by the locals ...Truly an unforgettable experience we had.
Do not miss visiting this village when your in Flores ... It's sooo worth it!!
Written July 20, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeremie Francois
Zurich, Switzerland116 contributions
May 2018 • Family
On our Flores overland tour, we went through a number of traiditional villages and this one stands out as the DO NOT MISS type.
More off the beaten road. The sign from the main road tells the whole story: +/- 4 km! In the end, after driving for 15 minutes, we did have to stop and ask for confirmation from the villagers that the sign was no fluke and there was, indeed, a village at the end of the road. And there was, after an overall 20-30 minute drive from the main road on a not so decent road (for stretches).
The village itself is very well maintained (solar panels provided by the local authorities to most houses...), villagers very welcoming and the setting is just glorious.
Great can't miss photos.
More off the beaten road. The sign from the main road tells the whole story: +/- 4 km! In the end, after driving for 15 minutes, we did have to stop and ask for confirmation from the villagers that the sign was no fluke and there was, indeed, a village at the end of the road. And there was, after an overall 20-30 minute drive from the main road on a not so decent road (for stretches).
The village itself is very well maintained (solar panels provided by the local authorities to most houses...), villagers very welcoming and the setting is just glorious.
Great can't miss photos.
Written May 23, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It's about 160 km..5 hours driving..if you need an overland tour driver ..just chat my Whatsapp +6282244499249.
Thanks
Written September 1, 2018
Rent car...chat my Whatsapp +6282244499249
Thanks
Written September 1, 2018
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