Mentawai Islands

An Archipelago Separated From Sumatra Long Enough To Evolve Its Own Species And Its Own Culture; Also One Of The Most Consistent Surf Destinations On Earth · Tuapejat, West Sumatra

The Mentawais have been separated from Sumatra long enough to go their own way entirely - SIBERUT HAS PRIMATE SPECIES FOUND NOWHERE ELSE and is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and THE MENTAWAI PEOPLE developed a culture of longhouses, shamans called SIKEREI, filed teeth and full-body tattooing that the Indonesian state actively suppressed under the New Order, pressing people to convert and abandon it. Some of it survives in the interior, and visiting means several days upriver with a guide rather than a day trip. THE OTHER MENTAWAIS IS ENTIRELY SEPARATE AND FAR BETTER FUNDED: this is ONE OF THE MOST CONSISTENT SURF DESTINATIONS ON EARTH, with reef breaks - Macaronis, Lance's Right, Hollow Trees - that draw charter boats and surf camps from around the world. THE 2010 TSUNAMI KILLED AROUND FOUR HUNDRED PEOPLE HERE, and the two Mentawais - the surf charters anchored off the reef and the villages several days upriver - barely acknowledge each other's existence.

Mentawai Islands, off West Sumatra, Tuapejat, West Sumatra, Indonesia

REACHED FROM PADANG, which has flights from Jakarta, Medan and Kuala Lumpur. THE OVERNIGHT FERRY TAKES TEN TO TWELVE HOURS; A FAST BOAT TAKES ABOUT FOUR, and both run a LIMITED SCHEDULE - typically a few sailings a week rather than daily - so BUILD IN SPARE DAYS. SURF CHARTERS AND CAMPS ARE BOOKED AS PACKAGES, usually ten to twelve nights, and handle their own transfers. VISITING SIBERUT'S INTERIOR IS ARRANGED THROUGH GUIDES IN MUARA SIBERUT and takes several days by boat and on foot; it is not a day trip and should not be treated as one. MALARIA IS PRESENT AND IS A REAL RISK HERE - take medical advice before travelling. Banking is minimal; bring cash from Padang. There is limited electricity in the villages.

Mentawai Islands on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos