Approx.4-5 hours. Departure: 08:00 a.m. (B.L.D) are served! One couple from Germany did 12 days trekking tour with us into the far ends of the Baliem valley from 8th July to 8th July 2010. The trekking tour focused in the central highlands of West-Papua, an incredibly fascinating place. We crossed up to Hitugi for our first village-overnight stay. From there the trek continued to Yogosem Village. The walking is very up and down but the scenery and the people make it worthwhile. Day 3 was the hardest day involving 3 hours trek up into the Sogosa Mountain range. We overnight in secluded jungle camps and shared experiences with the traditional villagers in some of the most remote regions around Soba. It took 10 days to cover the 100 km trail – offering tremendous rewards and a feeling of accomplishment as we completed the final stages from the highlands to Wuserem village.
We were lucky as we the local people were having a pig festival. They cooked by steaming-(traditional way of cooking) the pig meat, green sweet potatoes leaves and many more types of food together in an earth oven. Locally this is known as a ‘Barapen/Saniangge/Seniangge/bakar batu’. This fiesta is held every 6 months. Would you like to come and join this fiesta? It’s so easy!
We also came across another ceremony in one village where a five year old boy was being presented to god. His mother welcomed us warmly and invited us to have a pig feast together. The couple from Germany were attracted by the loyalty of the people and the wonderful West-Papuan culture and they have decided to come back again next year for more! Remote trip, we serve!