Visiting the Mentawai Independently
If you wish to visit the Mentawai on Siberut Island and genuinely meet a still deeply traditional community, there are very few places where this is still possible. One of them is Buttui, where my Mentawai family lives. While many Mentawai communities elsewhere on Siberut have moved away from living in large, multi-family uma deep in the rainforest, this community continues to live together much as they have for generations.
In many other parts of Siberut, traditional longhouses are located along the main river near Muara Siberut and the coast. These locations are easier to access, and as a result, most local guides organize relatively short Mentawai tours to these sites. In many cases, however, the original families no longer live there permanently. Younger generations have left the forest in search of more modern lifestyles, and the longhouses are often empty outside of visiting periods. During a guest’s stay, family members may temporarily gather there, creating the impression of an active traditional community. Once visitors leave, the longhouse is usually vacated again.
Such visits can still provide a valuable introduction to Mentawai culture and history. However, for those who have traveled this far and wish to experience Mentawai life as it is still lived today, going further into the interior offers a very different level of engagement. Deeper inland, extended families continue to share a single uma, maintaining everyday practices, social structures, and rituals that have largely disappeared elsewhere. This is the community I have visited and lived with for nearly 35 years, where daily life has changed remarkably little over that time.
For anyone planning to visit the Mentawai — whether independently or as part of a tour — I strongly recommend traveling with a knowledgeable and responsible professional guide. A good guide ensures respectful engagement with Mentawai families and helps visitors understand daily life, belief systems, and cultural practices. Only with proper guidance is it sometimes possible to witness ceremonies or rituals, when appropriate. Guides also arrange canoe transport upriver, coordinate accommodation, and organize food supplies, all of which are essential in the remote interior of Siberut.
While it is technically possible to organize everything yourself upon arrival on Siberut, doing so usually takes considerable time and limits how far inland you can travel on your first days. Visitors without local knowledge often face higher costs and may not reach the communities they intended to visit. Careful planning — and the right guide — makes a significant difference in both experience and outcome.
If you would prefer to visit my Mentawai family together with me, you can find information about my upcoming trips here.
Going to Siberut Island on your Own
If you wish to visit my Mentawai family independently, I am happy to help arrange this for you. Below you will find the practical details for organizing your stay.
Please note that this journey is undertaken without an official external guide. Instead, you will be cared for directly by the family themselves — from the moment you arrive on Siberut until your departure. They are your hosts and your guides. The family is accustomed to welcoming visitors to their uma and knows how to ensure a meaningful, safe, and deeply immersive experience.
Your Mentawai Hosts on Siberut
Your hosts are Teteu and her family. Together with her children and grandchildren, they form one of the core households you will live with during your stay.
Her two sons, Aman Manja and Aman Sasali, are among the youngest still-traditional kerei (shamans) on Siberut. The entire family plays an active role in hosting, teaching, and sharing daily life, ensuring that visitors gain genuine understanding rather than surface impressions.
Staying with this large family in their uma is very different from staying in most other uma, which usually house only a small family and few, if any, young children. Here, you experience true family life. Many local guides prefer to stay in uma with fewer people, simply to avoid the expense of bringing gifts for larger households.
Flying to Padang
You fly to the Minangkabau International Airport in Padang, West Sumatra. There are international flights from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and domestic flights from Jakarta and Medan.
On the day you arrive you have to go to the Muara Padang harbor and buy a Mentawai Fast ferry ticket, as sometimes the ferries are full.
Ferry to Siberut Island
From Padang you take the Mentawai Fast ferry to Muara Siberut, in the south of Siberut Island.
The ferry normally leaves at 7am in the morning on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, from the small Muara Padang harbor. On some days the ferry makes a stop in Sikabaluan in the north of the island, before continuing to Muara Siberut.
Note that sometimes ferries do not go, due to bad weather or on some public holidays. So always check in advance with Mentawai Fast, through their Facebook Page or Facebook Messenger.
Here is the current official time schedule. “Siberut” means Muara Siberut, your destination. Cost is IDR 350,000 / person one way (IDR 400,000 for VIP, with AC)
Meet my Mentawai Family
Some of the family members will pick you up at the Mentawai Fast ferry harbor in Maileppet, and will then take you to their Uma (longhouse) in Buttui.
Traveling from Muara Siberut to Ugai
Depending on what day you arrive, there are a few options.
The easiest and fastest option, for instance if you are short of time or travel with a few people together, is to take a pick-up car direct from the harbor in Maileppet and drive to Ugai village. This drive takes about 60 minutes, depending on (muddy…) road conditions. This option is recommended if you take the ferry from Padang on a Tuesday or Saturday. If you travel alone, you may take a (cheaper) motorbike taxi, but note that roads can be bad and the drive really uncomfortable.
The nicest option if time allows, is to drive to Kulukubuk, and from there you take a motorized canoe to Ugai. The canoe trip takes about 1 hour, depending on water levels. This option is recommended if you take the ferry from Padang on a Thursday, as you will have more time to travel inland.
Note that you can also travel the entire journey by canoe, rather than pick-up car, but you need almost a full day for this option. Best starting point is from the small village of Muntei, a 15-20 minute drive from Maileppet, where the boat arrives. The trip to Ugai will take about 5 hours, depending on water levels.
Hiking from Ugai to the Uma in Buttui
From the small village of Ugai you hike through the rain forest to the longhouse of my Mentawai family, in Buttui. This hike takes about an hour, depending on weather and your physical condition. The hike is over a small forest-covered hill and through little creeks, and some stretches of usually very muddy swamp forest. It’s not an easy walk for everybody, but determination and a good mood are more important than physical fitness! Family members can help you carry your luggage and food supplies.
Staying at the traditional Mentawai Uma in Buttui
You normally sleep in the longhouse, together with the entire family. You’ll sleep on a thin mattress under a large mosquito net.
Together with my family we have built 2 small traditional wooden huts for guests, right in front of their longhouse. These huts have proper mattresses, pillows, linen, blankets and mosquito nets and provide a more comfortable stay, with more privacy.
We have also recently built a proper western-style toilet, which makes a stay a lot more comfortable for most visitors. Washing you normally do in the usually crystal clear river, right in front of the house. An absolute great and serene experience!
The family will share with you their traditional food and also cook some basic but decent meals.
During your stay my family will show you around and you’ll see and experience truly authentic Mentawai daily life! You can take photos as you like, no problem. If you’re lucky you will be able to witness some ancient rituals or attend traditional ceremonies, or for instance learn about traditional hunting with bow and (poisonous!) arrows, or nighttime fishing for shrimp and fish…
It is also possible to go on a traditional hunt, and for instance spend a night in the jungle, either in a make-shift traditional shelter or Sapou, a small traditional hut further up in the rainforest that the Mentawai use to look after crops planted further away from the longhouse, or to overnight while on a hunt.
Another great activity is to visit a nearby waterfall, which has a spectacular jungle-surrounded location and natural whirlpool at its base. The hike to go there leads through spectacular rain forest, straight from the movies…
Back from Buttui to Padang
You will go back the same way as you came. Family members will bring you to Ugai and from there you drive by pick-up car to the harbor in Maileppet, to catch the Mentawai Fast ferry back to Padang. If you leave early, you may make a stop at the waterfall in Kulukubuk.
Costs
The cost will depend on the number of people and number of days. The biggest cost is transport (canoes and pick-up cars), so the longer you go the relative lower the (daily) cost. To give you a rough idea, a 6 day / 5 night trip for 1 or 2 people will cost around USD 650 in total (Including transport on the island, meals and some activities in Buttui and a donation to the family for staying with them. Excluding the ferry from / to Padang and private meals / consumptions in the harbor).
You can see a breakdown of the costs through the below link, for transport to get to Buttui and back, staying in the Uma, Aman Sasali’s fee and cost of some traditional activities.
Cost to Visit the Mentawai Alone
If you prefer a guide to accompany you we can arrange this. Cost is usually around IDR 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 / day, depending on which guide is available and the length of your trip.
Sample Itinerary
Traveling to this remote part of the world is an adventurous journey and you may need to adjust along the way, but this is a common itinerary. I recommend to take the ferry on a Thursday, and take the ferry back the next Tuesday. This will give you 5 nights and 4 full days with the Mentawai.
Day 0:
Arrive in Padang, West Sumatra.
Go to the Mentawai Fast office in the harbor Muara Padang, to buy your ferry ticket.
Stay overnight somewhere close to the harbor.
Day 1:
Take a taxi to the Muara Padang harbor, to catch the 7am boat to Siberut Island.
You travel to Muara Siberut, in the south of the island, where you will arrive either around 10.40 am (on Thursdays) or 13.45 pm (on Tuesdays and Saturdays).
At the harbor you will meet some my Mentawai family members. They will take and guide you from there.
To save travel time by canoe and if road conditions allow you will drive by open pick-up car to the small village of Kulukubuk, which lies further up-river. This drive takes about an hour.
From Kulukubuk you take a motorized canoe and continue your journey upriver, to Ugai. This canoe trip will take about 1 hour, depending on water levels.
From Ugai you hike to the Buttui river valley, where a handful of traditional Uma are spread out along the river banks. Your destination is the last Uma upstream, which belongs to Aman Manja and Aman Sasali, two of the younger remaining traditional Mentawai Shamans on the island. This will be your base for the next few days. The hike through the rain forest and along creeks is about 1 hour.
Late afternoon & evening: time to relax and get to know the family.
Overnight at the Uma in Buttui.
Day 2 until 5:
Time to experience and explore (and photograph!) Mentawai daily life and culture: traditional hunting, fishing, food preparation, etc. If you’re lucky, there may be a traditional ceremony!
Overnight at the Uma in Buttui.
Day 6:
After early breakfast you pack your belongings and hike back to Ugai. From there you can take direct a pick-up car to the harbor in Maileppet.
If you leave early, you can visit the waterfall near Kulukubuk, along the way.
The fast-boat to Padang leaves around 12.00 noon (on Thursdays) or 14.00 pm (on Tuesdays and Saturdays).
You will arrive in Padang around 6.30 pm. If you are lucky you will see some dolphins accompanying the boat and can enjoy a nice sunset from the roof-deck of the boat!
From the harbor Muara Padang you take transport to your accommodation in Padang, as in the evening there are no flights out of Padang anymore.