Ngalung Kalla
Earth care, people care, and fair share
BWRAG certified
The surf
Surf season rocks in Sumba from March until January - an incredible ten-month period! We have one of the longest seasons on the planet. Then the monsoons come in January and February winds switch around. Thirty minutes away, there are a few valleys that are offshore and have a couple of enjoyable and long mellow right-hand points that come into season.
Dawn patrol. Paddle out to watch the colors meld into the morning. The seabirds on the cliffs just waking up and starting to do their thing. Ideal tides with offshore winds out the valley and perfect peelers with just our guests and friends out.
A variety of waves nearby ensure that everyone gets their fill nearly every day - rights or lefts over sand or reef, large or small, we can get you onto it. Our twelve-meter aluminum speedboat with twin 175 outboards is the perfect vessel to hit any of the best waves in Sumba- most local trips are included in one stay. Long-range trips are chargeable excursions should the elements line up for a remote strike.
Breaks
The lodge
Ngalung Kalla Retreat is situated on the southwest coast of Sumba. We’re six beautiful bungalows, an oceanfront restaurant, lounge, yoga studio, spa, beaches, and a magnificent pool. Here, you will find comfort and a quiet environment. We have preserved a large area surrounding our retreat so nature and life can go on as it has for hundreds of years.
Ngalung Kalla is just as much about what isn’t here as what is here. Simple but extremely relaxing. Serene quiet. Zero pollution. Great vibes.
Travelers that enjoy us the most are the ones who prefer the less beaten path. They want great authentic adventures. Good lovings, Full bellies. Deep sleep, wild dreaming.
Food
Our restaurant is in the central common area, and guests usually eat together on mahogany picnic tables under the stars. Our team of fabulous ladies cook up all day long to keep us fueled for any adventures that grab us. Food is primarily vegetarian with lots of fresh and local produce and seafood from the surrounding waters. Portions are large to keep even the most avid athletes going strong.
The retreat
A central lounge and library provide a friendly hangout if you’re feeling a little more social or can’t quite make it back to your bungalow before the next meal. Our beach is 225 steps from the restaurant through a fabulous little valley. At the beach, we have access to all the water activities. It’s a beautiful 400 meter long protected crescent with a beautiful mix of sand and smooth cobblestones of all colors.
We have gardens throughout the property, providing us with as much food as possible from the land. Besides that, extensive hiking trails link up with awesome little adventurous hikes.
Our infinity and beyond, solar-powered and salt-water chlorinated pool is accessible over a 60-meter cable bridge spanning meters above the forest below. The experience of swimming here is not to be missed- especially at sunset.
Guests also have full access to our Alloy Speedboat, which is available for surf trips, sport fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, sightseeing, and more!
Activities
From surfing in our incredible bay to practicing yoga in the several yoga spaces in our retreat, our guests have various activities that they can do while staying with us:
- Snorkeling
- Nature walks
- Shelling
- Massages
- Mountain biking
- Sportfishing
- Spearfishing
- Kite surfing
- Foiling
- Cultural tours
- Waterfall adventures
Besides these, we have a full range of paid activities that we can organize upon request.
Rooms
Location
Getting there
Ngalung Kalla Retreat
Christian Sea
We strive to provide an adventurous, healthy, comfortable experience for guests exploring Sumba, Indonesia. We have designed the eco-retreat with maximum respect for the Earth and consideration for our local climate and people. The local Sumba indigenous culture and community have a high priority in all aspects of this retreat's design and implementation.
We’ve built Ngalung Kalla with the local community to mesh perfectly into the ecology and endemic culture of the area. It’s a culmination of our lives traveling the globe searching for epic waves, epic adventures, and amazing people.
Today, the lodge is a family-run and community-minded affair. With fifteen years of experience on the island, we’ve been able to pour years of great Sumba experience into the design and implementation of this divine retreat. We’ve built Ngalung Kalla with the three tenants of Permaculture in mind - Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share.
Sustainability/responsibility
Ngalung Kalla aims to be the world's best eco-retreat in its genre. We designed the place using permaculture principles and everything we do falls in line with that. Our bamboo and hardwood bungalow with thatched roofs are entirely sourced from within our community. The bamboo and wood are soaked in the seawater for treatment. When the grass on the roof needs replacement it goes into our compost system that ends up in our garden and agroforestry systems.
Water is a limited resource on Sumba so we didn’t want to be wasting a drop or taxing too hard from the local groundwater. We are always catching and storing rainwater from any roofs that can. We also use some groundwater wells. We’ve designed it to be super water efficient. All bungalows have dry composting toilets, gray-water systems for the showers and sink, and fruit trees, and edible landscaping that fit the climate.
Our energy needs are minimal as our rooms are designed to fit perfectly with the cool breezy open-air climate. No energy-guzzling A/C’s needed or used on the property but we do use rechargeable fans for the nights if needed. All of our refrigeration and most of our electricity are provided by our off-grid solar system and augmented by a super-efficient generator when needed. It is our goal for the entire retreat to get off of fossil fuel-based power as soon as we can install a slighlty larger system.
We’ve created quite a large environmental preserve around us for rehabilitating the natural flora and fauna. We are always expanding this and one of our next projects is working to preserve about 250 hectares of native dryland forest into a protected Nature Preserve.
The river mouth and bay where we live is a very important juvenile fish habitat. We are in the process of making a preserve out of it and handing it over to a community-based system for protection as a Fish Replenishment Area. Only artisanal fishing methods will be allowed.
