Bendungan Kambaniru (Kambaniru Dam)

It gets busy on weekends, but other times are relatively quiet.

Nine kilometres south of Waingapu, the drive takes you through some small villages where woven bamboo for housing materials is produced. This is an interesting stop to make on the way, as the locals can show you how they remove the bamboo skin, and skilfully weave it into large panels that become walls and ceilings. They’ll happily show you the scars they get from doing it, too.

At Bendungan Kambaniru, the views of the wide river and rolling green hills (or brown in dry season) are well worth the short drive and deserve a few snaps. You can cross the bridge over the falls to admire the vista from every angle. Completed in 1992, the dam was designed as a catchment to irrigate 1,440 hectares of crops.

PLN, Indonesia’s electricity company, are working on plans that will see Sumba’s power produced from 100 percent renewable energy sources. They suggest Bendungan Kambaniru has the potential to produce two times 500 kilowatts of hydro power — that sounds good to us, as many villages we visited still have no access to any electricity.

A bemo from Terminal Kota takes about 20 minutes and will cost 5,000 rupiah. To come back, you’ll need to hail down a passing bemo. An ojek for the return trip should be about 20,000 rupiah but you will have to negotiate further for waiting time.

By Sally Arnold.
Last updated on 1st May, 2016.

Bendungan Kambaniru (Kambaniru Dam)
9km south of Waingapu

Location map for Bendungan Kambaniru (Kambaniru Dam)