Following breakfast, we boat back to Bungus Beach and transfer to buses / mini vans for the beautiful drive into the Sumatran highlands.

	A Padang-style lunch, featuring over 20 local delicacies, will be enjoyed by all before we set off by road to visit many ancient Minankabau cultural sites.
Our first stop will be Balimbing Village with traditional Minangkabau houses dating back to the 16th century. We will be invited to enter one of these highly stylized clan houses to see how the people here live and to learn the fascinating story of how they came to be known as the “Victorious Buffalo People”

We next stop in Pagaruyung to see the “Queen’s Palace” before driving on to the Sungai Tarab coffee mill. This ancient mill, powered by a water wheel, pounds into fine grinds some of the finest coffee in the world, all with little or no human effort. The aroma is heavenly

By late afternoon we enter the Hararu Valley, a real-life Shangri-la with spectacular cliffs surrounding a lush valley of waterfalls, rice fields and forest

Our home for the next two nights is the idyllic Echo Lodge built in the traditional Minangkabau style. We will have time to hike to a nearby waterfall before dinner and an evening circle session around a fire

Overnight: Echo Lodge