SR-BV-31: BARIO – LAND OF A THOUSAND HANDSHAKES 3D/2N

If you are tired of cities and people, if you want to discover the beauty of a simple life, if you want to get to know a small village in the mountains, get to know the local people and live without internet and communications, then this beautiful, remote place is just for you. It is here that it feels like people know how to be happy.
The very name Bario already sounds like music. This inaccessible place is located 1000 m above sea level, so the climate here is excellent: +26 degrees during the day, but at night the temperature drops to +8 degrees. This place remained untouched by civilization until the middle of the last century, thanks to the fact that it is difficult to reach: Bario is guarded by mountains and forests, there were no roads, only dangerous paths along the mountain slopes. The highest mountain is Mount Muruda (2423 m). This is a sacred place for local residents, where you are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages and smoke. Prayers are held on the mountain every 2 years. Thanks to their isolation, the people of Bario have preserved their simple way of life and traditions. The total number of inhabitants in 16 villages is 1487 people. The hard-to-reach location saved the people of Bario from bounty hunters and the Japanese army. The residents belong to the Kelabit ethnic group of Sarawak state, which is distinguished from other groups by industriousness, which was the most important character trait. The inhabitants worked so hard that there was no time to go hunting for people (historical data shows that as early as the beginning of the 20th century head hunting took place in the Kelabit tribe), because it was necessary to grow rice, which is still considered the best in SE Asia, to get salt from salt springs and go hunting animals. Another peculiarity of the Kelabit was that tattoos were done on women, not on men, as is customary for other ethnic groups on the island of Borneo. Relations were free between women and men, virginity of girls was not valued. And, of course, the long ears, stretched from early childhood with heavy metals, are one of the features of the beauty of the local population. Tearing off those ears meant great sorrow.
12.00 Meeting with the guide at Bario Airport. Departure to the guest house, getting to know the family, accommodation.
13.30 Family lunch, free time.
14.30 Departure for an excursion during which you will visit the memorial park dedicated to the heroes of the Second World War. More than 2,000 soldiers died here, including both local warriors and soldiers from New Zealand and Great Britain. You will visit the crash site of an RAF plane in 1964. The plane is well preserved, you can also see the cockpit.
18.00 Family dinner and free time.

08.00 The long house of the Kelabit ethnic group.
09.00 Departure for an excursion during which you will visit salty mineral springs, a pineapple plantation and a souvenir market.
The tour begins with a visit to the salt springs. The guide will show you how the locals still get their salt today, and it is still a valuable gift when you visit. The spring looks like an ordinary spring, the only difference is that the water in it is salty. To make salt, water is boiled for 24 hours on fire, so first you have to collect wood, then put the resulting salt in bamboo cylinders to continue burning it until the salt becomes hard.
13.00 Lunch with the family, free time.
14.00 Departure to the long house of the Kelabit ethnographic group.
18.00 Dinner with the family, free time for interesting conversations with the owners of the house.

08.00 Breakfast and free time.
09.00 Departure to Bario airport. End of the tour (opposite the airport there is a small cafe where you can taste freshly squeezed pineapple juice and chat with the locals while you wait for the plane).