Waingapu
| Kota Waingapu Waingapu |
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| Coordinates | 9 ° 39 ′ S , 120 ° 16 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Indonesia | ||
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Geographical unit |
Nusa Tenggara | ||
| province | Nusa Tenggara Timur | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ID-NT | ||
| Kabupaten | Eastern Sumba | ||
| Residents | 10,710 | ||
| Website | www.waingapu.com (Indonesian) | ||
Waingapu [ wai.ŋa.pu ] is the administrative center and the largest city of Sumba Island in Indonesia . It is located in the province of East Nusa Tenggara . The city has a port and the island's largest airport, Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport . It is considered the best landing point on the island by air and water. Waingapu has around 10,710 inhabitants.
Waingapu is located on the northeast coast of the island. A few kilometers northwest of it there is a beautiful long sandy beach (Pantai Kuta or Londalima), which cannot be reached by public transport. The climate in this region is extremely dry and the landscape is rocky.
There are no tourist attractions in Waingapu. The place is the starting point for excursions to the villages of East Sumba. About three kilometers east of the city is Prailiu, a village known as the center of Ikat weaving. Ikat cloths have various functions in East Sumba - they can express the social status of the wearer, but they can also be part of a sacred rite, for example when they are used to wrap a corpse.
