Pasola is held every February and March. Wanokaka and Lamboya in West Sumba usually ride in February; Gaura and Kodi follow in March. The exact dates are set by Rato ritual priests after the Nyale sea-worm reading and are typically confirmed only one to two weeks ahead, so plan around a flexible window rather than a fixed day.
If you searched “when is Pasola festival in Sumba” hoping for one date, the honest answer is that nobody, including the riders, knows it until the priests announce it. That stops being a problem once you see how the calendar is built.
Why does Pasola have no fixed date?
Pasola runs on the Marapu ritual calendar, not the Gregorian one. Each Pasola district has its own Rato, the ritual priests who watch the lunar cycle at the tail of the rainy season. Around the seventh or eighth night after the relevant new moon, the Rato walk to the shore before dawn to read the Nyale, the sea worms that surface on the reef once a year. Colour, quantity and condition are read as an omen for the harvest. Only then do the priests fix the day the horsemen ride.
What that means for a traveller:
- Announcements are late. Usually one to two weeks ahead, sometimes less, relayed by village heads and the regency tourism office. There is no central calendar.
- Each district rides separately. Four main areas ride on different days across roughly four weeks, so one trip can catch more than one.
- The moon moves the month. A district that rode in mid-February one year can ride in late February the next.
- Rain rarely cancels; ritual can delay. A death in a leading clan or an incomplete rite can push a field back by days.
| Pasola area | Regency | Usual month | Gateway airport | Drive from gateway (indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wanokaka | West Sumba | February | Tambolaka (TMC) | 1.5 to 2 hours |
| Lamboya | West Sumba | February | Tambolaka (TMC) | 1.5 to 2 hours |
| Gaura (Lamboya Barat) | West Sumba | March | Tambolaka (TMC) | around 2 hours |
| Kodi (six fields) | Southwest Sumba | March, with February rounds in some years | Tambolaka (TMC) | 1 to 1.5 hours |
What were the official 2026 Kodi Pasola dates?
Kodi is the one district that published a formal schedule for 2026. According to RRI, the Kodi calendar was announced on 21 January 2026 at Kampung Mbuku Bhani, about three weeks before the first field rode. That is the clearest recent example of how much notice to expect.
| Field (Kodi, Southwest Sumba) | 2026 date | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Homba Kalayo | Monday 9 February 2026 | 08:00 to 12:00 WITA |
| Bondo Kawango | Tuesday 10 February 2026 | 13:00 to 17:00 WITA |
| Rara Winyo | Wednesday 11 February 2026 | 08:00 to 13:00 WITA |
| Maliti Bondo Ate | Monday 9 March 2026 | announced; time confirmed locally |
| Waiha | Tuesday 10 March 2026 | announced; time confirmed locally |
| Wainyapu | Wednesday 11 March 2026 | announced; time confirmed locally |
Two things stand out. Kodi rode in two rounds in 2026, three fields in February and three in March, so “Kodi is March” is a tendency, not a law. And sessions last four or five hours; arrive after the opening rites and you have missed the part that matters.
Indahnesia.id lists the overall 2026 festival window as 15 February to 15 March, yet the Kodi calendar shows fields riding on 9 February. Any published window is a guide. For 2027 onward the Rato will read the Nyale again, and every date printed before that reading, including the ones on this page, is an estimate. A Pasola VIP tour is built on exactly that assumption: the itinerary holds a window, and the guide moves the day inside it once the villages confirm.
How do you book a Pasola trip when the date is not confirmed?
The method that works is a window booking. Reserve a block of nights that covers the likely dates, keep the private guide and 4×4 on standby for the whole block, and let the ride day slide inside it. Prices below are per person, subject to season and group size, and every total is a quote until lodges are verified.
- Pick a district, not a date. Wanokaka or Lamboya means a February window based in West Sumba. Kodi means a March window based in Southwest Sumba, with early February rounds possible, as 2026 showed.
- Hold six to eight nights. Longer than a standard 4D3N circuit, because the ride can fall on any day of the block.
- Book flights that can move. As of 2026, Wings Air and NAM Air fly Bali to Tambolaka daily in roughly 90 minutes; a Tambolaka to Labuan Bajo link (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday) launched in July 2026; TransNusa announced direct Denpasar to Waingapu four times weekly in June 2026. Schedules change; confirm times only when the ticket is issued.
- Get lodge terms in writing. NIHI Sumba villa rates are quoted on request by its reservation team for your dates and villa; NIHI’s rate conditions state all rates exclude a 21% government tax and service charge, with promotional offers subject to availability at time of booking. Lelewatu and Cap Karoso sit in the premium-boutique tier. Lodge nights are billed at each property’s published tariff plus tax and service, never inside a land-only price.
- Fill the spare days on the same coast. Sunset sandalwood-horse rides on West Sumba beaches, Lapopu waterfall, Weekuri Lagoon and Mandorak beach in Kodi, the megalithic villages of Praijing and Ratenggaro.
| Cost item | Benchmark, as of August 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Private car and driver, standard comfort | Quote on request | |
| Luxury-tier 4×4 with cooler box and onboard Wi-Fi | Quote on request | recommended for a full-day field wait |
| Accommodation-based tourism levy | roughly 10%, reported effective 1 January 2026 | applied to lodge bills |
IndonesiaJuara’s Sumba Private Trip 4D3N is priced from USD 390 per person (8 guests) to USD 700 per person (2 guests), depending on group size, with hotel twin share, entrance fees and meals included, per its table labelled 2025, as listed on IndonesiaJuara (checked 2026-09-16). Indonesia Juara Trip’s Sumba Private Trip 6D5N is listed at USD 570–1,020 per person depending on group size (USD 1,020 for 2 guests, USD 570 for 8 guests), including twin-share hotel, entrance fees and 15 meals, in its 2025 USD price table, as listed on Indonesia Juara Trip (checked 2026-09-16).
Where should you base for each Pasola field?
| You want to see | Base region | Lodge options (verified location) | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wanokaka Pasola | West Sumba | NIHI Sumba (Hoba Wawi, Wanokaka); Lelewatu (Wanokaka) | The field is in the lodge’s own district; a dawn start with almost no drive |
| Lamboya or Gaura Pasola | West Sumba | NIHI Sumba; Lelewatu | Roughly an hour west by 4×4, indicative |
| Kodi Pasola, any of the six fields | Southwest Sumba | Cap Karoso (Karoso Beach, Kodi, about 50 minutes from TMC, resort estimate) | Kodi fields share one coastal strip; Ratenggaro and Weekuri are on the way |
For two districts, split the stay: a West Sumba lodge for the February round, Cap Karoso for March, or the reverse. A newly paved highway now crosses the island in under four hours, according to a 2026 Lombok-Sumba-Sumbawa investment report, which matters if you add East Sumba afterwards: fly into Tambolaka, drive east for the ikat villages of Prailiu and Rende, Tanggedu waterfall and the Walakiri mangrove sunset, then fly out of Waingapu. All drive times are indicative.
What should you expect on Pasola day?
Be at the field before 07:00; the opening rites, first charges and best light all come early. Your guide places you behind the line the village sets, and that line moves. The spears are blunt-tipped wooden hola, but riders are injured most years and spectators occasionally are; blood on the ground is read as a good omen. Stay with the guide.
- Drones stay in the car. Guidance updated January 2026: 15 km from airports, 30 m from people and buildings, daylight only, never over villages, temples or ritual grounds. A Pasola field is a ritual ground.
- Ask who holds the guide licence. Law No. 18 of 2025, effective 29 October 2025, and Regulation 6/2025 tighten licensed-guide and adventure-safety standards.
- Health. Hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus protection is recommended.
- Dress and cash. Shoulders and knees covered; carry IDR in small notes for village contributions, which are cash only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pasola held on the same dates every year?
No. Pasola follows the lunar cycle and the Nyale reading, so each district’s date shifts from year to year and is fixed only after the Rato priests announce it, usually one to two weeks ahead. The 2026 Kodi calendar, announced 21 January 2026, is a useful pattern for notice periods, not a template for 2027 dates.
Can I see Pasola in both February and March on one trip?
Yes, with a split stay. Wanokaka and Lamboya in West Sumba usually ride in February, while Gaura and Kodi ride in March, and in 2026 Kodi also held a February round. A window of roughly four weeks is impractical for most guests, so the common compromise is a six-to-eight-night block timed to one district’s expected round.
What happens if the Rato priests move the date after I have booked?
Your guide and 4×4 are already on standby for the full block, so the itinerary reorders itself around the new day and the spare days become horse rides, waterfalls or villages. Lodge nights follow each property’s own change terms, which is why written cancellation and amendment conditions are requested before any deposit is paid.