Moramo Waterfall: the climb down is the easy part

Air Terjun Moramo falls through a pocket of lowland forest in Konawe Selatan, about two hours by road from Kendari. It is not a single drop but a staircase of them, each spilling into a shallow pool before the next, with the tallest at the bottom and the canopy closing overhead. The water is cool, the rock is dark, and the noise of the main fall carries up the gorge.

The walk down is the thing people remember. A concrete stairway, commonly quoted at about a thousand steps though nobody agrees on the exact count, cuts through the trees to the base of the falls. It is steep, wet in places and much longer than it looks from the car park. The reward is a series of pools you can swim in, with the forest pressing in on every side.

The drive south from Kendari

Kendari is the obvious base. The road leaves the city and runs south through coconut, cocoa and patches of rice, past villages where the main street is also the market. The turn for the waterfall is signed, and the last stretch is a narrow lane through gardens and secondary forest, with the car park at the end of it.

Allow about two hours each way, more if it has rained, and treat the drive as part of the day rather than a transfer. There is no scheduled transport to the entrance. Most visitors come by car or scooter, and a driver will usually wait. Ask at your hotel in Kendari the evening before and agree the price in advance, including the waiting time. The road is sealed most of the way, with a rough patch or two where the surface has broken up, and the final lane is single-track. Scooters are fine in dry weather and miserable in the rain.

Counting the steps down

The stairway is the reason Moramo has a reputation. It drops in long flights, with handrails on the steep sections and landings where you can stop and pretend to admire the view. Coming down takes twenty minutes at an easy pace. Coming up takes longer, and the last flights are the ones that hurt.

Wear shoes with grip. The concrete is often slick with spray and leaf litter, and sandals are a bad idea on the lower flights. There are no lifts, no carts and no shortcut back to the car park. If your knees are dubious, the pools at the second and third tiers give you most of the scenery for half the climb. The landings are also the only places to pass, so expect to step aside for people coming up.

Pools, tiers and the main drop

The falls come down in several tiers over a limestone face. The pools between them are shallow enough to stand in and cool enough to be bracing. The main drop is the widest and the loudest, a curtain of water into a pool that is deep in the middle and ringed with wet rock.

Swimming is allowed and commonplace, but there are no lifeguards and the rocks are slippery. Stay out of the plunge pool directly under the main fall when the water is high, keep an eye on children, and do not climb the wet face between tiers. In the dry season the flow is gentler and the pools clearer; after heavy rain the stairway can be closed. Bring a towel and a change of clothes, because the ride back in wet swimmers is long and the car will not thank you.

What to bring, and when to go

The dry season, roughly June to September, is the easiest time: less mud on the steps, clearer water and a better chance of sun on the pools. The forest is greenest in the wet season, but the stairway turns slippery and the river can run brown for days.

Bring water, a dry bag for your phone and a change of clothes if you plan to swim. There are warungs and a ticket desk at the entrance, plus basic toilets. Take cash, because there is no ATM within walking distance, and leeches are present on the lower paths after rain.

• Start early; the car park fills by mid-morning at weekends.
• Allow three to four hours for the round trip from Kendari.
• Shoes with grip, not sandals, for the stairway.
• Carry cash for the entrance and a warung lunch.
• Skip the climb if it has rained hard for two days.

The coast on the way home

Most people drive straight back, which is a shame. The same road passes close to the coast, where fishing boats tie up at small jetties and the afternoon light comes off the water. Toronipa, south of Kendari, is the usual stop: a long sweep of beach, a few warungs and boats drawn up under the palms. The water is calm enough for a paddle, and the warungs grill fish in the late afternoon.

It makes a gentle end to a hot day, and it explains why people base themselves in Kendari rather than rushing the waterfall from Baubau. Two nights in the city is enough: one for Moramo, one for the coast and the market, with an early start for the stairs.

Questions people actually ask

How many steps are there at Moramo Waterfall?

It is commonly quoted at about a thousand, but counts vary and nobody local agrees on an exact figure. Treat it as several hundred steep steps down and the same number back up, and allow more time than you think.

Can you swim at Moramo Waterfall?

Yes, in the pools between the tiers. There are no lifeguards, the rocks are slippery and the water can rise quickly after rain, so stay out of the main plunge pool in high water and keep children close.