Indonesia. The name itself conjures images of dancers clad in sumptuous gold colours compounded with the most vibrant and energetic blues, greens and pinks. Fleeting pictures of exquisite temples, dense forests, soft powdered beaches with transparent turquoise sea and mountainous terrain transition their way into the mind.  Tourism, however, especially by these far away companies who cater to the wealthy and who’ve spent millions on building all-inclusive resorts, has exponentially added to the climate change problem while also overwriting cultural traditions with Western values. Understandably, there’s an increasing concern amongst seasoned travellers as to how to reduce their own carbon footprint and preserve the existence of local communities.

High-end luxury hotels are leading the way here by using the profits of luxury travel to increase sustainability, so as to be considered eco-friendly. One such hotel is Nihi Sumba, an award-winning luxury resort situated on the remote Sumba Island of Indonesia. Nihi Sumba has been voted one of the top hotels in the world for excellence and for being one of the world’s most eco-friendly luxury hotels by Conde Nast, Travel + Leisure and by many more travel awards. What’s more encouraging is their commitment to celebrating, improving and giving back to the Sumbanese people by lessening the consequences of poverty. Travellers who wish to indulge in the exoticism of Indonesia can do so here while knowing the money they’ve spent has funded and given jobs to many of the locals. Here guests gain an added sense of value to their travels, knowing they’ve helped future generations and helped cultivate cultural traditions on Sumba Island.

With the Savu Sea glistening for miles and miles around Sumba, it is easy to imagine oneself lost in paradise. The private wood-inspired villas adorned with thatched roofs and Nihi’s signature canopy beds are hidden within a luscious green jungle. The magic of these treehouse-style villas is in part its harmony with and immersion in nature. It also speaks of Nihi’s leading role in creating a luxury resort that is both economically, but more importantly, environmentally sustainable. From private villas to exclusive estates, the accommodation at Nihi Sumba takes being immersed in luxury to another level by coupling it with a homey atmosphere and staggering sceneries of rolling rice fields, dramatic clifftop views and miles of aquamarine ocean. This Eden is made even more comfortable by the indoor-outdoor aesthetic that effortlessly blends the outdoor lounge areas, lap pools, cold plunge pools, with the exquisite indoor dining areas and a fully equipped kitchen – should you decide to test your culinary skills.

The resort’s Turtle Hatchery is fighting against the negative impact humans and climate change are having on endangered sea turtles. In 2004, this initiative ensured that thousands of turtle eggs were no longer sold in local markets. Instead, the resort encourages the local communities to donate good quality eggs in order for them to be buried under the sand of their hatchery for seven to twelve weeks. Here, guests have the chance to be a part of something much larger than themselves. If they’re lucky visitors might see five of the remaining seven turtle species in the world hatch and be released into the ocean. Nothing can compare to the feeling one gets when witnessing a life born that – without intervention – might otherwise have perished.

Nihi’s Water Project enables guests to drink locally cleansed water in pristine, reusable glass bottles decorated with Nihi stickers. There is no doubt that visitors will feel luxury is at its finest here with this accessibility to pure water. However, this project is underlined with much more heart-warming good intentions. Born out of a desire to preserve the island’s ecosystem, rid themselves of single-use plastics and reduce plastic waste, this Water Project has found a way to create clean fresh water from seawater in an environmentally friendly way. In one respect this project has found a solution to the ocean’s undrinkable and difficult to source water.

In collaboration with many professionals, Nihi Sumba resort has built wells that can pump seawater through a system that removes salinity and impurities and later remineralise it. Not only does the hotel share clean water around its resort, but it has hand-dug more than 65 water wells, 250 water stations, 25 generators and 42 hand pumps which have a daily capacity of 570,000 litres of water provided to more than 27,000 people daily around the island. Such generosity from a high-end hotel is a shining example of what can be achieved for the economic progress of the hotel, the health of the land and environment and the wellbeing of its local communities. This offers unique privileges for guests as they get to see the island, not from a westernised lens of paradise, but from a realistic, hardworking perspective of daily life and its unavoidable struggles.

The plethora of activities for guests at Nihi is what you’d expect from a luxury resort in Indonesia. If one wishes to be introduced to a ray of experiences impossible to find in daily life, then that is exactly what one gets here. From hiking to local Stone Age sites, experiencing the rice paddies, fun in the water – surfing, kite surfing fishing and paddleboarding – to horseback riding or swimming with horses, there’s something for everyone. These activities are also culturally immersive; Chris and Charly’s Chocolate Factory is the perfect introduction to how locals use hectares of cocoa plantations to grow organic chocolate. Nihi takes one on a further discovery of the Island’s culture, with visits to local villages and markets to see local arts and crafts or megalithic burial sites. It is here that guests can experience and see first-hand the work that the Sumba Foundation, created by Nihi’s owner Chris Burch, is doing for the community. Just as important as discovering the local communities, wellness is an integral part of Nihi Sumba. Set on the top of a cliff-side ridge overlooking Nihiwatu Beach, Nihi’s yoga pavilion takes guests on a body, soul, and mind journey, while the Boathouse Spa offers signature massages rooted in local technique and knowledge that guarantee guests will enter a state of ecstasy.

The Sumba Foundation has created educational programs that include teaching 300 students English in a classroom three time per week and providing libraries and other essential educational necessities to Indonesia’s otherwise unequipped facilities. In addition, the Sumba Foundation ensures that its 16 new schools use their eight-point course to teach health and hygiene while also pioneering the way to lessen the effects of Malaria by building four Sumba Foundation clinics that treat 25,000 patients annually. Their efforts to preserve the fragile culture and Sumbanese way of life have proudly confirmed by the statistics showing that they have reduced the rate of Malaria by 93% and malnourishment by a similarly impressive percentage!

Nihi’s mission to reduce poverty has had economic benefits on the island while developing a friendly and respectful relationship with the surrounding communities. Hundreds of jobs have been created inside and out of the resort as staff are hired from the local community. They bring with them extensive knowledge of the island, which allows guests to feel included and a part of the community. An all-inclusive resort takes on a whole new meaning, especially with their dining experiences that use local knowledge to provide local flavours produced fresh from their on-site organic garden and fish straight from the shores. The open-air Ombak Restaurant and Lounge Bar is ideal for savouring local cuisine surrounded by the indigenous flora and fauna, whereas Nio Beach Club and Pool allow guests to dine inches from the sea.

Nihi Sumba promises a ‘vacation with a purpose. A destination with meaning’ and a ‘place to connect with something larger than oneself’. With its luxurious accommodation and abounding activities, guests certainly feel encompassed by something larger than oneself; by nature, wildlife and the vast Savu Sea. But Nihi Sumba’s slogan’s take on a deeper meaning. From the beginning of the Sumba Foundation, its water, health, education and economic projects have bestowed an incredible gift on the island, its people and guests who get to continue with their travels but also give a little back to the local community and the earth. Nihi Sumba is at the heart of responsible travel!