Tuck into traditional dishes in an Indonesian forest

The Conscious Traveller

- Claire Turrell

SUMATRA, Indonesia — Smoke rises from the terracotta stove as another plump pink fish caught fresh from the nearby river is stuffed with wild turmeric and placed onto the wood fire. A sambal is being deftly ground into a paste with a stone, while green berries that taste like sugar snap peas, foraged minutes ago, are placed in a bowl.

This is not your average menu or restaurant. It is a feast of traditional dishes, held within a bamboo forest in Sumatra. The hosts are women who are part of the Paduka Community, a group of home cooks who live within a seventh-century Buddhist temple complex called Muaro Jambi.

It is one of the largest temple complexes in Southeast Asia and one of the last legacies of the Srivijaya kingdom (seventh to 11th century). The complex is a potential Unesco World Heritage site, but as huge sections of it still lie beneath the earth, it remains on the tentative list.

Even for Indonesians, this attraction remains under the radar. Holidaymakers tend to sweep past to visit the tigers in Sumatra's Kerinci Seblat National Park or travel farther north to Lake Toba.

For centuries, Muaro Jambi has sat quietly in the wings, but that might soon change. In June 2024, the Paduka Community began hosting local feasts for visitors to showcase its culture.

The group comprises around 40 women, aged between 22 and 67. They take tourists on a gastronomical tour of their home by hosting dining pop-ups within the temple ruins, upon the riverways and in a bamboo forest. The location of each dinner is a surprise.

Travellers can reach Muaro Jambi by flying from Indonesian capital Jakarta to the city of Jambi—which is about 1 hour 20 minutes—then taking a 40-minute taxi ride to the temple grounds. Guests are picked up by a new fleet of electric tuk-tuks, launched in 2025, that transport them from their hotel to dining locations within the 3,981ha complex.