Waingapu is the largest town in the eastern half of Sumba island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It is the capital town of the East Sumba Regency (Sumba Timur).

Waingapu
View of Waingapu, Sumba
View of Waingapu, Sumba
Waingapu is located in Sumba
Waingapu
Waingapu
Location in Indonesia
Waingapu is located in Indonesia
Waingapu
Waingapu
Waingapu (Indonesia)
Coordinates: 09°39′S 120°16′E / 9.650°S 120.267°E / -9.650; 120.267
CountryIndonesia
RegionLesser Sunda Islands
ProvinceEast Nusa Tenggara
RegencyEast Sumba
Area
 • Total
125.8 km2 (48.6 sq mi)
Population
 (mid 2023 estimate)
 • Total
71,218
 [1][2]
Time zoneUTC+8 (WITA / UTC)

Not to be mistaken for Wainyapu, a traditional village in the western end of the island.

History

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About 5 km south of Waingapu, the prehistorical site of Lambanapu has been dated at around 2,800 BCE.[3]

Transportation

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Aviation

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East Sumba's Waingapu Airport 'Umbu Mehang Kunda' (IATA: WGP - ICAO: WRRW) is located in Waingapu.

Maritime

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The town is served by ferries from nearby islands.[4] The Pelni Company runs two ferries through Waingapu. The KM Awu runs every two weeks on the two-way itinenary Benoa (Bali) – Bima (Sumbawa) – Waingapu – Ende (Flores) – SavuRote IslandKupang (West Timor) – Larantuka (Flores) – Kalabahi (Alor Island). The smaller KM Wilis runs more or less every week on the two-way itinenary Batulicin (Borneo) – Makassar (South Sulawesi) – Labuan Bajo (Flores) – Waikelo (Waitabula, Kota Tambolaka district, Sumba Barat Daya regency) – Waingapu – EndeKupangKalabahi. Both use the new port (in front of the old port but 7 km by land between the two ports).[4]

The Sabuk Nusantara Company runs various freight and passenger boats linking Waingapu and Waikelo with Sumbawa, Flores and Timor about once a week (n° 79 generally for Waingapu and n° 49 for Waikelo). There is no fixed departure time.[4]

ASDP Indonesia Ferry has small ferries that do not run when the sea gets somewhat rough. It uses the port located 2 km beyond the new port and 9 km from town. Leaving from Waingapu, it does return trips twice a week to Aimere (the port for Ngada Regency, Flores), once a week to Ende, once a week to Savu and three times a week to Kupang.[4]

Waingapu is the only port in the island that can accommodate oil tankers - which often run late.[4]

Waingapu is the only town that has two bus stations on its periphery, one in the south and one in the west, each about 5 km out of town. But almost all buses depart from the old “Terminal Kota” in the town center, near the market or on Jalan El Tari; they probably stop by in the bus stations.[4]

Administrative divisions

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The town comprises two administrative districts of the regency, sub-divided into 11 urban (kelurahan) and 4 rural (desa) villages. The western part is the administrative Waingapu (town) District, while the eastern part is the separate Kambera District. Their areas and their populations at the 2010[5] and 2020[6] Censuses are tabled below, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.[1][2]

Name of
District
(kecamatan)
Area
in
km2
Pop'n
Census
2010
Pop'n
Census
2020
Pop'n
Estimate
mid 2023
Kambera (a) 52.0 31,137 33,466 35,165
Kota Waingapu (b) 73.8 35,142 35,856 36,053
Totals 125.8 66,279 69,333 71,218

Notes:

(a) Kambera comprises 7 urban villages (kelurahan) - Kambaniru, Lai Mbonga (Mauliru), Lambanapu, Malumbi, Mau Hau, Prailiu and Wangga - together with one rural village (desa) - Kiritana, in the far south of the district.
(b) Kota Waingapu comprises 4 urban villages (kelurahan) - Kamalaputi, Hambala, Kambajawa and Matawai - occupying just 10.4% of the area of the district in its northeast corner, plus 3 rural villages (desa).

Climate

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Waingapu has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh), bordering a tropical savanna climate (Koppen: Aw). with relatively cooler dry season and hotter wet season. It has high humidity year round. It is the driest place in Indonesia with only 850 millimetres (33 in) of rain yearly.

Climate data for Waingapu (Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 32.4
(90.3)
31.5
(88.7)
32.9
(91.2)
33.4
(92.1)
32.0
(89.6)
30.7
(87.3)
30.2
(86.4)
30.8
(87.4)
31.7
(89.1)
32.7
(90.9)
32.7
(90.9)
32.9
(91.2)
32.0
(89.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 27.3
(81.1)
27.1
(80.8)
27.3
(81.1)
27.5
(81.5)
27.2
(81.0)
26.2
(79.2)
26.1
(79.0)
25.8
(78.4)
26.7
(80.1)
28.0
(82.4)
28.7
(83.7)
27.6
(81.7)
27.1
(80.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 24.0
(75.2)
24.2
(75.6)
24.2
(75.6)
23.6
(74.5)
23.6
(74.5)
22.3
(72.1)
21.3
(70.3)
20.8
(69.4)
22.2
(72.0)
23.8
(74.8)
24.7
(76.5)
25.0
(77.0)
23.3
(74.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 180.0
(7.09)
197.0
(7.76)
171.0
(6.73)
72.0
(2.83)
43.0
(1.69)
19.0
(0.75)
11.0
(0.43)
4.0
(0.16)
2.0
(0.08)
18.0
(0.71)
46.0
(1.81)
137.0
(5.39)
900
(35.43)
Source: FAO[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Kambera Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5302071)
  2. ^ a b c Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Kota Waingapu Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5302070)
  3. ^ Handini, Retno; Noerwidi, Sofwan; Sofian, Harry Octavianus; Fauzi, Ruly; Prasetyo, Unggul; Geria, I Made; Ririmasse, Marlon; Nasution, Devi Ayu Aurora; Rahayuni, Restu Ambar; Simanjuntak, Truman (July–August 2023). "New evidence on the early human occupation in Sumba Islands" [Nouvelles preuves de l'occupation humaine précoce dans les îles de Sumba]. L'Anthropologie. 127 (3). Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Transports vers & dans Sumba". sumba-information.eu (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  5. ^ Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  6. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  7. ^ "Kecamatan Kota Wainapu". nomor.net. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  8. ^ "Kecamatan Kambera". nomor.net. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  9. ^ "World-wide Agroclimatic Data of FAO (FAOCLIM)". Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
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  • "Waingapu". waingapu.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-06-15.