Bena Village is a megalithic village located in Aimere District, Ngada Regency, Flores NTT. Bena can be reached by using a rental vehicle from Bajawa about 19 km to the south of Bajawa.
From Labuan Bajo, Bajawa can be reached around 7-8 hours via road trip. It is the most famous and also most visited village in the Ngada District. With its impressive stone formations and ancestral shrines, as well as traditional houses, Bena has turned into a signpost for Ngada culture.
The location of Bena Village which is on the top of a hill with Mount Inerie as a background really makes the atmosphere of this village beautiful and exotic.

Credit: FloresTourism
Its existence at the bottom of the mountain is a characteristic of the old people who believed and worshiped the mountain as the place of the Gods. The people of Bena believed that the existence of the Yeta God who had a throne on Mount Inerie would protect their village.
At present Bena Village consists of approximately 45 houses surrounding each other with 9 tribes inhabiting these houses, namely the Dizi tribe, the Dizi Azi tribe, the Wahto tribe, the Deru Lalulewa tribe, the Deru Solamae tribe, the Ngada tribe, the Khopa tribe and the Ago tribe.
The arrangement of houses in Bena looks very unique because its circular shape forms the letter U and each house also has a roof decoration that is different from each other based on the lineage that in power and lives in the house.

Credit: KomodoHeavenTour
In the middle of the village there is usually a building called by the local community of Bena, Nga’du and Bhaga. Both are symbols of the village ancestors who were in the yard, kisanatapat, where traditional ceremonies were held to communicate with their ancestors.
Nga’du means the symbol of a male ancestor and its shape resembles an umbrella. While Bhaga means the ancestral symbol of a woman whose shape resembles a miniature house.