Londa is a burial cave complex about five kilometres south of Rantepao, accessed through a dramatic entrance in a limestone cliff. On the approach, a gallery of tau-tau effigies stands in niches carved into the rock face, dressed in real clothes and holding their hands open in the traditional pose. Inside the cave, hundreds of coffins and bone piles have accumulated over the centuries — you can hire a guide with a kerosene lantern at the entrance to take you into the interior.
The cave runs deep into the hill and the atmosphere inside is striking — not gloomy exactly, but intensely quiet. The family clan groups are separated by area within the cave, with notable members given more prominent positions near the entrance. Above the cave entrance, more cliff-face tombs are visible from the path below. Londa is best visited alongside Lemo, which is only a short distance further south.