Pallawa is one of the most impressive traditional villages in the Toraja highlands, a cluster of twelve tongkonan houses arranged in two facing rows on a hillside north of Rantepao. The houses here are authentic family dwellings, not restorations or tourist reconstructions — the families who own them live nearby and maintain them for ceremonial use. The carved facades are painted in red, black, and yellow geometric patterns, with buffalo horns mounted in stacked rows on the front posts, each horn representing a family member honoured in past funeral rites.
Walking to Pallawa from Rantepao takes around two hours through highland scenery; motorbike taxis are the easier option if you want to continue to other sites. The village is quieter than Kete Kesu and sees fewer visitors, which gives it a more genuine character. If you visit when a ceremony is underway, you will likely be welcomed to watch — the Torajans are famously hospitable to guests at funerals and harvest festivals alike.