The most compelling reason to use Gunungsitoli as a base is the road south into Nias's interior. The three-to-four-hour drive to Teluk Dalam passes through forested hills and traditional villages, with the option to stop at megalithic sites along the way. South Nias contains the island's most spectacular traditional settlements — stone-paved avenues lined with omo sebua chief's houses, megalithic sculptures, and the stone jumping towers (batu hombo) that made Nias famous. Bawomataluo, perched on a hilltop south of Teluk Dalam, is the most-visited and most photographed of these villages.
The surf at Lagundri Bay, just west of Teluk Dalam, is world-class — a long left-hand reef break that has been attracting surfers since the 1970s. Non-surfers can watch from the headland.
In the north, day trips by motorbike from Gunungsitoli reach smaller traditional villages in Gunungsitoli Alo'oa district within an hour.