Flores island Indonesia is the most fascinating and beautiful island. Long hidden in the shadows of its more famous neighbor Bali, the island of Flores Indonesia, is finally emerging as a unique destination of its own. Here, you can swim in pristine lakes and waterfalls, dive at one of the 50 spectacular dive sites, go kayaking among craggy coasts and mangrove shores, explore mysterious caves and the island’s people welcome you warmly in their rituals, dances and daily life.

Flores spells adventure, diving, eco-tours, and mountain climbing. And it interspersed with visits to prehistoric heritage sites, traditional villages and cultural events. You can find some of the world’s most exotic underwater life, dive in the pristine seas of Komodo, or swim along with huge manta rays, dolphins and dugongs in the island of Flores.

How to get to Flores Island

Flores is a world away from the bustle of Bali, yet it takes just 90 minutes flight from Bali to get to Labuan Bajo and it’s for people looking for a different sort of holiday. Outside of Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, you’ll be lucky to find much in the way of night-life. You will find deserted white-sand beaches though, as well as curious locals, surreal volcanic lakes and beautiful sunsets.

Best Places to visit in Flores island Indonesia

Seventeen island in Riung National Park

The eastern of Flores island is attracting a greater number of travelers chasing smoldering volcanoes, emerald rice terraces, prehistoric riddles, exotic cultures, hot springs and hidden beaches.

Seventeen Islands Marine Park in Riung. these uninhabited islands are as diverse as they are beautiful. The mangrove isle of Pulau Ontoloe hosts a massive colony of flying foxes and a few Komodo dragons. While Pulau Rutong and Pulau Temba boast picture-perfect white sand and turquoise waters. There’s great snorkeling near Pulau Tiga, Pulau Laingjawa and Pulau Bakau. But wherever you visit, you won’t be disappointed.

Kelimutu 3 color Lakes

Another highlights place in Flores is Kelimutu 3 color lakes. Mount Kelimutu National Park is the smallest among six national parks in the stretch between Bali and the Nusa Tenggara islands. Its size obviously does not matter much when it offers one of the most spectacular wonders that nature has to offer.

There are three lakes on the mountain sharing the same name, Kelimutu, meaning ‘the boiling lake’. Each has its own colors and a local name. But the local believes to be the resting place of souls. The area of the three lakes is around 1,051,000 square meters with a water volume of 1,292 million cubic meters. The boundary between lakes is a narrow stone wall that is prone to landslides. This wall is very steep with a slope angle of 70 degrees. The height of the lake wall ranges from 50 to 150 meters.

Wae Rebo traditional Village

Wae Rebo is beautiful and amazing. It is covered by a thin mist throughout the township that makes Wae Rebo deserves the epithet ‘village above the clouds’. Geographically the village is above an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level (m asl).

wae rebo flores island indonesiaWae Rebo is part of the Village Satar Lenda, District Satarmese, West Manggarai regency, Flores. It is about 2.5 hour driving from Labuan Bajo to the trekking point. The Walking will start from the premises Denge ± 9 km distance which can be reached within 2-4 hours, highly dependent physical condition of each visitor.

Ruteng

Ruteng, a city in the highlands of Flores, NTT, is the capital of Manggarai district. This small town is on the gentle slopes of the northern side of the green mountain range of Mandusawu, at an altitude of 1,200 masl. The temperature in this city of 90,000 inhabitants ranges from 13 ° C – 25 ° C with humidity levels reaching 90%.

Apart from the very cold temperatures, Ruteng is a city of rain with a fairly high intensity of 3,340 mm / year. The city of Ruteng itself has various tourist destinations that is worth to visit. One of which is the ancient cave of Liang Bua, where fossils of Homo floresiensis or better known as Hobbits from Flores were found. Liang Bua is 30 km from the town of Ruteng and takes 30 minutes by car.

Bena Village Bajawa

bena village flores island indonesiaBena village, a village located in the megalithikum Ngada, Flores. It is precisely in the Village Tiwuriwu, District Aimere. How to get to the village of Bena? You can use rental vehicles from Bajawa with the distance of about 19 km to the south Bajawa. From Labuan Bajo, you can reach Bajawa about 7-8 hours by car.

Bena Village is on a hilltop with a backdrop of Mount Inerie. It really makes the atmosphere of the village of Bena more beautiful and exotic. Its presence at the bottom of the mountain is a hallmark of the old society who believe and revere the mountain as a place of the gods. And the people believe that the existence of god Bena Yeta that have place on Mount Inerie will protect their village.

Labuan Bajo, the launching point to Komodo island

labuan bajo flores island indonesiaLabuan Bajo is a busy, rough tourist town that looks like it belongs to Bali. You’ll pass through it on the way to Komodo National Park, which is an absolute must-see, even if you aren’t planning on exploring the rest of Flores. Divers flock there for the top-class underwater action but there’s plenty around to keep non-divers happy. You can go on a one-night boat tour around Komodo National Park and see lots of Komodo dragons on Rinca Island but make sure not to get too close. The guides tell you to keep your distance but not everyone listens.

From there you can go to the “pink beach”, a popular snorkeling spot. The reef, just off the beach (which is actually pink), is home to hundreds of colorful fish of all shapes and sizes. As the day drew to a close, you can see dolphins jumping from the ocean as the sun going down.

Close to Komodo National Park and included in most of the tours, is Kanawa Island. There’s only one resort on the tiny island and luckily it’s reasonably affordable, although it is a little run down.