Flores

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Overview

Flores, the island given a pretty but incongruous Portuguese name by its 16th-century colonists, has become Indonesia’s Next Big Thing. The serpentine, 670km Trans-Flores Hwy runs the length of the island, skirting knife-edge ridges, brushing by paddy-fringed villages and opening up dozens of areas few tourists explore.

01 / Attractions

Must-see attractions

Kelimutu National Park
Flores
Kelimutu National Park is a Nusa Tenggara must. Its centrepiece is Gunung Kelimutu, crowned by three startling lakes that shift colour thanks to…
Pantai Koka
Flores
About 5km west of Pantai Paga, look for a small, partially paved road that runs for 2km through a cocoa plantation to a stunning double bay. Facing a…
Spider Web Rice Fields
Flores
The greatest local site is actually 20km west of Ruteng near Cara kampung. The legendary Spider Web Rice Fields are vast creations shaped as implied,…
Bena
Flores
Resting on Inerie's flank, Bena is one of the most traditional Ngada villages. It's home to nine clans and its stone monuments are the region’s best…
Liang Bua
Flores
The limestone Liang Bua cave, where the remains of the Flores ‘hobbit’ were famously found in 2003, is about 14km north of Ruteng. Archaeologists believe…
Wawo Muda
Flores
Wawo Muda (1753m) is the latest volcano to emerge in Flores, exploding in 2001 and leaving behind a mini-Kelimutu, complete with several small crater…
Seventeen Islands Marine Park
Flores
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…
Sikka
Flores
The charming seaside village of Sikka is one of Flores’ first Portuguese settlements. Its kings dominated the Maumere region until the 20th century. The…