Kelimutu

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introduction

Moni is quite a nice town on the Indonesian island of Flores and the most important one if you want to visit the biggest attraction of the island Kelimutu. This seems to have been a tourist attraction even during the Dutch colonisation period. I arrive in the middle of the afternoon and after checking in, in a local hostel, I decide to go for a walk in the neighborhood.

The nature is beautiful here and you can make different hikes I’ve read in my travelguidebook. Unfortunately I can not go too far because it soon gets dark and dark is really dark here in this part of the country. I come to the Lio village Mandi and take a look at the hot springs (where you can also swim). Then I have to go back again.

Three colors

At half past four in the night there is a knock on my door. It is time to go with your tour a young boy is saying. I, still half asleep, pack some things together and report myself to the living room. Half an hour later there is a minivan in front of the hostel to pick me up; I meet two other tourists, John from the United Kingdom and Vern from the United States.

It is still pitch black outside when we start our trip which is about 14 km to the top of the Kelimutu volcano. This mountain is about 1600 meters high. There are three little lakes with different colors here but no-one knows why they always differ in color. Of course it is clear that the lakes contain different minerals.

Unfortunately the driver says that it is rainy season - this is not the best time of the year for the sharpness of the colors, but still. We look at the three lakes and we see a slightly vague green, black and light turquoise colour. A few years ago they were still blue, brown and black, the driver tells us. Legend has it that the local people who still live here think that the souls of the deceased go here; the young in the green warm lake, the elderly to the turquoise lake which is colder and the thieves and other criminals in the black lake.

Spider-Field-Rice-Kelimutu-Flores-Indonesia

Back to society

The sun is quietly rising and we now really see where we are. This is the viewpoint which gives a panoramic view of the three different lakes but also the rest of the area. We see in the east the village of Moni where we spent the night and go back in a minute if we want to drive back. The driver is about to go back and we decide to walk back with the three of us.

He drives another 3 kilometers down the hill where we see the path that we will continue to walk alone. The view is beautiful, the path pretty steep and we come through the small villages Pome and Mboti where residents try to get us in their house to buy something. Some invite us to drink tea, others offer lunch. At a number of stalls we are invited to buy mainly ikat made by the Lio people who live here and are known for their weaving talent.

It’s about lunchtime when we arrive back in Moni where we go back to our hostel.

tips & advice (2004)

Moni is located about 50 km east of Ende and 100 km west of Maumere. Buses drive straight through the small village and drop you off in the middle of the village, which does not have its own bus station. The disadvantage is that you often have to stand up in the busy buses that run between these two cities.

Moni - Ende: countless buses go up and down each day; the duration is about 2 hours and the costs are 3000 Rp.

Name: Maria's homestay

Address: Moni (north side)

Price: 12,000 Rp (single)

Content:

In Moni there is a choice of hostels and homestays and maybe Maria is the nicest.At least the most cozy one. The hostel is situated a bit on the fairly busy main road (which runs from Ende to Maumere) down the hill on the north side.

The room is basic but Mari makes everything good with her free breakfast and information about the region and the Kelimutu lakes.