A while ago, I visited Flores Island, and I absolutely loved the place. It’s not what I expected but exactly what I wanted it to be—green, tropical, with white sandy beaches, mountainous terrain, and tiny islands that seem to have exploded up from the ocean.
Flores was originally named Lipa, after a serpent. However, Portuguese traders and missionaries who began visiting in the 16th century renamed it Flores. I always thought that was because the island was covered in flowers, but I recently discovered from a friend that its name was actually inspired by the ‘flowers’ under the water—the stunning corals.
This friend also taught me about the Manggaraian traditional dance, the beautifully dangerous Komodo dragons that inhabit Komodo and Rinca, and how the environment is still so untouched that you can see wild horses, buffalo, Timor deer, and monkeys across the island. Flores also has the three-colored lakes, part of the Kelimutu volcano, which can range in color from bright red to almost iridescent green. The photos of the lakes you see were taken by Marsel of Flores Journey.
Being born and raised in Labuan Bajo, one of the main towns of Flores, Marsel knows a lot about his island home. In fact, I doubt there is anything or anyone he doesn’t know. Marsel is a natural tour guide and can show you all around his beautiful home; but more on that later.
I spent most of my time in Labuan Bajo, which is a perfect mix of a small town and a mecca for fantastic things to see and do. I’m not a diver, so I can’t tell you firsthand what the diving is like, but all my diving friends rave about Flores, and dive shops are popping up everywhere. You can snorkel if that’s more your pace, or if your pace is more like mine, just lay on the front of the boat and dangle your legs in the ocean as it glides through the flat waters around the islands. Ideally with a glass of wine…
The thing that words can’t describe is how pristine, clear, and blue the water actually is. I was sure we were in shallow water most of the time because you could see straight to the bottom, but I was assured it was actually very deep. The waters can be subject to big tides as well, so don’t be alarmed if you get back to the jetty later in the day to see the water levels have dropped and you have a ladder to climb up off the boat.
A bit of economic history about Flores: the primary industry was based around agriculture, fishing, and seaweed production (with the big tides I referred to earlier creating perfect conditions for the seaweed to grow in). The main food crops are rice, maize, and cassava, with cash crops of coffee, cashews, coconut, and candlenut. In fact, the coffee was originally blended with other Indonesian beans; however, now, sensibly so, the Arabica coffee has been recognized as being better standing alone, with its heavy body and sweet chocolate-y taste. Flores is now becoming a popular coffee-producing area in Indonesia.
The influence of the Portuguese is evident in the architecture around Flores and, at times, in the language. There are six distinct languages, including Ngadha, Nage, Keo, Ende, Lio, and Palu’e. The majority of Flores people are Roman Catholics, another nod to the Portuguese visitors.
Lonely Planet says that Flores has become Indonesia’s ‘next big thing,’ and I can see why. There is so much to see, so make sure you take your time and plan your trip well. I didn’t have as many days there as I would have liked (you know, work to do and all that!), but I will be back again soon for more days of exploring…or maybe just laying on a boat watching the islands go past.
Written by the team from The Travellist Indonesia (https://the-travellist.com/ and https://thetravellistindonesia.com/) on behalf of Love Komodo.