East Nusa Tenggara

Flores is one the Lesser Sundas Archipelago stretching from Bali to Timor and many other nearby islands. Flores literally means flowers in Portuguese. This long and tiny island covers an area of 14,300 square kilometers. It lies in the east Sumbawa Island and west of Lembata and the Alor Archipelago. Administratively Flores is part of East Nusa Tenggara Province with the biggest town is Maumere located in the eastern part of the island. The islands belong to the province of East Nusa Tenggara are Sumba, Flores, Solor, Alor, Sawu, Roti, Semau, Adonora, Komodo, Rinca, Lomblen, and Pantar and the western half of Timor.

The island of Flores comprises of six regencies; Flores Timur, Sikka, Ende, Ngada, Manggarai and West Manggarai. Most of the island is dry except Manggarai and Ngada which are different from other areas.
Tourism industry has been developed to be the second economical resources besides farming. The most famous tourist attractions include Kelimutu; three coloured lakes in the regency of Ende, Maumere and Riung, Komodo and Rinca in the West Manggari Regency. There are several airports located in Labuan Bajo, Ruteng, Soa, Ende and Maumere.

Travel to the island of the so called " flowers " of Flores will be much easier as you may choose on which port to start your trip. Flores is mosly Catholic and represents one of the religious borders created by the Catholic expansion in the Pacific and the spread of Islam from the west across Indonesia.