Flores

Flores is an amazing island and interesting in may ways, as well as being the gateway to Komodo it also harbors a beautiful culture of mainly Christian people and some of the most beautiful sight visible in the entire country. Flores is located within the Lesser Sunda Islands and its administrative capital is Maumere which is a port city on the north coast of Flores. Flores covers 6,627 square miles and offers a diverse dry landscape with beautiful beaches as well as jungles and fantastic mountain ranges. The highest elevation is 7,872ft which is just under 2,500 meters. As well as the Roman Catholics there are also Papuans in the east of the island. White sand beaches and some of the best diving in the world is located around Flores there are also some of the best trekking routes in south east Asia and great cultural and historical sights. One of the interesting aspects of Flores was the recent discovery of a new species of Human in 2004, this has become known as Homo Floresienses and were incredibly short due to Island dwarfism, apparently walked very recently 13,000 years ago although other scientists argue that there could have been dwarfism in their small gene pool.

Flores was under Dutch influence in 1618 when it was currently under the rule of the Prince of Sulawesi. As the Dutch gained control gradually as well as the Portuguese influences, both of these aspects of Flores's history are visible in the architecture as well as the culture and the museums. There are many languages spoken in Flores with Bahasa Indonesia uniting them as the rest of the country. However as well as the separate languages, there are also many different dialects which have become so far removed from the other main languages that some may as well as be separate languages. Labuanbajo is one of the main ports of entry to the area of Indonesia and with its traditional fishing ports and village areas it is also one of the main and modernest cities on the island. It s home to the main airport as well as the seaport that gives access to the Komodo National Park. This is one of the main attractions of Flores and is well worth seeing although there is much more to do as well so there is no need to rush off after visiting the Komodo dragons and the incredible sea life.

As well as visiting the vibrant market towns such as Ruteng where there is so much to see you can also head to all of the main towns which have there special interests, it is very difficult to waste time on dull places in Flores with so much life and energy in every corner. Perhaps the other major tourist attraction are the colored lakes of Mount Kelimutu where a long journey and a short trek through the night will bring you to the peak where you will see the sun rise over these impressive and surreal lakes as well as the rest of the landscape.