Ende Flores

Ende on of the largest cities on the island of Flores and is has a lot to offer the tourist as well as the business person and anyone else who is passing through. There are a number of different hotels offering everything from backpacker’s budget right up to 5 star hotels with full business and conference facilities. Bemos and taxies are the best form of transport to get around the city of Ende and as with most of the Indonesian cities, the Bemos offer a great chance to mingle with the locals, make friends and save a lot of your money and with the local rate being 1000, you can gauge your bartering skills by how close you get to it. The oldest area of Ende is located to the west of the centre and there you will also find the beach. The beach is mainly black sand because of the volcano located close by and there is a great market which is ideal for picking up the local crafts and the local food as well as the impressive and widely popular Flores weaving. The Ende Regency is the name of the area that Ende is located within and it has a population of 136,616.

Gunung Meja is one of the most prominent features of Ende and can be seen from many vantage points. It makes a wonderful photo from the beach area of west Ende and also there are a number of trips and hikes that allow people to see the incredible sights as well as gaining a great experience and seeing fantastic views of the harbor and the surrounding area. You will find there is still evidence of the 1992 earthquake in Maumere of Flores. Rubble and run down buildings are present allowing you to get at least some sort of idea of the severity of the event as well as hearing first hand from the locals who were there. Over 100 people died in Maumere despite the distance from the epicenter.

An extremely worthwhile thing to do other than visiting the museums, churches, traditional village and temples, is to take a bus or other form of transport down the Bajawa road where you will head as far down the coast as wish to travel. There are beautiful views all the way along the route and you can stop off in any area you like the look off. This is great way to get off the tourist track and find one of those special travel moments. If you go to Ndao bus terminal then you will be able to explore the traditional villages around the outskirts of the town as well as the seafront villages and fishing areas. This is also a great place to check out the weaving scene for quality unique fabrics which are unique not only to Flores but also to the area and even the maker in some cases.