alor archipelago map : Alor, Pantar, Wetar, Solor

ALOR MAP

Alor Island is the last group of islands in the far eastern end of the Solor-Alor archipelago. It is about 65 kilometers from Timor Island. East Timor can easily be seen from the beach in Kolana, east Alor Island. The island archipelago consists of 15 islands. The largest inhabited island is Alor Island, followed by Pantar Island, Pura Island, Ternate Island, Treweng Island, Buaya Island, Kangge Island, and Kepa Island. To the east of the island across the Ombai Strait lie the islands of Wetar and Atauro, the latter belonging to East Timor. To the south, across the Strait of Alor, lies the western part of Timor. To the north lies the Banda Sea. To the west lies Pantar and the other islands of the Alor archipelago, and further yet the rest of the Sunda Islands.

According to the latest consensus there are about more tahn 200.000 people currently living on Alor, of which the majority -75 %- are Protestant, the rest are almost all Muslim, only a few villages have the Catholic faith. Nevertheless spiritual belief and traditions are still strong. Alor is one of the 14 regencies in the province Nusa Tengarra Timur. It consists of 9 sub-districts and 158 villages. The head of the local government is the Bupati. The regional government is seated in Kalabahi, the one and only town on the Alor islands. All the main commercial and administrative activities take place in Kalabahi. According to estimations about 60.000 people live in and around Kalabahi

Alor, a small island north of West Timor, offers diving which is absolutely world class and it is a long, long way from the office. An excellent bonus here is the likelihood of spotting pilot whales and dolphins from the boat. Diving in Alor tends to be suitable for experienced divers due to strong currents and eddies and the remote location.

The steaming hot springs on the beach might make you think that the water here is warm but don't be fooled, it can get pretty chilly here. The dive starts by a lava flow to the south of the beach and divers can choose to dive further south over the reef or to hunt around to the north in the volcanic black sand. You can drop down to 40 metres or below but most life is found shallower. This is a dive site for critters and the name alludes to the amount of weird and unusual creatures that the eagle-eyed can spot here. Snake eels stick their heads out of their holes and spearing mantis shrimps peer up at divers, focusing their independently movable stalked eyes. These nocturnal creatures are rarely seen out of their holes in day light but lucky divers may see them hunting aggressively at night

Geography
Alor has an area of about 2800 km², making it the largest island of the Alor archipelago. Kalabahi is the only town on the island of Alor, with a metropolitan population of about 60,000. The variety of goods obtainable in Kalabahi is surprising considering its size and location. Alor is of volcanic origin and has very rugged terrain. The region near Kalabahi is the only flat area. This is why the Dutch placed the capital and the main harbor (Alor-Kecil) of the area here in 1911. "The best" snorkelling and diving in Indonesia can be found in the Alor archipelago. Due to intriguing and often very strong currents it is best to snorkel or dive with someone who knows the area well.

DIVE MAP ALOR