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. CLICK HERE to read about Alor

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. CLICK HERE