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a home of the unique culture, nature beauties and
more.. It lies between
Sumbawa and Timor islands is an abbreviation of
Cabo da Flores which was used by Portuguese sailor
in the 17th century to identify the cape on the
eastern end of the islands because of its
underwater gardens.
Mt.
Kelimutu, 1.690m fifty years ago, had three lakes,
one lake was blue green, one fiery green and one
red. Thirty years later, the colors had changed to
blue, red brown and cafe au lait. Now, Ata Bupu
(Lake) is a dramatic dark-brown. Ata Polo are dark
red-brown, and only Nuwa Muri remains aquamarine
or turquoise as it apparently always was.
Divided by mountain chains and volcanoes, the
island populated by ethnic groups with their own
traditions and languages. Predominantly Catholic,
the have retained several aspects of the
Portuguise culture such as the Easter parade held
annually at Larantuka on the eastern part of the
island and the Royal Regalia of the former King of
Sikka.
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FLORA AND FAUNA |
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The west coast of Flores is one of the few
places, aside from the island of Komodo
itself, where the Komodo dragon can be found
in the wild. The Flores Giant Rat is also
endemic to the Island.
In
September 2003, a team of National Geographic
found new story of human life, at Liang Bua
Cave in western Flores, paleoanthropologists
discovered skeletons of a previously unknown
hominid species. Homo floresiensis,
affectionately termed hobbits after the small
characters in the Lord of the Rings, appear to
be miniaturized versions of Homo erectus
standing about one metre tall. They may have
existed until as recently as 11,000 BC.
Local reports of elf-like people, the Ebu Gogo,
or the Orang Pendek of Sumatra, have caused
speculation that Flores man may have survived
into the historical period, or even to the
present. The discovery has been published in
the October 28, 2004, issue of Nature magazine
and the April 2005 issue of the National
Geographic Magazine.
Flores was also a habitat of the extinct
Stegodon dwarf elephant until approximately
18,000 years ago. It also was the habitat of
species of giant rodents. It is speculated by
scientists that limited resources drove the
few species that lived upon the island to
gigantism and dwarfism. |
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CULTURE |
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There are many languages spoken on the island
of Flores, all of them belonging to the
Austronesian family. In the centre of the
island in the districts of Ngada and Ende
there is what is variously called the Central
Flores Dialect Chain or the Central Flores
Linkage. Within this area there are slight
linguistic differences in almost every
village. At least six separate languages are
identifiable. These are from west to east:
Ngadha, Nage, Keo, Ende, Lio and Palu'e, which
is spoken on the island with the same name of
the north coast of Flores. Locals would
probably also add So'a and Bajawa to this
list, which anthropologists have labeled
dialects of Ngadha.
Portuguese traders and missionaries came to
Flores in the 16th century, mainly to
Larantuka and Sikka. Their influence is still
discernible in Sikka's language and culture.
Flores is almost entirely 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. In other places in
Indonesia, such as in the Malukus and
Sulawesi, the divide is more rigid and has
been the source of bloody sectarian clashes |
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FLORES TOURISM |
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The most famous tourist attraction in Flores
is Kelimutu; three colored lakes in the
district of Ende. These crater lakes are in
the caldera of a volcano, and fed by a
volcanic gas source, resulting in highly acid
water. The colored lakes change colors on an
irregular basis, depending on the oxidation
state of the lake (see Pasternack, Keli Mutu
Volcanic Lakes), from bright red through green
and blue. The latest colours (late 2004) were
said to be turquoise, brown and black.
There is good snorkeling and diving on several
locations along the north coast of Flores,
most notably Maumere and Riung. However, due
to the destructive practice of local fishermen
using bombs to fish, and locals selling shells
to tourists, combined with the after effects
of a devastating tsunami in 1992, the reefs
have slowly been destroyed.
Labuanbajo (on the western tip of Flores) is a
town often used by tourists, from where they
can visit Komodo and Rinca. Labuanbajo also
attracts scuba divers, as whale sharks inhabit
the waters around Labuanbajo.
Tourists can visit Luba and Bena villages to
see traditional houses in Flores. Larantuka,
on the isle's eastern end, is known for its
Holy Week festivals |
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RELIGIONS |
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Although 85% of Flores population are Catholic. Christianity is fused
with traditional beliefs. Christianity has also being even in smaller
villages like Nage near Bajawa, where age-old Ngada beliefs and
practices have been preserved. Here, symbols of this continuing
tradition - "bhaga," which resemble miniature thatched roof
houses, and umbrella-shaped "ngadu," with carvings of axes,
cassavas, dragons and flowers twisting around their wooden stems - were
displayed between two rows of tall, thatched houses and stone tombs,
said to contain hoards of treasure. Gory
buffalo sacrifices, agricultural fertility rituals, take place in Nage. |
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FLORES COASTLINE |
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Riung :
Journeying across Flores, tantalizing glimpses of the coastline - Riung
: Pulau Tujuh Belas, "nature preservation". Enjoying
snorkeling in enormous "aquarium" siesta on white sandy beach
of Pulau Rutong, see myrids of bat colony hanging over mangrove trees.
Ropa :
Experience your trip in to a more secluded place, stay at local house,
fishing, climbing mountain, sleep in a tree-huts. Finding ruins of past
generation, who lived spreading a long the mountain. This trip suitable
for young and middle age. REAL ADVENTURE
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