BATU CERMIN MIRROR STONE CAVE

Batu Cermin Cave as known as Mirror Stone Cave is one of the many tourist destination in Labuan

Bajo, Flores, Indonesia. This spot is relatively close to the Center of Labuan Bajo. It's only 4 kms or you can drive around 10 - 15 minutes by car or motorbike.

Why is it called Batu Cermin or Mirror Stone Cave?. If you  enter this cave through the small gate, you will find the first big room inside, then you can move to the left side, and there is another big room here, on this side you can see the sun shine come in through the small  hole of the the cave, incoming light will be refracted in the walls of the cave that consist of some slick and glass stone that can emit the light  to illuminate some part of the cave, so that’s why this cave called Batu Cermin or Mirror stone cave.

Batu Cermin Cave was found by Theodore Verhoen (He was a pastor and also an archaeologist who comes from the Dutch) on 1951. Verhoen said that long time ago Flores island was in the bottom of sea. It can be proved by the discovery of some fossils inside the caves such as cora fossil l , fish fossils ,and turtle fossil.

How to get Batu Cermin cave.

If you start from the center of Labuan Bajo (Soekarno Hatta street), just keep going till you find the three junction, and take to the left side and just direct in the main street. Then you will find also the next three junction, please turn to the right and go straight till you find the traffic lights and turn to the left, keep going till you find the last three junction, and there are 3 direction, you can take the middle direction and please keep going, you will find the traditional Market of Wae Kesambi, just continue till you find the Big letter that written Batu Cermin or Mirror Stone Cave, and you can enter that direction.

In front gate of this cave there is an office where you can pay the entrance fee and registrate your name. Don’t need to scare to explore this cave because you will escort by the ranger or local guide from this place.

GUA RANGKO SECRET CAVE

Gua Rangko cave or most famous as Secret Cave is the most beautiful caves in East Nusa 

Tenggara and not so many  people who know this place. actually Gua Rangko  discovered just a few years, and it’s called Gua Rangko because this cave is located in village of Rangko, Boleng District, West Manggarai Regency ( in the northern part of Labuan bajo).

The trip to Goa Rangko cave can be reached by two ways, the first is by sea by using local wooden boat or speed boat.  If you use local wooden boat  the distance towards the cave is approximately 1.5 hours with the start point of the sea pelabuahan Labuan Bajo, and if you take speed boat it will be take approximately 30 minutes. The second way is by land, but there is no public transportation toward Rangko Village so the best option is you can take motor bike or private car, if you take this way the distance towards to Rangko village is approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour, and on arrival in Rangko Village you need to take local boat to get the beach of Rangko cave for around 10 minutes, then you need to walk from the beach to get in the cave for 5 minutes walking.

Goa Rangko Water has a very clear water, this water is brackish and containing high levels of salt with a depth of 3-4 meters and has a good level of clarity. Stalactites and stalagmites  was very beautiful, we can jump from a height of 10 meter cliff to the water.

LABUAN BAJO THE WESTERN GATE TO FLORES ISLAND

Labuan Bajo is a fishing town located at the western end of Flores in the Nusa Tenggara region

of east Indonesia. Once a small fishing village, Labuan Bajo (also spelled Labuhanbajo and Labuanbajo) in Flores is now a busy bustling center of tourism. It is the launching point for trips to Komodo Island and Rinca Island, home to the famous komodo dragons. Nearby Kanawa and Seraya Islands are a great opportunity to do some diving and snorkeling and every evening at Kalong Island thousands of flying fox bats put on an amazing display.

Within a few hours of Labuan Bajo can be found several waterfalls, trekking and many diverse beaches.

The town is quite small and can easily be traversed on foot (in 10–15 minutes). There are various interesting churches and a mosque. Ojeks (IDR 5.000-10.000) and bemos pass every 5 minutes if you get tired of walking. You can rent a motorcycle for IDR75.000 per day. There are now 4 working ATM’s in the town and the road is paved.

Komodo Airport is located just 2 km from the center of Labuan Bajo and has 4-6 daily flights arriving from Bali. The port has daily ferry departures to Bima and weekly or bi-weekly departures to Denpasar and Sulawesi.

The local economy in the town is centered around the ferry port and tourism, local shops and restaurants, and the diving trade. Most of the foreign tourists are European, many from Italy, Australia and the United Kingdom. The wider area produces fish and palm oil; there is also a large amount of subsistence agriculture in the villages in the region where living standards are still low. Levels of poverty in the rural areas are high.

The National and Regional Governments have both made 2012 a year to promote the regional tourism around Labuan Bajo and the nearby Komodo National Park with a 6 month long festival from July until December 2012.

SANO NGGOANG CRATER LAKE

Sano Nggoang  crater lake is located altitude of 750 meters above the sea level, and it lies around 60

kms or 3 hours drive from Labuan Bajo. The total are of Sano Nggoang and surroundings are 5,500 hectares, and it is to be the home of many species of Fauna and Flora. The lake is the main attraction because it has high sulfur content. A pungent sulfur smell will smell around the lake area. Therefore, bathing for skin health is one of the main objectives to travel to this lake. For bathing, there are hot springs at the end of this lake. In addition to the bath, there are many activities you can do here, among other things recreation with horses back riding around the lake, bird watching, trekking, and photography. From various activities we can do, enjoying the scenery is an interesting thing to do especially the nature and forests around the lake are still fairly natural and beautiful. For around the lake, you can ride a horse or trekking to enjoy the view of the lake from a higher place.

How to get there:

Follow the main road from Labuan Bajo to Ruteng. At the crossroads after approximately 35km, turn right in the direction of Werang. The distance from the intersection to Werang is approximately 10.5km, and it is a further 16.5km from Werang to the actual lakeside. This last section takes approximately 1 1/2 – 2 hours by motorbike, and 3 1/2 – 4 hours by foot. Please note that the road condition is poor, starting from the intersection on the main road. It may be difficult or even impossible to pass this part of the road during the rainy season. If you are traveling by local transport, it is recommended that you take an ojek in Werang for the remaining distance to the lake.

BAJAWA ONE OF BEST TOWN IN FLORES ISLAND

Bajawa is one of the some interesting places in Flores Island. It is a cold city that lies more than 1.000 meters above sea level. According to the some legend, The words “bajawa” took from two

words namely: “bha” and “djawa”. Bha means plate this word descript about the form of Bajawa town that look like a plate, and Djawa means java Island, this words can descript about there are many Javanese people who lived in this town, but the other version of djawa means a peace, so in generally Bajawa means cool and peace city.

Bajawa with the population around 45,000 is not as modern as other districts in the city of East Nusa Tenggara, The existing of some traditional village around Bajawa city and the culture of this region makes Bajawa more original and traditional. With the cool and fresh air adds the appeal of this city.

Like most people on the island of Flores, communities in this town live of agricultural activities. The agricultural products from Bajawa such as: vegetables and fruits spread in some traditonal markets around Flores Island. This is because this region has fertile soil that lies beneath the foothills of Inerie Mountain.

Bajawa is more famous now because the existing of some tourist object that close by this city, And some opinion said Bajawa as the home of nature and culture as the heritage of the ancestor. Here are some of Tourist Object around bajawa Town:

• Bena Village: this is one of the traditional village in Flores island, it’s the megalithic village as the heritage of stone age. Located in the slope of Mount Inerie, and about 19 kilometers southern part of Bajawa. Here you will find Some traditional House that still Original, and also the friendly people make your visiting more complete.
•  Wawomuda Crater: This crater is located in the Ngoranale village. To get here you need to drive about 15 – 20 minutes from The center of Bajawa then continue with trekking up the mountain about 30 – 45 minutes. Wawomuda crater is formed by erupted of Wawomuda Mountain on 2001. This crater has three small craters with different colors they are: yellow, red and brown.
•  Mengeruda Hot Spring: Mengeruda Hot Spring also known as So’a hotspring lies in So’a subdistrict. To get to this place you need to drive around 40 minutes – 1 hours. On arrival you can enjoy and relaxing the hot nature water in this place. The water of Mengeruda is important to treat the skin suffer.
•  Inerie Mountains: is the highest mountain of in Ngada Regency, Flores. This mountain has an altitude of 2,245 meters above sea level, which is shaped like a cone. If you want to climb this mountain, the starting point is in Watumeze village within approximately 30 minutes drive from Bajawa. Need 3 up to 4 hours to climb this mount to the top (depend on your stamina).

LIANG BUA CAVE

Liang Bua Cave is one of the top destionation in Flores Island tour, it is a limestone cave on the

island of Flores Indonesia. The site is slightly north of the town of Ruteng in Manggarai Regency (kabupaten) in East Nusa Tenggara province.

The cave was the site of the 2003 discovery of a potentially new species of Homo genus, Homo floresiensis, the remains of which are coded LB1, LB2, etc., after the cave. The Indonesian field coordinator of the excavation team, Thomas Sutikna, was preparing to close up the dig at Liang Bua when the first indications of the important fossils were uncovered. So far it is the only location in which such remains have been identified although archeological work in the nearby Soa Valley in Ngada Regency appears to support findings from the Liang Bua site.

In 2013, a 3D model of the cave created via laser scanning was made available online by the Smithsonian Institution.

There is continuing disagreement amongst scientists as to whether the discoveries represent a new and distinct hominid species. On one hand, some experts on human origin argue that the discoveries represent a distinct species that lived in relatively modern times. Others argue that it is more likely that the bones of the most complete individual found in Liang Bua (individual LB1) are those of a local person who was, quite likely, simply suffering from a medical condition (perhaps Down Syndrome) rather than indicating that a unique species of Homo lived in Flores.liang-bua-cave

To get to liang Bua cave you can start trip from labuan bajo, takes about 4 hours driving to Ruteng town, and another 1 hour driving to reach the cave. Or if you make flores overland trip start from maumere you can stop over in this cave on the way to get Labuan bajo.

KOMODO NATIONAL PARK

The Komodo National Park is a national park in Indonesia located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Padar and Rinca, and 26 smaller ones, with a total area of 1,733 km² (603 km² of it land). The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard. Later it was dedicated to protecting other species, including marine species. In 1991 the national park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And on 2011 Komodo National Park has been selected as one of the New7Wonders of Nature.

Komodo National Park was established in 1980 and was declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1991. The park was initially established to conserve the unique Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), first discovered by the scientific world in 1912 by J.K.H. Van Steyn. Since then conservation goals have expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial.
The majority of the people in and around the park are fishermen originally from Bima (Sumbawa), Manggarai, South Flores, and South Sulawesi. Those from South Sulawesi are from the Suku Bajau or Bugis ethnic groups. The Suku Bajau were originally nomadic and moved from location to location in the region of Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku, to make their livelihoods. Descendants of the original people of Komodo, the Ata Modo, still live in Komodo, but there are no pure blood people left and their culture and language is slowly being integrated with the recent migrants.

Little is known of the early history of the Komodo islanders. They were subjects of the Sultanate of Bima, although the island’s remoteness from Bima meant its affairs were probably little troubled by the Sultanate other than by occasional demand for tribute.
There are presently almost 4,000 inhabitants living within the park spread out over four settlements (Komodo, Rinca, Kerora, and Papagaran). All villages existed prior to 1980 before the area was declared a national park. In 1928 there were only 30 people living in Komodo Village, and approximately 250 people on Rinca Island in 1930. The population increased rapidly, and by 1999, there were 281 families numbering 1,169 people on Komodo, meaning that the local population had increased exponentially. Komodo Village has had the highest population increase of the villages within the park, mostly due to migration by people from Sape, Manggarai, Madura, and South Sulawesi. The number of buildings in Kampung Komodo has increased rapidly from 30 houses in 1958, to 194 houses in 1994, and 270 houses in 2000. Papagaran village is similar in size, with 258 families totaling 1,078 people. At the 2010 Census, Komodo village had 1,508 inhabitants and Papagaran village had 1,262 inhabitants. As of 1999, Rinca’s population was 835, and Kerora’s population was 185 people. The total population currently living in the park is 3,267 people, while 16,816 people live in the area immediately surrounding the park.
The average level of education in the villages of Komodo National Park is grade four of elementary school. There is an elementary school located in each of the village.

Before doing komodo tour, please read some tips to visit Komodo Island.

WAEREBO TRADITIONAL VILLAGE

Waerebo Village is small and isolated village that famous y its Mbaru Niang or traditional house as the heritage that still existing till now.
Waerebo extraordinary village Located in 1,100 meters above sea level, where you can get the fresh air and fresh water, the village completely surrounded by  mountains and forest. This tropical forest is rich in vegetation, where you will find orchids, different types of ferns and hear the chirping of many songbirds.
Waerebo’s main characteristics are their unique houses, which they call Mbaru Niang that are tall and conical shape and are completely covered in lontar thatch from its rooftop down to the ground.  It appears that at one time such kind of houses were quite common to the region.  But today, it is only this village that continues to maintain the typical Manggarai traditional house, without which these unique houses would have been completely fazed out.
The house has five levels, each level designated for a specific purpose. The first level , calledlutur or living house, are the living quarters of the extended family. The second level, called lobo, or attic, is set aside to store food and goods, the third level called lentar is to store seeds for the next harvest, the fourth level called lempa rae is reserved for food stocks in case of draught, and the fifth and top level, called hekang kode, which is held most sacred, is to place offerings for the ancestors.
One special ceremonial house is the community building where members of the entire clan gather for ceremonies and rituals. They are predominantly Catholic but still adhere to old beliefs. In this house are stored the sacred heirloom of drums and gongs.
With a small population of around 1,200 inhabitants only, the village comprises 7 houses, with half of these falling into disrepair. Thestaple diet of villagers is cassava and maize, but around the village they plant coffee, vanilla, and cinnamon which they sell in the market, located some 15 km. away from the village. Lately, however, Wae Rebo has grown in popularity as a touirst destination for international eco-tourism enthusiasts, and this has added to the economic welfare of the village.  The people of Wae Rebo warmly welome visitors who wish to see their village and experience their simple traditional life.
Trip to Waerebo Village takes 2 hours by car from Labuan Bajo on the west coast of Flores. Alternatively, you may want to start your journey from the town of Ruteng, capital of the district of Manggarai, towards the village of Dintor, which takes around 1,5 - 2 hours.  After this the road goes uphill past ricefields until you reach Denge village. From here the only way is 4 hours trekking through the jungle until you finally reach Wae Rebo. 
One thing you should know if you want to do trip to Waerebo Village is you have to spend a night in this village, where you can sleep inside the traditional house with the humble facility.