Kelimutu: The Tricolored Lakes

Kelimutu Lake on Mount Kelimutu, Ende, Flores has three smaller lakes located next to it. The lakes appear to have different colors that change over time due to volcanic activity which started million years ago. In the entire world, this color changing phenomenon only occurs at Kelimutu.

 

Presently, these three lakes have black-green color in the far east lake, green in the middle lake, and black in the west lake. Previously, the far east lake was red and the middle lake was blue.

The local community considers these lakes a sacred place, where the souls of the dead lie. The name Kelimutu itself was derived from the word ‘keli’, means ‘mountain’, and ‘mutu’, means ‘boil’. The East lake is also called “tiwu ata polo” or lake for evil spirits, while the middle one is called “tiwu nua muri koo fai” or lake for young souls, and the west lake is called “tiwu ata mbupu” or lake for elderly and wise peoples souls. Lake Kelimutu and its spectacular panorama are now a very popular tourist attraction.

Getting There
Kelimutu is situated in Koanara village, Wolowaru sub-district, Ende Regency, about 66 kilometers from Ende city and 83 kilometer from Maumere City. Moni is a village at the foot of Mount Kelimutu. It is the gate to Lake Kelimutu. The distance between Moni and Kelimutu is 15 kilometers.

You can take a motor taxi, car or public transportation to take you to a parking lot before Kelimutu peak. Buses plying the Ende-Maumere route will pass Moni. From there, you must walk 30 minutes along the mountain side.

Every day, there are flights from Denpasar and Kupang to Maumere. To Ende, daily flights only come from Kupang. If you are interested in making a long trip in Flores, you can start from Maumere in the west and visit Kelimutu, Ende, Bajawa, Ruteng and lastly Labuan Bajo (Komodo) or vice versa if starting from the east.

Getting Around
Kelimutu area is surrounded with forest containing floras that are scarcely found in Flores area. Other than pines, there are also casuarinas, red wood and edelweiss. Pine forest grows well in this side of Kelimutu Mountain. The other side of the mountain is dried land with highly unstable sand and soil. Local community believes that Kelimutu Mountain is sacred and donates fertility to the nature nearby.

Visitors can only walk around Lake Kelimutu but not all areas can be explored because some are dangerous and therefore restricted. From Moni to Kelimutu, if you like to go trekking, there is a path which is shorter than the car access route.

Distance from Moni to the top is about 12 kilometer (km). The distance to the parking lot by motor vehicle is 11 kilometer, and then visitors will climb on foot through the pathway for 30 minutes. 

To Do
Morning is the best time to witness the beauty of Kelimutu Lake. Close to the midday and at evening the scenery of Kelimutu Lake is blocked with thick mist.

Other than the scenery of Kelimutu Lake, visitors can enjoy Flores’s hilly topography from the peak of Mount Kelimutu, during a sunny day. Or the beauty panorama at Kelimutu National Park. There’s the Conservation, containing pines and casuarinas trees which are sights for sore eyes.

Tired of hearing car horns? Listen to the chirp of birds inhabiting Kelimutu National Park. Or feed the many long-tail monkeys in the forest to the south.

Kelimutu area’s also adorned with cultural wealth like traditional houses, traditional dances and woven clothes of Flores. In addition, there are hot water sources, waterfall, and tradition settlements that you can visit along the way.

The best time to visit is July to September. But if you missed that period, you can witness a local tradition in mid-October when the community offers livestocks for paa loka (religious offerings).