Flores
(compiled by edllsda99/IM)
Flores (Portuguese for "flowers")
is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an
estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the
Java island of Indonesia. The largest town is Maumere. Flores
is located east of Sumbawa and Komodo and west of Lembata
and the Alor Archipelago. To the southeast is Timor. To
the south, across the Sumba Strait, is Sumba and to the
north, beyond the Flores Sea, is Sulawesi.
(Labuanbajo)
Flores is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province.
The island is split into five regencies (local government
districts); from west to east these are: Manggarai, Ngada,
Ende, Sikka and Flores Timur. Flores has several active
and dormant volcanoes, including Egon, Ilimuda, Leroboleng,
and Lewotobi..
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.
(Flores)
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.
(Maumere Beach)
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 all 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.
(Statue of Jesus, Maumere)
The most famous tourist attraction in Flores
is Kelimutu; three coloured lakes in the district of Ende.
These coloured lakes change colours on a regular basis.
The latest colours (late 2004) were said to be turquoise,
brown and black.
There is good snorkelling and diving on several
locations along the north coast of Flores, most notably
Maumere (where tourist can also see the statue of Jesus)
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.
(Traditional House, Maumere)
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.
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