Labuan Bajo today

Many years ago Labuan Bajo was a sleepy fishing village. Today it’s a small but real tourist town with good restaurants, beach bars, a sunset hill, and a daily-changing weather of arriving liveaboards. The town is walkable. The harbour is the centre of life. The diving is offshore.

Flores — the island

Flores stretches east from Labuan Bajo for 500 km of mountains, volcanoes, rice fields, traditional villages, and three coloured lakes. Most divers come for Komodo and leave without seeing the rest. Don’t be that diver.

History

Portuguese traders arrived in the 16th century — the name “Flores” is theirs, meaning “flowers”. They left behind a Catholic island in a Muslim country, traces of architecture, and a layered culture that mixes Portuguese inheritance with Indigenous tradition.

Culture & people

Flores is home to several distinct ethnic groups — Manggarai in the west around Bajo, Ngada and Lio in the centre, and others east. Many villages still live in traditional Mbaru Niang houses — tall, cone-shaped, thatched. “Ikat” weaving — hand-dyed, hand-loomed textiles — is the local craft, and you’ll see it everywhere from market stalls to ceremonial cloth.

People are warm, devout, and unhurried. The pace is slower than Bali. That’s the appeal.

Nature

Beyond Komodo National Park itself, Flores offers:

Mount Kelimutu

three crater lakes, each a different colour (and the colours change). Best at sunrise.

Wae Rebo

a traditional Manggarai village in the mountains, accessed by a half-day trek. Overnight in a Mbaru Niang.

Cunca Wulang

jungle waterfall and swimming hole, close to Labuan Bajo.

Rice terraces of Cancar

spider-web-shaped fields seen from above.

Eat & drink

Bajo has grown a real food scene. Italian, Spanish, fresh seafood, Indonesian classics, sunset cocktail bars on the hillside. Ask us — we have a list.

Want to see more of Flores
while you’re here?