Kelimutu 3 Colors Lake, Flores, Indonesia

The lakes

The National Park is home to the famous 3 colored lakes. They have the faculty to change colors over the time due to geological process ongoing beneath the surface. Usually they change colors only once a year but for instance in 2016 it happened 6 times.

In the local Lio culture, the lakes are a resting place for departed souls. Depending on your life, your will enter one of the three lakes.

The first two lakes are only separated by a stone wall. All three lakes are connected to the same volcano.

Get to the national park

Moni is a small village located about 15km or 30 minutes from Kelimutu National Park parking. A ride on a motorbike to the park will cost you about 50,000Rp. The daily rate to rent motorbike is 100,000Rp.

You will pass 3 smaller village on your way from Moni to Kelimutu. It’s possible to arrange a stay there.

Entrance fees are as following :

For foreigners : 150,000Rp/person from Monday to Saturday and 225,000Rp on Sunday and national holidays.
For locals/KITAS holders : 5,000/7,500Rp.
Additional 5,000Rp for a motorbike and 10,000Rp for a car.

I don’t know why exactly all visitors want to watch the sunrise over Kelimutu. The most important stuff to do is to check the weather before going. If you see clouds, better go back to sleep and go there a bit latter.

When I went there, weather was much better around 11AM than 5AM.

Local life in Moni

Transport and accomodation in Moni and Ende

Local minibuses connects Moni to Maumere (about 3 hours, 50,000Rp) and Ende (about 2 hours, 30,000Rp) during the day.

Accomodations are expensive for the quality in Moni. Expect to pay at least 150,000Rp for a room. If I remember well I saw a sign for backpacker dorms in the upper town (just 50m after the waterfall).

In Ende, you can try Ikhlas hotel. Room starting around 100,000Rp with fan and a small breakfast.