Across Flores : Maumere, Beach, Volcano and Authenticity

One day driving along the North-West coast

Desa Wuring

Take the North-West road from Maumere In no more than 15 minutes you shall see a sign on the road telling you to turn right to go to desa (village) Wuring.

This village is partially inhabited by Bajo people. These former nomad fishermen can be found in all Eastern parts of Indonesia as well as Philippines or Malaysia. They usually build picturesque houses over the sea, so fishermen have a direct access to their boat.

I got told they often receive some tourists but the contact is quite limited given they speak very little English. Speaking Indonesian is highly appreciated. Village people are really welcoming and even invited me to sleep in their house.

Expect the children to request a lots of pictures.

Fishermen on the coast

After you leave Wuring, pay attention to what’s going on on the coast. You might come across huge fishing boat and even get invited to jump on.

Farm life

On the sides of the road, you will see mostly fields. If you are polite and ask for the permission, there is no problem to walk in.

Tanjung Salib Koalisia

I’m pretty sure this place has many names but it is the name you will need to find it in Google Maps so I’m gonna just stick to it.

One day climbing Gunung Egon

You gonna need roughly 7-8 hours from Maumere to get to the summit and come back. . Check the orange dots on the maps to know where to turn on the main road to get to Blidit village.

All the details can be found on the dedicated article.

One day South of Maumere

The idea is to go to the beautiful Koka beach and to make a few stops on the road.

The blacksmith of Nele village

I really like to see artisan working. Nele village is famous for crafting machete or titi parang. All blacksmith use old rusty Japanese artillery guns as anvil. Why ? No idea, even locals seem to ignore the reason.

Pantai Koka (Koka beach)

This beautiful double beach is located about 1h30 from Maumere. You will have to pay a 5,000Rp entrance per person and additional 5,000Rp to park your motorbike. An additional 5,000Rp is required to climb up the hill in front of the beach.

It’s possible to sleep there. The beach restaurant serves quite cheap and delicious grilled fish.

Sikka village

On your way back to Maumere, I recommend you to drive to Sikka village. The coastal road to get there is quite scenic and I loved the atmosphere in this village. Look for St. Ignatius Loyola Church on Google Maps.

Watublapi traditional ikat

Getting there took me about 1 hour, the road is not in excellent condition. The village has formed a cooperative to produce and sell ikat (traditional fabric) to tourists. The produce are hand-woven and use only natural dyes, hence preserving to old way of doing it.

Turns out I personally prefer the style of Lio ethnic group.

Accomodation and transport in Maumere

If you want to stay in town, Eltari Hotel is a fair option. Price is 110,000Rp for a private room with single-bed, AC and a small breakfast. Toilets and bathrooms are shared.

The hotel can rent you a motorbike for 75,000Rp a day. Many locals restaurants around accessible with a 5 min motorbike ride.

But most of Maumere visitors prefer to stay outside the city, in the accomodations by the beach located East of town. Lena House is a good pick, the staff is great, they rent motorbikes for 75’000 a day, the only downside is that you are far from restaurants, but you can eat there. Price is 150’000Rp for a double room, cold shower, fan, breakfast included.

To get there from town, take a bemo to Terminal Lokaria. Then take another bemo heading to the villages east of Maumere. Price is 5’000 for both rides.

Buses leave for Ende or Bajawa from a kind of bus station. Fare is about 75’000Rp for Ende and 150’000 for Bajawa.

Bus to Larantuka costs 60’000Rp. If you intend to take a ferry in Larantuka beware if the departure time is 5AM or 6AM, the company office is located a bit far from the harbor and opens only from 8AM to 4PM. So buy the ticket the day before otherwise you will have to buy through 3rd party agent located right in front of the harbor that takes their commission.