Alor

Alor is an archipelago with 92 small islands, of which Pulau Alor and Pulau Pantar are the largest. Alor is located east of Flores and north of Timor. Pulau Alor has a small airport, where Wings Air and Trans Nusa airlines operate daily flights with Kupang on Timor, and NAM Air on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday direct to and from Bali.

Alor is particularly known by diving enthusiasts; the archipelago has unparalleled beautiful and varied dive and snorkel sites. Diving is particularly reserved for experienced divers, the currents in the Alor archipelago can be strong and unpredictable.

Administratively, Alor belongs to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara.
For years, Alor was relatively isolated due to the limited infrastructure and transport facilities, so that the natural environment has been protected from human activity and industrial activities.
The Alor Islands are surrounded by clear blue waters and fairly strong currents and offer accessible reefs, drop-offs, caves and valleys, full of brightly coloured corals as well as sandy / sediment bays, where thousands of species of fish and invertebrates shelter. In terms of biodiversity, it is one of the richest underwater reserves in the Coral Triangle.
On land you can find steep mountains, dry savannas and also lush rainforest. There are also an active volcano (Sirung, west Pantar), several hot springs and some hidden waterfalls ... These small, rugged and remarkably beautiful islands, dominated by jagged mountains and steep valleys, are divided into many different ethnic groups with more than 8 different languages within which 50 dialects! The islands are rich in interesting local cultures, with strong traditional beliefs and the Ikat woven here is among the best in East Indonesia.

Many villages on Alor still live in a traditional way, living in houses of tied-up trees with thatched roofs or simple houses of concrete and working as farmers or fishermen, in order to provide for their living. Sometimes they grow a few crops that yield some money, such as cashew nuts, vanilla or seaweed, and always with an intense social life. Despite the fact that there is still a lot of poverty, in most remote villages you are warmly welcomed by your host and hostess. The traditional lego-lego dance is the heart and soul of the Alorese society. This dance, where old and young dance hand in hand from sunset to sunrise can be seen everywhere on Alor and people love it when you as a visitor take part in the festivities.
If you are looking for 1st class dive sites and prefer staying in an authentic environment rather than at a standard tourist location, come to these beautiful islands and enjoy the gorgeous underwater life, traditional culture and friendly and hospitable people!

There are a few excursions to explore Alors which you can do in half a day or a day: you can visit the traditional villages Takpala and Mombang, a trip by car around the "bird head" or "kepala burung", with a stop at the beautiful Batu Putih bay ... Or you can drive along the north coast of Alor and end at "Tuti Agadai", a very small river with small hot springs ... We also recommend a visit of the museum "1000 Moko" in Kalabahi , and of course you should not miss the lively markets (pasar Kadelang, pasar Impres ...)! For the adventurers among you, this could be an opportunity to try the "siri-pinang", the local custom of chewing betel nuts (or areca nuts) ... You could also take a regular boat from Kalabahi or rent a fishing boat to go to the Pantar strait islands (Pura, Ternate ...).

If you want to make a 2 or 3-day trek you can go to the Alor mountains: a rural experience in a beautiful landscape! You will hardly encounter vehicles on 4 wheels, but there are "ojek" taxis (moped taxi) and alternating moped rides with hiking is a nice way to discover the area. You sleep at local people’s homes: basic but they are so friendly! Go for example to Mataru, Masape, Kelaisi Tenggah, ... walk to Atingmelang or Lakwati, and there are so many other places ... You can also discover the active volcano Sirung on Pantar. That is a trip of 3 days, including boat trips to / from Baranusa (about 4-5 hours), 1 night in Baranusa and 1 in Kakamauta, the village at the foot of the volcano. Keep in mind that in a certain period you cannot climb the volcano for certain reasons of faith and respect these.