Discovering the tri-colored lakes at Mount Kelimutu

We stayed at Moni to make the trip to the three colored lakes at Mount Kelimutu. We got up very very early again to be able to catch the sunrise. Drivers from town took us on the back of their motorbikes and drove towards the base of the mountain. We took a small hike up to get there (right in time for sunrise). It was stunning to see the lakes change colors from soft to bright.

Afterwards we decided to walk down but what was supposed to be a 1 hr walk back to town (following the shortcut) turned out to be an hour-long hike through other villages. At one point we even ran out of water and had to ask some rangers for some. They offered us water they just boiled, you could still taste the wood and the fire when drinking. In the end we walked 15 kms!

The man of the homestay who explained the route already shook his head when he saw us coming: “You’re coming from the left, you have taken the wrong / long route”. Well, yes we did… Luckily enough we could go relax in one a pond with a big waterfall nearby.

Mount Kelimutu – Ende travel information

• Transport: With shared taxi / car from Bajawa.
• Stay: Maria Inn in Ende. We didn’t have any of the bad experiences described on Tripadvisor now.
• Things to do: Go see the tri-colored lakes at Mount Kelimutu and have a swim in the nearby pond with waterfall.
• Food: There are some nice local warungs around (no name though).