Story of Indonesia, Every Picture Tells A Story

A fascinating, mountainous and remarkable beautiful island, flores has a volcanic topography that has longed shaped its destiny. A chain of cones stretches the length of this verdant island, provoking a complicated relief of V-shaped valeys and knife-edge ridges-terrain that was near- impenatrable until recent years and that has separated the island into many distinct ethnic groups. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers", located in east of Sumbawa and Komodo and in west of Lembata and the Alor Archipelago. Flores is a home of the unique culture, nature beauties, traditional villages and more.

Flores has the most remarkable sight in Nusa Tenggara, the sublime multihued crater lakes of kalimutu, terrific beaches around Labuan Bajo and east of Maumere, and idyllic offshore islands with fine snorkelling. Flores’s sea has a rich and amazing underwater sea biotica. Divers claim that Komodo waters are one of the best diving sites in the world. It has fascinating underwater scenery.

Flores island is also the home to some of the most traditional ceremonies and rituals of both Catholic and Animalistic backgrounds. The breath taking ritual whip fighting dance of Manggari called Caci, the solemn Catholic Easter festival in Larantuka and Penti ceremony are some traditional ceremonies we can enjoy here. Traditional boxing bouts called "sagi" or "etu" still take place on a regular basis in Bajawa inviting all to witness this age old sport which is again based on their traditional belief of survival of the fittest! In addition, relics and artifacts are to be found throughout the length and breadth of Flores Island, like the prehistoric bronze boat from the Dongsong era, called Dobo or Baobatung in a village near Maumere, where it is carefully kept by the people as an ancestral heirloom.

And the most popular thing we can see in Flores is The Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) which is an endangered species that can only be found in the Komodo National Park (KNP) in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Because of the unique and rare nature of this animal, KNP was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.

Enjoy the Pics :)

Pictures number 1-5 by Setiadi Darmawan.The rest of the pictures by Swisscontact WISATA Team - flores-komodo.com

Dubbed as the most devastating live show force on earth, Iron Maiden, the world’s leading heavy metal band took on Jakarta and Bali as part of their Final Frontier World Tour in February 2011. After Moscow and Singapore, Iron Maiden set up their fantastic stage set overlooking the panoramic scenery of Carnaval Beach in Jakarta’s finest recreation park: Ancol on February 17^th 2011. Arriving in their specially customized air carrier “Ed Force One”, the band brought not only the majority of the crews and equipments, but also passion, total commitment and stunning musicianship as they have always delivered in every performance.

Photo by Andika Saputra/www.indonesia.travel.