Mount Kelimutu
Mount Kelimutu
4.5
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles615 reviews
Excellent
426
Very good
144
Average
33
Poor
10
Terrible
2

David M
Hertford, UK54 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2024 • Family
Awesome place with fantastic views, this is a clear highlight of a trip across Flores. Beautiful coloured lakes with sulpherous plumes of steam rising through the sunlight - you can really sense the power of the volcano and why it is so important to the local people. A fairly easy walk to the top from the car park, so very accessible and not crowded for such a fantastic sight. Visiting times were restricted to 6am to 10am at the time of our visit because of increased volcanic activity, so too late for sunrise but still wonderful on a clear day. A guide told us that the authorities had wanted to close the site altogether but had been persuaded to keep it open for 4 hours because of protests by local people/ businesses so we owe a big thanks to them.
Written 23 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Theo V
Amsterdam, The Netherlands1,557 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2023 • Couples
This place is a true wonder. We stayed more than an hour and it just was amazing every second. Not only due to the amazing and changing colours of the minerals in the impressive rocky sides of the craters, also due to the scenery, of course the immense lakes and their colours. It also is the energy that surrounds it, the atmosphere (providing other visitors shut up:)). Absolutely one of the most amazing and wonderful places we have been to. We didn’t go with sunset. We came there around ten thirty am.
Written 27 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mindythelion
Vancouver, BC1,541 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2014 • Couples
Here's how we recommend visiting Kelimutu:

Book two nights at a hotel in Flores with one night in between (ex: June 24 and June 26)
Book one night at either of the two hotels in Ende for the night in between (ex: June 25). Neither hotel is better than the other and you'll only want to stay one night.
Pack only a carry-on/day bag and fly into Ende on the 25th, spend the night, and get up before dawn to watch the sunrise on mt. Kelimutu
Go straight from Kelimutu back to the airport and fly back to Flores.

There is not much to do in Ende other than see Kelimutu. There is a black sand beach somewhere if you do decide to stay for an extra day.

The ride from the airport in Ende to either of the two hotels for Kelimutu is over an hour away, so try to connect with other people heading in your direction. It's also very important to tell your driver that you want to see Kelimutu. They will pick you up at your hotel before dawn and drive you to the base of the mountain (1H drive) and you will hike to the top (30-40mins). There's no fee for the attraction unless you have a camera. Believe it's a $10 charge per camera.

You'll want to head back to the airport from Kelimutu with the same driver. It's important you relay all this info with your driver at the airport, because there are no cars or taxi's available once you're in Ende, and the only motorcycles/scooters available for rent belong to locals and they will try to charge a LOT of money.

Flying is way, way better than taking a bus. It's an hour long flight versus a 12 hour bus ride, and the cost of flying is only $5 more.

We suggest booking two nights at a hotel in Flores so that you may leave your other luggage in their safe keeping.

Flying into Ende for one evening/day with only a day bag made for an incredibly fun date!!

Also, it is a bit of a hike from the base of the mountain to where you'll watch the sunrise, but it is doable in flip flops.
Written 23 May 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

rafaelabreu87
Cape Town Central, South Africa47 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2015 • Friends
The park was worth a visit, especially at sunrise. Though, this review is intended to warn travellers of an aggressive con artist, liar and thief operating a "restaurant" and guest house in Moni.

AVOID BAMBOO/BAMBU RESTAURANT AND MARIA INN AT ALL COSTS!. This curly haired short man called Iwan (Ivan) is a con artist of the highest degree. He walks around with his Samsung tablet and lures tourists in by hopping on your bus and talking about his restaurant and showing you photos of "customer" reviews on his tablet with no actual written reference to him or Bamboo restaurant (most likely photos of other successful establishment reviews). What is described as a traditional 4 COURSE meal is in fact a bowl of mashed pumpkin, plate of plain rice, a plate of over cooked dried out leaves with 4 thin slices of guava on top and a plate of chicken which never came haha. Price 95 000 per person. What an absolute joke!
The Maria Inn we stayed at and over-payed for belongs to his parents who are just as keen as him to get every cent off of you. The rooms are dirty, the sheets smell, constant leaking taps in the bathroom and their advertised hot shower is cold and dirty. They'll offer to organise bus trips/guided tours/rentals and quote you three times the value. We paid 25 000 Rp to get back to Ende, they wanted 80 000 rp. You won't get change back and you won't get refunds.
When we confronted Iwan he was very aggressive towards us, throwing plates across tables, shouting insults at us and threatening to show us just how crazy he is unless we paid.
Be very very careful of this guy and his family. You'll see similar reviews online from other travellers. And also worth mentioning is the fact that he asked to borrow our room key so that he could open the room next door to us. Fantastic!
Written 5 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hendra_Fu
Bandar Lampung, Indonesia16 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2012 • Friends
I believe that this lake worths to be one of seven wonders of nature. With its periodically unpredictable change of colors, Kelimutu lake has a great view not only in it selfs, but also the view arround it. When i visited this lakes, the colors are navy blue, dark green and black (the local said that they were all pink one month ago,)

It's not difficult to get there. From Moni we can rent a motor cycle (IDR 80.000,-) or hire an ojek (public transportation using motor cycle, IDR 100.000,- for returns fare). It takes approximately 30-45 mnts by motor cycle to the parking lot and we have to climb up the hill through the stairs provided for about 1 km to reach the peak and see the scenery.

It is suggested for you to visit by sunrise because it will be covered by the cloud when the mid day comes
Written 26 September 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

kaalika
Mumbai, India853 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2014 • Couples
This place simply blows your mind. Getting up early and the trek up is so worth it. It is magical to see the colors of the gorgeous lakes. I can imagine why many people jump in. They look absolutely intriguing and tempting :)
Here are some tips for your trip
1. The locals will try to sell you the idea of a guide. You don't need one. There are markers everywhere and you won't get lost
2. It gets pretty chilly up there. Do take a wind cheater or jacket.
3. The resourceful locals do quickly set up a small stall there for you to buy coffee/snacks. The coffee is awful but you do find the warm glass good to hold in that chilly breeze.
4. Don't forget to take a powerful torch as it's still dark when you start climbing
5. The black lake does not have an enclosure towards it's north end. Please don't follow tourist advice and get too close.
6. There is just one restroom near the black lake
7. Walk slowly on your way back as there are 200+ varieties of birds and you'll miss them if you hurry back :)
Written 13 July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

belgianguy1
Bruges, Belgium13,362 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2015
Great view, and an easy walk up from the parking to the view point...I was lucky with clear sunny skies, as now (January) is rainy season
Be aware of the high entrance fee for foreigners, 150.000 to on weekdays, 225.000 rp on weekends! Compare it with the entrance fee for Indonesians, a mere 5.000 rp!?
Written 12 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mothy16
Bali, Indonesia93 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Solo
I flew to Ende from Labuan Bajo with Garuda Indonesia at 9:25 am. There's another flight with Wings Air in the afternoon but I heard it was delayed for about 2 hours. If you don't wanna get to Moni too late, take the morning flight. Twice the price though.

We arrived in Ende and got off the plane we met some people going to Moni too. So we joined up with some people to share the cost. The normal price is 500K. but if you can haggle, you could get 400K for the whole car to Moni. It takes less than 2 hours.

We wanted to go to see the lakes right away in the afternoon, but it was cloudy. So we waited for the sunrise trekking. We stayed at Kelimutu Craters Eco Lodge. ( separate review )

Moni is a small village with nothing much to do. A few restaurants but that's pretty much it. Since we have a lot of time, we went to see Murundao waterfall which was just 200 meters off the main road. Small waterfall but refreshing. We saw some kids swimming and playing around.

We arranged a car to take us to the craters for the next day and we got a driver willing to take 5 of us for 300K one way. So 60K each. You probably could get cheaper.

In the evening we went to Mopi's place for dinner. (separate review)

We left the hotel at 4 am. It took about 45 mins drive up to the mountain. Entrance fee is 150K pp for foreigners, 5K for locals. After we reached the car park, we walked up a stairs for 20-30 mins. It was a beautiful morning as we were very lucky the sky was clear and it wasn't foggy or cloudy.

We got a perfect sunrise above the crater lakes. We stayed until around 7 am then we started walking down. It takes about 14 km back to Moni by foot. We walked down through Pemo Village.

There were signs everywhere but just before we got to the another village, you gotta stop and ask where the waterfall (air terjun) is. Because that's the shorter way to Moni.

We were lucky to witness a yearly ceremony in Pemo Village. They have this ceremony for four days every October with no exact dates. They were all wearing local traditional dresses.

Great national park with amazing scenery and people. The lakes were bigger than in the photos. Very mystical and beautiful. This place is a must to visit when you are in Flores.

Written 22 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jeff C
Sydney, Australia36 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2017 • Family
Although the lakes are beautiful and worth seeing, in our case we made a special trip to fly to Ende, drive to Moni and spend two nights there just to see the lakes. It was definitely not worth all that time, expense and hassle. If you are anywhere near there anyway, then definitely make the visit, but not otherwise. Also, we went at dawn, as advised, and this also was a bad decision. It was crowded, freezing and extremely windy, and the sunrise was ordinary. Better to go later when there is no-one else there and the lighting is better. In summary: very pretty, worth seeing, but not at dawn and not worth making a whole extra trip.
Written 7 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

nora-amsterdam
amsterdam85 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2011 • Couples
You have to see Kelimutu when in Indonesia.
These volcanic lakes are so beautiful, especially because of the silent surroundings and sort of mystical feeling.
We went here with a private tourguide in January 2011 ( highly recommended guide when in Flores Harry Hago, travelflores.com). We stayed in a hotel in Ende and drove early towards the lakes (2,5hour drive) . From the car it is a 45 minute walk to the top end of the mountain (use the toilet at the 'carpark', as it is the only one).
The walk itself is great but the view on top of Kelimutu is just magical! We didn't saw the sunrise, but somehow we still experienced a beautiful transformation of the colours of the lakes because the clouds only showed the sun when we just arrived on top!!

On top of the mountain you can get a cup of tea at one ot the villagers who sells you these. Please try some; only thinking of climbing the mountain everyday in hope of selling a few cups of tea makes you wanna buy a cup!

When we were there we were so lucky that there were only 4 other tourists with their guide, when they left it was just us, our guide and the tea-man with his dog!
Enjoy the views and try to take a moment and meditate on this rare spot.

On the way back our guide, guided us to a hotspring in a really small village. You have to pay toll to a really old lady for passing through their village and the villagers are just as interested in you as you are in them (these moments are WHY you are travelling to Flores and not to Bali)
We ended up going to another village nearby Moni to meet the Lio-clan, which is an indescribable experience.

In Ende we stayed in the only 3 star hotel, Grand Wisata, which is quite expensive for what you receive (room without a window, very noisy and difficult to communicate)
Written 24 July 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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