Rainbow colors of Kelimutu lakes woo tourists

By Yacob Herin

MAUMERE, Flores (JP): The three crater lakes shimmering individual shades of blue, red and white are not fantastical images of a long lost Shangri-la.

Carved out of the summit of Mount Kelimutu, they have long drawn praise. "Infinite beauty" were the words chosen by Van Suchtelen, one of the first two people to climb the mountain in 1915, in his book Ende Flores.

Mt. Kelimutu, reaching a peak of 1,640 meters, is one of Flores' 11 active volcanoes and last erupted in 1969. Yet the mystery of its colored lakes sets it apart from the rest, and lures visitors to climb its rugged slopes.

Mt. Kelimutu is located in Ende regency in the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). It is around 72 kilometers from the town of Ende and 142 kilometers west of Maumere in Sikka regency.

It is not difficult to reach Mt. Kelimutu, which is only 12 kilometers from the highway linking Ende to Maumere. Private or chartered vehicles travel up to 1 kilometer from the location.

Peering down into the crater at the lakes is stunning. Viewers find themselves looking twice to determine if the lakes are real or just apparitions.

The red lake has a steep ledge which looks as if is glued to a slanted wall. The lake's hues float dreamily between crimson, yellow, green, white and its famous red. The surface of the slick waters is a mirror, bouncing back the beautiful colors of the lake walls.

The white lake is just as eerily beautiful as clouds of sulfur emissions have lacquered the crater walls with a burnished hue.

The light blue waters of the third lake cover plant growths on the bottom. The craggy surface makes it difficult to climb down to the water's edge.

Changes take place in colors of all the lakes. Waters shimmer from red to a green. White turns into black, and light blue burns into sapphire.

Local people insist the colors of the lake are different today than in former years. Blue now has a tendency to fold into a deep red bordering on black. The white which formerly crossed into green is now sky blue. Red evolves into a subdued tone of green.

People believe the lakes were created by an eruption about 80 years ago.

The 1973 edition of the General Encyclopedia, published by Yayasan Kanisius Yogyakarta, refers to the different colors of the lakes and attributes them to chemical processes occurring on the lake bottom. The lakes contain high concentrations of iron and sulfur. Scientists also believe a microbe may be responsible for the color changes during fluctuations in water temperature.

The sun reflects the surface of the red lake. The murmur of thousands of pine trees around the crater is heard when strong winds blow. The sound of a cock crowing occasionally breaks through the silence.

The true beauty of Mt. Kelimutu is this stillness and oneness with nature. Awed visitors contemplate God, nature and the insignificance of humans compared to the greatness of natural wonders.

Sukarno, Indonesia's first president who was exiled to Flores during the 1930s, visited the site in 1950 during his presidency. Sukarno reportedly looked up at the sky and murmured words unintelligible to his entourage after gazing down at the lakes.

Local lore has it that Mt. Kelimutu and its lakes are a meeting place of the region's spiritual forefathers. The blue lake is locally called Tiwu Ata Mbupu, home of ascendants. The white lake is known as Tiwu Noa Koo Fai, or the domain of young spirits who were unmarried when they died.

The red lake, or Tiwu Ata Polo, is considered the place of bad spirits. During harvests, locals still sacrifice animals at the crater in the hope of blessings of sufficient rain and an abundant yield.

The best time to see the colored lakes is before 9 a.m. in the morning, as a mist envelops the summit during the rest of the day.

There are regularly scheduled return flights from Denpasar, Bima, Ende and Kupang. Other return routes are available via Kupang, Maumere, Bima and Denpasar, or Kupang, Maumere and Ujungpandang.

The KM Kelimutu also offers service every two weeks docking at Kupang, Ende, Bima, Padang Bai, Ujung Pandang, Surabaya, Banjarmasin and Semarang.

Several bungalows offering either single or double rooms are available for rent about 12 kilometers from Mt. Kelimutu. The resort is close to a village which sells handicrafts such as woven cloth and where traditional dances are performed. Tourists can tour traditional houses and observe rituals. Local variations on dishes such as fried and boiled potatoes can be sampled.

Conditions around the arid, barren mountain are quite dangerous, filling visitors with a mixture of awe and fear as they climb the steep slopes. Yet even the arduous trek does not stop them from making the journey to view one of the nation's most unforgettable sights.