Tourskomodo.com - 17 Jun 2008

Flores (Portuguese for "flowers") is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. Flores is located east of Sumbawa and Komodo and west of Lembata and the Alor Archipelago. To the southeast is Timor. To the south, across the Sumba strait, is Sumba and to the north, beyond the Flores Sea, is Sulawesi.

Administration
Flores is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province. The island is split into six regencies (local government districts); from west to east these are: WestManggarai,Manggarai Ngada, Ende, Sikka and Flores Timur.

Culture
There are many languages spoken on the island of Flores, all of them belonging to the Austronesian family. In the centre of the island in the districts of Ngada and Ende there is what is variously called the Central Flores Dialect Chain or the Central Flores Linkage. Within this area there are slight linguistic differences in almost every village. At least six separate languages are identifiable. These are from west to east: Ngadha, Nage, Keo, Ende, Lio and Palu'e, which is spoken on the island with the same name of the north coast of Flores. Locals would probably also add So'a and Bajawa to this list, which anthropologists have labeled dialects of Ngadha.
Portuguese traders and missionaries came to Flores in the 16th century, mainly to Larantuka and Sikka. Their influence is still dicernible in Sikka's language and culture.
Flores is almost all Catholic and represents one of the "religious borders" created by the Catholic expansion in the Pacific and the spread of Islam from the west across Indonesia. In other places in Indonesia, such as in the Malukus and Sulawesi the divide is less stark and has created bloody conflict.

Flora & Fauna in Flores
Flores island as a part of The Lesser Sunda islands a range of islands which are located between Bali island in the west and Irian in the east. Million of years ago there was a spectacular period of geological activities as the movement of two big plates, Sunda Plate and Sahul Plate, caused a lot of volcanic activities through which the islands Sulawesi, Komodo and Flores were born. On island Java and Sumatra it caused many terrible eruptions. In the region of The lesser Sundas it took plce more under the earth surface. Due to this great volcanic movement the coral reefs moved higher untill 240 meter above sea level. As the land continued moving, the height of sea level changed. It is said that at the time the sea level was lower 85 meter that it is now that the land animals could move from one to another islands in The Lesser Sundas. As the Lombok strait is too deep, the land animals could not cross the strait.
Talking about Flora and fauna on Flores can not be separated from those of another islands in The Lesser Sundas. There is a great deal of diverse marine life hidden under their water surface.

Climate
This is a typical monsoon area. The period of the N.W. monsoon (December - April) with prevailing wind from west to northwest brings rain, while the period of S.E monsoon (June-September/October) is the dry season, with prevailing wind east to southeast.
The two seasons are separated by intermediate months (November and May) when winds may come from any direction. According to the island's rainfall pattern, Flores can be divided into three zones: 1. The dry north coast with less than 1000 mm annual rainfall, 2. The central mountains with over 2000 mm annual rainfall and 3. The southern flanks which benefit from bimodal rainfall.

Population
The population of Flores is of mixed ethnic origin, with considerable linguistic differences. Recent archeological findings indicate Flores is associated with Paleolithic Malay culture, besides having Melanesian cultural characteristics. In Flores, there are many descendants of the Portuguese. On the small islands in the Flores Sea and in villages scattered on the north coast, live the Bajau, Bugis and Butonese who originate from Sulawesi. As mentioned earlier, Flores is divided into 6 districts, each speaking a different language, although all belonging to the Austronesian family. Of the 2 million population of Flores, approximately 254.000 live in Kabupaten Sikka. Population of the town of Maumere is + 20.000.

Tourism
The most famous tourist attraction in Flores is Kelimutu; three coloured lakes in the district of Ende. These coloured lakes change colours on a regular basis. The latest colours (late 2004) were said to be turquoise, brown and black.
There is good snorkelling and diving on several locations along the north coast of Flores, most notably Maumere and Riung. However, due to the destructive practice of local fishermen using bombs to fish, and locals selling shells to tourists, the reefs are slowly being destroyed

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