Kelimutu
Three Crater Lakes On One Volcano That Hold Different Colours And Change Them Independently And Unpredictably; The Lio People Hold That The Souls Of The Dead Go To Them, Sorted By Age And Conduct · Moni, East Nusa Tenggara
Kelimutu is a volcano on Flores with THREE CRATER LAKES ON THE SAME SUMMIT THAT ARE DIFFERENT COLOURS - and, more strangely, that change colour independently of one another, on no schedule anyone can predict. They have been turquoise, jade, black, chocolate brown, blood red and milky white at various points in the last century, sometimes shifting within weeks, because each crater is fed by a different mix of volcanic gas and dissolved mineral and each reacts on its own. TWO SIT SIDE BY SIDE SEPARATED BY A SINGLE RIDGE and are routinely different colours from each other. THE LIO PEOPLE HOLD THAT THE SOULS OF THE DEAD COME HERE, sorted between the three lakes by age and by conduct in life. It is a short walk from the car park by the standards of Indonesian volcanoes, which makes it the rare summit sunrise almost anyone can reach - twenty minutes on a made path, rather than the all-night climb that Bromo, Ijen and Rinjani demand.
Kelimutu National Park, Ende Regency, Flores, Moni, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
THE PARK OPENS BEFORE DAWN FOR SUNRISE, which is the whole point - most visitors leave MONI at around 4 AM for the half-hour drive to the car park, then walk twenty to thirty minutes to the viewing platform. A PARK ENTRY FEE IS CHARGED PER PERSON with the usual foreigner rate and HIGHER RATES AT WEEKENDS AND ON HOLIDAYS. THE LAKES ARE OFTEN COVERED IN CLOUD AFTER ABOUT 8 OR 9 AM, which is the real reason for the early start rather than the sunrise itself. MONI, the base village, is a couple of hours from ENDE and about four from MAUMERE, both of which have flights. THE PARK CLOSES AT SHORT NOTICE for volcanic activity and for the annual PATI KA DUA BAPU ATA MATA ceremony in August, when offerings are made to the souls in the lakes.