Alor Archipelago

Alor Archipelago is an island group in Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Previously well off-the-beaten-path, more and more adventurous travelers are discovering this remote island group. The vast majority of the infrastructure of the archipelago is either based in, or run from Kalabahi. The key attractions are water-based, including world-class diving and fishing. Alor has 40 pristine diving sites, but few foreign tourists have visited them.

Understand

Alor Archipelago
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D       362     28 26       294     28 26       272     29 27       152     29 27       110     29 26       27     28 25       23     28 25       7     28 24       19     29 25       58     29 27       179     30 27       297     29 27 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation+Snow totals in mm Kalabahi Weather Averages
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D       14     83 79       12     83 79       11     84 80       6     85 80       4.3     85 79       1.1     83 78       0.9     82 77       0.3     82 76       0.7     83 77       2.3     85 80       7     85 80       12     85 81 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation+Snow totals in inches

• 1 Kalabahi — main city on the Island of Alor.

Outside the dive resorts accommodation is very basic in Alor and prices are relatively high for a similar standard else where in Indonesia. Food is also of a basic standard, and outside of Kalabahi there are few warungs in the villages. When going on trips best to take your own food.

Orientation

The Alor Archipelago consists of the following main islands:

• 2 Alor — largest Island in the Archipelago
• 3 Pantar — second largest Island to the west of Alor
• 4 Kepa — local diving hub
• 5 Buaya —
• 6 Ternate — not to be confused with the island in Maluku
• 7 Pura —
• 8 Tereweng —

Talk

The majority of Alorese speak Indonesian, along with local languages. A few young people may understand English. Some elderly people may speak Dutch.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Alor Island Airport (ARD  ^IATA) (Mali Airport), Jl. Soekarno Hatta, Kabola, ☏ +62 386 21710. It is served by flights from Kupang in West Timor on NAM Air, TransNusa, and Wings Air. In addition, Susi Air flies to Alor from Atambua (also in West Timor).  

By boat

The Indonesian national ferry carrier PELNI serves Kalabahi from many points in eastern Indonesia. Two ferries have scheduled stops here: MV Awu and KM Sirimau. The distances involved are huge, so be prepared for long journeys and frequent delays.

From Lewoleba (Lembata) a ferry runs to Kalabahi, every Monday and Friday, taking 15 hours (July 2016), the return ferry leaves Lewoleba at 20:00.

ASDP runs a car ferry to Kupang 3 days a week, and the reverse to Kalabahi, 3 days a week.

Get around

By bus

There are small minibuses to around Kalabahi, but their schedule is unpredictable.

By car

Air conditioned cars can also be hired for a flat daily rate including driver and petrol approx Rp 600,000 and can take you to may interesting places around the island. New roads are continuously being built, but are also disintegrating at a similar rate, what may have been inaccessible 12 months ago by car, now maybe a beautiful strip of bitumen and vice versa. Check with locals for the most up to date info on road conditions when travelling outside of Kalabahi.

By motorcycle

You can hire a motorcycle for about Rp 100,000 for 12 hours to go around the island.

See

• Beachcombing: Mali beach, Maimol beach and Batu Putih beach for a relaxed swimming. Sebanjar beach is good for snorkelling.

• Diving: There are 3 dive & stay resorts in Alor, and 3 small dive operators. Resorts are far away from the main town so accommodation, meals and diving or snorkeling is included.

• 1 Takpala village (13 kilometres east of Kalabahi), RJ6G+4F, Fungafeng, Alor Tengah Utara (take road uphill, at sign for 3 km, then walk from carpark). 24 hours. Traditional Asli village, where you can see traditional houses, customs, clothes and dances. donation. 

• See natural hot spring in Tutti near Bukapiting sub-district.

• 2 Mt. Sirung — (or Gunung Sirung in Indonesian) (862 m) is one of the less visited volcanoes of Indonesia, but one of the most fascinating.

It is the second youngest and northeasternmost of a chain of volcanoes, about 14 km long, extendingfrom the southwestern tip of Pantar Island northeast to Beang Bay. Mt. Sirung is the only active volcano of the range. The latest eruptions occurred in the years 2012, 2004 and 1934. Mt. Sirung is a lava dome truncated on its eastern side by a 2-km-wide caldera. The other, older volcanoes are overgrown with vegetation. So is Gunung Delaki (1,372 m), the highest mountain of the range and of Pantar Island, southwest of Mt. Sirung.

The hike from Beang up to the crater rim is an easy 4 or 6 hours' walk-up (the time depends on the route), mostly through beautiful eucalypt savanna. From the crater rim to the top, it is another 2 to 3 hours' climb in pathless terrain.

From Beang, there are two routes to the crater of Mt. Sirung: one via Darang/Howang (Route 1), and one via Kakamauta (Route 2).

Route 1: Starting from Beang, take the trail heading south to the tiny village of Darang, where you will arrive in about 45 minutes. In Darang, the houses still have grass-thatched roofs. From Darang, a trail leads up the steep eastern slope of the volcano to the crater rim. Walking time is 3 hours. From where you arrive at the rim, you can head northwest, around the northeastern side of the crater, to the canyon where the trail from Kaukamauta comes up.

Route 2: Starting from Beang, take the trail leading uphill to the village of Kakamauta. The trailhead is just behind the houses in the centre of Beang. The path will give you a stunning view of Beang Bay and take you through savanna woodland with lontar palms and eucalyptus trees. Shortly before you arrive at Kakamauta, you will pass small cashew plantations. From Beang to Kakamauta, it is a 2.5 to 3 hours' hike. Where the path forks below an open, grassy slope about half way up, take the left branch.

Having arrived in Kakamauta, follow the main street through the village, passing the church and the mayor's office on your left, and the football ground on your right, until you get to a T-junction. Turn left and leave the village on the dirt road leading south-west. After about 15 minutes, branch off to the left (south) onto a narrow path leading through high grass. There is no signpost and the beginning of the path is hidden in the grass 1 to 2 metres above the road. You will find it near a couple of dried-up trees on your left.

Now follow the trail up to the crater of Mt. Sirung. It is an easy hike of another 1.5 to 2 hours. The first section will take you through eucalypt savanna. Then the vegetation diminishes owing to the rain of ash that fell on the upper slopes of the volcano during the eruptions of the past decades. Keep walking on the ridge above the canyon that leads to the crater rim. It is not dangerous in dry conditions. Finally, descend into the canyon and follow it upwards (the bottom of the canyon is almost even). Soon you will arrive at the huge crater.

Inside the crater there is a large sulphurous crater lake and several active steam vents. It is possible to descend into the crater, but you are not allowed to do so all the year round. The locals say you must not enter the crater from June to September, because, if you did, Mt. Sirung could erupt and destroy the cashew harvest. Similarly, you must not go down into the crater from December to April, because at that time of the year it would endanger the rice harvest. So you can do it in October, November and May only.

There is no trail to the summit of Mt. Sirung. In order to get to the summit (after visiting the crater), go back down through the canyon until you can climb the ridge on your left (to the west), and then work your way up on the tops of the ridges and in the ravines. It will take you another 1 to 2 hours. The route leading from the summit of Mt. Sirung to the summit of neighbouring Mt. Delaki is an easy one (2 to 3 hours). Locals go up there to hunt deer with bow and arrow. From the top of Mt. Delaki you can go down to the village of Koliabang on the west coast of Pantar (3 to 4 hours), and then on to Puntaru, the village of the Pasir Tiga Warna ("The Sands of Three Colours").

About 5 km northwest of Mt. Sirung, you can observe how a new volcano is "born" - the Koralau: on a small, featureless hill, a gas eruption occurred for the first time in February 2011, burned the grass in the surroundings, and created a small crater of only about 10 metres in diameter.

Do

• Scuba diving
• Snorkeling
• Beach combing
• Visiting traditional villages
• Buying Ikat weaving from the weavers
• Wear traditional costumes in the Dekranasda to get your picture taken
• Trekking to Mt. Sirung and Mainang waterfall
• Visit the sacred hot spring in Tutti

Scuba diving

Alor offers divers more than 50 known dive sites, with additional sites still being discovered. These sites can be divided into two main areas, Pantar Strait and Kalabahi Bay. Alor is blessed with rugged mountains that plunge into the 1000-m-deep Pantar Strait.  Crystal clear waters, deep seas, frequent current and marine diversity mean that the reefs and corals are some of the healthiest and most diverse in Indonesia.  There are sites for all levels of diving, some sheltered, and others with strong current.

The main Dive operators include; 1 Alami Alor, 2 Alor Divers, 3 Alor Tanapi Dive, 4 SAVU South Alor, 5 Nautika Dive Alor, 6 Alor Diving and 7 Air Dive Alor. (Most have Dive resort-style accommodation, spread across the Alor Islands)

Eat

Try to buy the traditional cookies, Kue Rambut, that are sold in the traditional market and supermarket

You might want to eat jagung titi dan kenari (crushed corn flakes and canary bean) that is sold in both traditional markets and supermarkets. Try the jagung titi that are sold in Jonathan Bakery near the old market for a ready-to-eat snack.

Kaleso (a cooked rice cake) is also worth trying. Its plain taste can be enhanced by side dishes with grilled fish.

Resto Mama's is a good place to watch the sunset over Kalabahi Bay and enjoy excellent Indo- Chinese cuisine. Open from 10:00 till late daily.

• 1 Pantai Reklamasi, Jl Lamoru, Kalabahi (port area), ☏ +62 812 86199998. 8AM–Late. Reklamasi is a redeveloped foreshore promenade, with 6-7 cafes, restaurants and bars overlooking the sea-shore. The grilled fish (Ikan Bakar), freshly caught is very popular. 
• 2 Masakan Padang Gantian, Jl Jend Sudirman, Kalabahi (near Bethlehem Church). 09:00-17:00. good selection of Padang food including beef rendang, fish, egg and other West Sumatran delicacies. 
• 3 Makan Padang Sakato, Jl Gurami, Kalabahi (Jl off soccer field), ☏ +62 852 39014012. Daily 9AM–9PM. A renowned local Nasi Padang restaurant. (updated Sep 2022)

Drink

Distilled sopi, a local fermented palm sugar alcoholic drink, is a must to try.

Sleep

• 1 Tamala Homestay, Jl. Banteng, Kalabahi (off Jl Jend Sudirman), ☏ +62 812 37210210. 14:00-12:00. Clean and well managed, rooms with AC, WIFI and breakfast, a little out of town. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 Simfony Hotel Alor, Jl. Diponegoro No.28, Wetabua, Kalabahi (across from pasar), ☏ +62 813 53049502, nfo@simfonyhotel.com. 14:00-12:00. Comfortable rooms with AC, WIFI and breakfast, sunsets from roof-top bar. (updated Sep 2022)
• 3 Hotel Melati, JL. Dr. Sutomo, No. 1, Kalabahi (Port area), ☏ +62 812 39104343. 14:00-12:00. Long running favourite, with traditional rooms around courtyard, free parking and WIFI. (updated Sep 2015)

Stay safe

The Alor Archipelago has two main hospitals: the larger Kalabahi General Hospital (RSD Kalabahi) near the Kalabahi city centre and the lesser Mola Field Hospital (RSB Mola) in the city's eastern outskirt. Several public health clinics (Puskesmas) are available scattered throughout villages in Alor and Pantar. However, only the Kalabahi General Hospital provides specialist medical services (as of 2022). Both the hospitals and puskesmas accept BPJS cards. All puskesmas' are capable of providing basic A&E and inpatient care, but complex cases are referred to the hospital.

1 Kalabahi General Hospital (RSD Kalabahi), Jl. dr. Soetomo No. 08, Kalabahi, Alor Regency, Indonesia, ☏ +62 386 21008. 24/7. Main Hospital of Alor Regency (updated May 2022)

The Regional police station (Polres) is 180 m (2-min walk) east of the hospital.

Go next

• Solor Archipelago
• Kupang
• Lembata
• Flores