:: Alor and Lembata Island Travel Guides ::
ALOR ISLAND
Alo
r
is the largest island in the Alor archipelago located at
the eastern-most end of the Lesser Sunda Islands that
runs through southern Indonesia, which from the west
include such islands as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo,
and Flores.
To the east of the island across the Ombai Strait lie
the islands of Wetar and Atauro, the latter belonging to
East Timor. To the south, across the Strait of Alor,
lies the western part of Timor. To the north lies the
Banda Sea. To the west lies Pantar and the other islands
of the Alor archipelago, and further yet the rest of the
Sunda Islands.
"The best"
snorkelling and diving in Indonesia can be
found in the Alor archipelago. Due to intriguing and
often very strong currents it is best to snorkel or dive
with someone who knows the area well. Transportation to
Alor by TransNusa Trigana Air, from Kupang, Denpasar and
Surabaya
Alor Island regency is the
least visited and therefore the most unspoiled region of
Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). Trek to the rim of a volcano
on Pantar or dive the straits of Alor and Pantar in a
dive destination rated by all to be amongst the best in
the world. Ponder on the existence of the Moko drums,
which are not found in large numbers anywhere else in
Indonesia and can be traced back to the Dongson period
in Vietnam around 350 BC and you start to realize that
Alor is truly a land lost in time.
Alor diving is known as the best in the world With its
smoldering Volcanoes reaching down into crystal clear
waters fringed with pristine coral reefs, coconut
fringed pure white sandy beaches and traditional
villages built half way up mountains, the scenery is as
spectacular above as it is below the waterline. Alor
Island is so mountainous that it is almost impossible to
pass from one side to the other and many of the villages
on the island itself can only transport themselves via
small wooden ferries. The eight distinct dialects and
more than 50 sub-dialects spoken today, testifies to the
diversity on Alor.
Geography
Alor has an area
of about 2800 km², making it the largest island of the
Alor archipelago.
Kalabahi is the only town on the island of Alor, with a
metropolitan population of about 60,000. The variety of
goods obtainable in Kalabahi is surprising considering
its size and location.
Alor is of volcanic origin and has very rugged terrain.
The region near Kalabahi is the only flat area. This is
why the Dutch placed the capital and the main harbor (Alor-Kecil)
of the area here in 1911.
"The best" snorkelling and diving in Indonesia can be
found in the Alor archipelago. Due to intriguing and
often very strong currents it is best to snorkel or dive
with someone who knows the area well. Transportation to
Alor by TransNusa Trigana Air, from Kupang, Denpasar and
Surabaya.
Economy
The island's infrastructure is only weakly built. The
inhabitants practice mainly subsistence agriculture. The
government seeks to change this with the help of
international organizations. In the villages vanilla,
tamarind, almonds and other nuts are cultivated. In the
forests sandalwood is cut down for trade.
The latest geological explorations have discovered
valuable resources such as gipsum, kaolin, petroleum,
natural gas, tin, gold, and diamonds.
Alor's highly-esteemed snorkeling and diving promise an
increase in tourism in the future. Depletion of the
fisheries has however damaged the coral reefs in recent
years.
Religion
Over 168,000 people live on Alor. Three-fourths are
protestants, the rest are either Muslims or in a few
villages Roman Catholics. Animistic rites and traditions
are still strongly practiced.
Language
M
re
than 15 different indigenous languages are spoken on
Alor, the majority of them classified as Papuan or non-Austronesian.
These include Abui, Adang, Hamap, Kabola, Kafoa, Woisika,
Kelon, and Kui. In addition, Alorese (Bahasa Alor; ISO
693-3: aol) is a Malayo-Polynesian language which is
spoken along the coast of the western and southern
Bird's Head of Alor Island and in places on surrounding
islands.
Many of the Papuan languages of Alor are endangered and
are no longer being actively acquired by children. Some
languages have fewer than 1000 speakers remaining.
Significant linguistic documentation efforts have been
undertaken recently by Leiden University.
The language of daily communication is Alor Malay, a
unique Malay variety with some similarities to Kupang
Malay. Indonesian is taught in schools and used widely
in media.
Transportation
During the dry season, Kalabahi is serviced by flights
five times a week from Kupang the provincial capital,
using a [ATR42] 46 seat by TransNusa Trigana Air and
Kasa 18 seat airplane. These flights are run by Merpati
Airlines. Most of them are simply Kupang - Kalabahi -
Kupang, but mid-2003 a new flight Kupang - Kalabahi -
Kisar - Ambon, returning the next day, was introduced.
The two Pelni passenger ships Serimau and Awu also pass
through Kalabahi each week. Transport to Alor during the
wet season is sometimes disrupted due to high winds and
large waves.
LEMBATA ( LOMBLEN ) ISLAND
Pulau
Lembata
(the island of Lembata), formerly known as Pulau Lomblen,
is the largest island of the Solor Archipelago, in the
Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. It forms part of the
province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. The length of the
island is about 80 km from the Southwest to the
Northeast and the width is about 30 km from the West to
the East. It rises to a height of 1533 m.
To the west lie the other islands in the archipelago,
most notably Solor and Adonara, and then the larger
island of Flores. To the east is the Alor Strait, which
separates this archipelago from the Alor Archipelago. To
the south across the Savu Sea lies the island of Timor,
while to the north the western branch of the Banda Sea
separates it from Buton and the other islands of
Southeast Sulawesi.
Geography
The
capital city Lewoleba (also known as Labala) is found on
the Western part of the island alongside a huge bay
facing the Ilê Ape volcano in the North. Ships
frequently connect the coastal towns and surrounding
islands, but the only bigger harbour exists at Lewoleba
in the North of the island. From Lewoleba there are
daily connections to Larantuka, Flores, and Waiwerang on
the neighbouring island of Adonara.
Like the other Lesser Sunda Islands, and indeed much of
Indonesia, Lembata is volcanically active. It has three
volcanoes, Ililabalekan, Iliwerung, and Lewotolo.
People
he
people of Lembata are, like many other inhabitants of
Eastern Indonesia, famous for their handmade ikat
weavings.
The national language, Indonesian, is known by many
people of all ages, but like on other islands the
national language coexists with many local languages.
The most widespread of these is probably Lamaholot
(another lingua franca inside the Solor archipelago).
Lamaholot is spoken as a native language on Eastern
Flores and Western Solor, and is itself divided into ten
or more sublanguages (and many more dialects). It is
spoken by 150.000 or more people in the region.
On the South coast of Lembata, the village of Lamalera
(pop. 2.500) is known for its whale hunting. Lamalera
and Lamakera (on the neighbouring island of Solor) are
the last two remaining Indonesian whaling communities
Come and Discover Indonesia Islands with us!
