Wae Rebo

Overview

The traditional village of Wae Rebo in the district of Manggarai on the island of Flores, East Nusatenggara, has recently received the Top Award of Excellence from UNESCO in the 2012 UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards, announced in Bangkok on 27 August 2012. This small and isolated village was recognized for its rebuilding of the traditional Mbaru Niang traditional house based on the spirit of community cooperation towards a sustainable tradition, while at the same time improving its village welfare.

Wae Rebo is a small, very out of the way village. Located some 1,100 meters above sea level, where the air is cool and the village completely surrounded by panoramic mountains and the dense Todo forest. This tropical forest is rich in vegetation, where you will find orchids, different types of ferns and hear the chirping of many songbirds. Founder of the village and, therefore, their main ancestor who built the village some 100 years ago, was a man called Empu Maro.

The 17 Islands Riung Marine Park

Overview

Located on the north coast of Flores island in the Ngada district  lies an archipelago that forms a unique, paradisical sea garden, called the 17 Islands Riung Marine Park. This cluster consists of islets whose waters are rich in biodiversity, sandy white beaches and crystal clear blue waters where you can dive in and swim among the colorful and varied coral beds.

One of the most popular attractions, for which these islands are famous is the 'Rose of the Sea', a renowned underwater phenomenon, which can be seen around several of the islands. Below the oceans surface you will find clusters ofsea roses waving mesmerizingly in the current. These are in fact a collection of giant sea hare eggs that, bound by membranes, together form red petals like giant red roses waving in the sea.

The 17 Islands Riung Marine Park, which extends from Toro Padang in the west to Pulau Pangsar in the east, range in size, but all are virtually uninhabited.