Standing On The Crater's Edge. On the Edge Of Kelimutu Volcano...

Indonesia is a land of volcanoes and seismic activity. Some of the world's largest, most devastating eruptions have occurred in the archipelago, and it's a place where volcanoes are part of the landscape, the history and even the culture of the people who live here.

The island of Flores is no exception, and a few years back during my first ever trip to Indonesia- I have returned almost 10 times since to the country! - I ventured out in search of Kelimutu, a volcano with multi coloured crater lakes, and a volcano I got a bit too close to the edge of.

Kelimutu Volcano, Indonesia

Kelimutu is a mysterious, 3 cratered volcano in the far east of Flores, in the Indonesian Province of East Nusa Tengarra. It's not really close to anywhere, and travelling here is a mission of it own accord. I spent days travelling overland from Bali, in search of Kelimutu, where each crater is a different colour.

Local legend associates the volcano with spirits. Each crater has its own distinct colour, and sometimes the colours change too. These colour changes are down to the gasses being emitted by the volcanic activity far below the Earth's crust although locals might tell you the change happens when a huge change occurs in Indonesia- a new President for example.

The Base Of The Volcano

I arrived at the village of Moni, a small farming community that is taking on tourism to showcase Kelimutu to the world, but when I arrived, the mountain top, the volcano, was obscured in dense fog and cloud.

The locals told me the best time to travel to the top was early morning, in the dark before the sun rose, as there was less chance of cloud cover and more chance of seeing the beautiful coloured lakes.

I spent the night in the village, and early morning in the pitch dark took a motorcycle on the winding path to the the top of Kelimutu, hoping not to drive off the edge of a volcano in the attempt.

Kelimutu Volcano

At the top of the volcano, in the dark I could make out the lines of the different craters and I waited for the sun to rise and the coloured lakes to be revealed.

The sun rose. Sort of.

Things got lighter anyway, but the cloud had already rolled over the mountains, covering everything in a grey, dreary mist, and keeping the lakes obscured far below in the craters.

The grey didn't move either. I waited and waited in the morning cold, as drizzle slowly soaked me and the mountain chill began to get to me. Still the cloud stayed put.

I ventured closer to the crater's edge to try to get a better view, wary of the fact that tourists had been known to fall their deaths at Kelimutu Probably doing what I was doing now, and attempting to see the lakes...

Danger signs appeared out of the mist, but I pressed further on, and found better angles for viewing. Far below I could just make it the colourful shimmers of turquoise green of the first lake.

Two lakes are next to each other, one turquoise and one black and I could almost make out this second lake too when the wind whipped the cloud cover away momentarily.

The third lake is detached from the other two lakes, and this was completely covered in fog and cloud. I had no chance of even getting close to the crater's edge to see the lake below here.

With the cloud not moving, and not wanting to risk getting so close I would fall into a volcano, I turned back down the mountain again to catch the last of the sun rise over Moni below.

It had been a long journey to find the volcano of Kelimutu obscured with cloud, but the journey itself was the adventure. Travel doesn't always go to plan, but even just a glimpse of these multi coloured volcanoes in the far East of Indonesia was a beautiful sight.

Richard Collett

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