After we left the Tanali village, we went to Saoria motel and spent the night there. We agreed to leave the motel at 4.00 a.m. in a bid to catch the sun rise at the peak of Mount Kelimutu. Alas, due to fatigue, we could only leave at 5.00 a.m. Sleepy-eyed and covered in thick jackets, we all made our way to the peak.
After the hike to Gede-Pangrango and Beuticanar, I found this hike to Kelimutu as very easy. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but there are steps leading the way to the summit, clear signage of the route and it's under 2,000 meters. Not much to tell actually.
For the adventure seekers out there, Kelimutu may not have the difficult terrain, but the beauty of Kelimutu with its three colored lakes: Tiwu Ata Polo, Tiwu Nuamuri Koo Fai and Tiwu Ata Bupu, is definitely worth to visit.
When we visited Kelimutu, the colors were emerald green, emerald green and black, respectively. But in the past, the colors were red, emerald green and white. Nobody knows for sure why the colors change. Some say the colors change as the mount show volcanic activity, with green means very active and black means not so active. Last year, all three lakes turned green.
Locals also believe that when Ata Polo turns red blood, something terrible will happen. The last time Ata Polo turned red blood was a few days before the 1998 student riot. Hmm, interesting.
Did you know that if you took a sample of water out of the crater lakes, the sample would be transparent? How come the lakes have colors? Very interesting.
I didn't have many photos on Kelimutu crater lakes. If you want to see more photos on Kelimutu, you can click here.
And the next photo is about the happy group who believed that they could finally go back to sleep once they returned to the cars. No, we couldn't sleep since we were too excited after seeing those beautiful crater lakes.
For the adventure seekers out there, Kelimutu may not have the difficult terrain, but the beauty of Kelimutu with its three colored lakes: Tiwu Ata Polo, Tiwu Nuamuri Koo Fai and Tiwu Ata Bupu, is definitely worth to visit.
The one on the left is Nuamuri and on the right is Ata Polo
Ata Bupu
When we visited Kelimutu, the colors were emerald green, emerald green and black, respectively. But in the past, the colors were red, emerald green and white. Nobody knows for sure why the colors change. Some say the colors change as the mount show volcanic activity, with green means very active and black means not so active. Last year, all three lakes turned green.
Locals also believe that when Ata Polo turns red blood, something terrible will happen. The last time Ata Polo turned red blood was a few days before the 1998 student riot. Hmm, interesting.
Did you know that if you took a sample of water out of the crater lakes, the sample would be transparent? How come the lakes have colors? Very interesting.
I didn't have many photos on Kelimutu crater lakes. If you want to see more photos on Kelimutu, you can click here.
And the next photo is about the happy group who believed that they could finally go back to sleep once they returned to the cars. No, we couldn't sleep since we were too excited after seeing those beautiful crater lakes.
From all the jackets we wore, you could tell it's a cold morning. I was glad I had that green Satcas hoodie on and that red camera to brighten my day:)
Ugh ... I envy you, really *eyes narrowing*; those lakes look awesome! About the colors, I guess it has something to do with either changes in composition of volcanic partices of the lakes, or the growth of algaes under water, or both. Don't you think so?
ReplyDeleteOmooooooo~~~ so Amazing~~~ Daydreaming when I can go there sis hehehehehe
ReplyDeletewida, those lakes are magnificent, majestic, and more than words can say! i believe they are the only crater lakes in the world whose water can change colors.
ReplyDeletewhen i met a forest ranger, i asked the possibility of the algae, but you know what, those lakes have more than 10 meters in depth (no one ever measured the depths of the lakes, the experts used some equipment that could only take water samples as far as 10 meters). and the water samples taken from that 10 meter depth were quite transparent.
i don't know about volcanic particles, you mean like ashes? so if they're having more activity, they should be gray? but the emerald green shows the high volcanic activity. so again, no one knows for sure...
let's just say that God is Almighty and can create the impossible. subhanallah...
pichan,
yes, they are amazing. daydreaming is the first step to go there. flores is not that far, you only have to go past bali, lombok and voila, you're in flores. you can do it, pichan!