Three Colour Kelimutu Lake – Basically Kelimutu is a volcano, in central Flores island in Indonesia. The volcano is around 50km to the east of Ende, Indonesia, the capital of Ende regency in East Nusa Tenggara province. The lake is known as Lake of Three Colors because it has three different colors, namely red, blue, and white. Even so, the colors are always changing over time. The lake is located at an altitude of 1,631 meters above sea level. The words of Kelimutu is a combination between word of “keli” meaning mountain and the word “quality” means to boil. According to local belief, the colors on the lake has the meaning of each and have a very powerful natural forces.
Pic Source : wikipedia
According to Wikipedia, the colour changes as a result of chemical reactions resulting from the minerals contained in the lake perhaps triggered by volcano gas activity.
The each color represent different things : Blue lake or “Nuwa Muri Koo Fai Tiwu” is a gathering place for the souls of young people who have died. The red or “Tiwu Ata Polo” is a gathering place for the souls of the dead and as long as he lived always commit a crime. While the white or “Tiwu Mbupu Ata” is a gathering place for the souls of parents who have died.
The third area of the lake is approximately 1,051,000 square meters with a volume of 1292 million cubic meters. Boundary between the lake was a narrow stone walls prone to landslides. This wall is very steep with a 70-degree angle. The wall of the Lake has height ranges from 50 to 150 meters.
This area found by Van Such Telen, a Dutch national, in 1915 after Y. Bouman describes in his writings in 1929 and Since then the foreign tourists started to come to visit the lake, for the local community the lake has been gave so much opportunity especially on tourism business.
To get into this area you should pay administration fee in the amount of Rp.2000 (0,2 US Dollar) so cheap!. In addition, because the lake located at the top of Kelimutu Mountain, the right time to enjoy the beauty of the lake are in the morning, because in the afternoon or evening on the lake is often blanket by fog.
The closest airports are Maumere, and Ende. There are regular flights to Ende from Bali. The drive from Ende to Moni, the town at the base of Kelimutu where accommodation is available, takes about 3 hours, while from Moni to Kelimutu vehicle park, a 13 kilometers needs 45 minutes. Usually tourists sleep one night to catch sunrise at Kelimutu.
See the lake on the map below:
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