Bajawa is a town of Flores, very well known for traditional villages, Volcanoes, hot springs and pleasent weather through out. It’s a small market city surrounded by forest-covered mountains and a spectacular natural beauty.

The towering Volcano Mt.Inerie that dominates the skyline of Bajawa is definitely an highlight. Evenings when you walk in the villages you get to see this dramatic backdrop. We spent an evening here and that was magical.

Bena Traditional Village is a must visit for anyone visiting Flores Island that wants to experience an authentic traditional village. It’s a megalithic village. The local houses are built in a traditional style that is unique to the Island of Flores.  This was definitely an experience to visit this place.

Bena Traditional Village is comprised of over 40 traditional homes that house nine original tribes within the village. The village sits right at the bottom.of Mt.Inerie which over shadows their village. The locals believe the volcano is connected with the Yeta God, and she always protects their village.

 

You will see the jaw bones and skulls of buffalo hanging on the sides of the homes. This represents all the different animal sacrifices that have taken place in the home during rituals, wedding or any other occasions.

The reason the Village is considered a megalithic Village is because there are rock slabs that represent statues in the center of the courtyard. These represent tombs of the ancestor that previously lived in the village.

 

Next morning we wanted to visit Wolo bobo. The manager at the Guest house was very helpful in asking our driver to take me to this place. Again here she said they don’t see Indians much and asked if I’m ok in doing a quick chat with her friends. We did a video call and they asked me few questions about India and ofcourse Bollywood. These are definitely experiences you cannot forget.

Morning the drive and I started for the Wolo Bobo village and also wanted to visit a waterfall near by. We drove through the mist on the mountain crossing few traditional villages to reach Wolo Bobo. Since it was very misty couldn’t see the mountains clearly. I met few people from the forest department they were from Kupang. They showed me the pictures of how it actually looks if it’s not misty… . That was surreal…. We interacted with them knowing a lot about Bajawa as well Kupang where they are originally from….

We went to the waterfall but the road got blocked mid way… Stopped by a small Warung to have food… Driver was a nice person he showed me in a translator(Bahasa to English) saying “in case I have made mistake then I apologize”

Later on that day I also visited the hot water spring. One stream flowing from the hot water spring and another from the forest which was cold. They mixed together to form the river. You can soak yourself at the junction of these two waterfall to have soothing feel. After that it was time to say Adieu to the Bajawa and lovely people of Flores.