First a word of warning: Flores is definitely suited best to the adventurous traveller, those content to do without luxuries if it means seeing the ‘undiscovered Indonesia’. Because apart from the west coast, which is a staging post for cruising around Komodo National Park – Flores sees very few visitors.

Exploring Flores properly means not limiting yourself to the scaly, scary inhabitants of Komodo, but immersing yourself in the unique culture here, where tribal communities practice a unique mix of traditional beliefs with Catholicism, and rural villages sport spiderwebbed paddy fields, thatched cottages and ancient stone shrines.