Guide to Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Timor, Indonesia)

Nusa Tenggara ("Southeast Islands"), also known as the Lesser Sunda Islands, is a region in southeastern Indonesia.

Formerly little more than afterthought for most Bali-bound travellers, this region is now attracting more and more visitors, with Komodo National Park close to Flores island and Lombok leading the way.

Nusa Tenggara is administratively divided into two provinces:

West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat)

East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur)

While Bali is geographically a part of the archipelago, they are covered in separate articles.

• Ende — lazy main city in Flores
• Kupang — the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, in the western half of Timor
• Labuanbajo — launching point from Flores to Komodo Island, diving and snorkeling
• Mataram — the capital of West Nusa Tenggara, in Lombok
• Maumere — the main transport hub in Flores
• Senggigi — the main tourist town in Lombok
• Sumbawa Besar — the largest city in Sumbawa
• Waingapu — the main city of Sumba and gateway to this most mysterious of islands
• Waikabubak — home of the pasolas and some truly stunning beaches in West Sumba.

• Gili Islands — three gorgeous, tiny islands perched off Lombok, formerly a backpacker mecca and now fast going up-market
• Komodo National Park — home of the komodo dragon, a very rich marine fauna and magnificent remote landscapes
• Mount Tambora — a seldom visited volcano in the remotest area of Sumbawa
• Mount Rinjani — popular with volcano climbers and visitors to Lombok
• Moyo — national marine park with superb diving and home to a remarkable Aman resort
• Mount Kelimutu National Park — amazing multi-coloured volcanic crater lakes
• Rote Island – a surfer's paradise at the very bottom of Asia

For millennia, these islands were important centres of trade in sandalwood, spices and tortoiseshell. This trade enriched powerful local kingdoms like Wehali on Timor and Manggarai on Flores. Trade also made this area attractive to the Portuguese, who landed on Flores in 1512, and the Dutch, who landed on Timor in 1653. The Dutch would go on to make these islands part of their colonial empire, except for Timor which was split between them and the Portuguese in 1859. These colonial legacies continue to influence the culture of the area today.

While the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa have a majority of Muslim inhabitants, the vast majority (90%) of the rest is Christian, with a strong Hindu presence on Lombok and a good number of remnant aspects of animist belief. Nusa Tenggara has been largely spared the religious conflict of nearby Sulawesi and Maluku.

The Wallace line, the boundary between the Asian and Australian ecosystems, passes through the region, between Bali and Lombok. Therefore, Nusa Tenggara is part of Wallacea, a transitional ecozone, identified by both the WWF and Conservation International as a global conservation priority area.

Bahasa Indonesia is spoken throughout the region, along with a host of regional languages. English is understood in some of the larger towns and cities, in particular those with significant tourist infrastructure. Outside of those places, do not expect English to be either spoken or understood. Dutch may be spoken by some seniors.

Being a vast archipelago, the main means of transport are by plane and by ship.

By plane

The main airports, with frequent flights from Jakarta and Denpasar (Bali), are Lombok (LOP), Labuan Bajo (Flores, LBJ) and Kupang (West Timor, KOE). From Denpasar there are also regular flights to Bima (Sumbawa), Ende and Maumere (Flores), and Tambolaka and Waingapu (Sumba).

In terms of international flights, Lombok is connected to Singapore (Scoot) and Kuala Lumpur (AirAsia).

By boat

There are frequent ferry services from Bali to Lombok. There is a ferry from Padang Bai, whilst there is a fast boat to GilI Islands and Senggigi from Sanur, Benoa, Kuta, Padang Bai and Amed. Connections between Nusa Tenggara and Indonesia's other islands are limited to the occasional PELNI ferry sailing between Makassar (South Sulawesi) to Flores and, if you really want to get away from it all, from various ports in Papua via Tual and Saumlaki, Maluku to Kalabahi, Alor and onward to Flores.

By plane

The network of inter-island flights has grown considerably over the last decade. Kupang Airport (KOE) is a hub for East Nusa Tenggara, with flights to all other airports in the province. Similarly, there are flights from Lombok Airport (LOP) to Bima and Sumbawa Besar on the island of Sumbawa. Alor Island Airport (ARD) can be reached from Kupang and Atambua.

By bus and ferry

From Bali in the west to Timor in the east, the classic island-hopping backpacker trail across Nusa Tenggara runs something like this:

• Ferry from Padangbai, Bali to Lembar, Lombok
• Overland across Lombok via Senggigi
• Ferry from Labuhan Lombok to Poto Tano, Sumbawa
• Overland across Sumbawa via Sumbawa Besar and Bima
• Ferry from Sape to Labuanbajo, Flores
• Overland across Flores via Maumere to Ende
• Ferry from Ende to Kupang, West Timor
• Overland across Timor to Dili, East Timor

Popular detours include visiting the 3 Gili Islands lying a few km of the western coast of Lombok and Komodo north of Flores. Less popular options include going via Sumba instead of Flores.

A night time ferry sometimes runs from Waingapu, Sumba to Ende, Flores, taking about 11 hours.

• Komodo dragon. The Komodo dragon, which lives in Rinca and Flores as well as Komodo islands, is the largest lizard in the world. Tours are available where dragons can be seen in the wild. Tourists must be accompanied by park rangers who use forked wooden sticks to fend off any approaching dragons, and provide information about the islands and wildlife. The practice of feeding dragons stopped in 1992.
• See the three varying colored lakes at Kelimutu on Flores.

• Pasolas, festivals with ritual battles between warriors, in western Sumba in February or March.
• Swimming in the Flores Sea between Sumbawa and Flores, en route to or from one of the islands in Komodo National Park.

With a drier climate, there is less rice and more sago, corn, cassava, and taro compared to central and western Indonesia. Fish is popular including sepat, which is shredded fish in coconut and young-mango sauce.

Jus Apokat (avocado juice), often including a swirl of chocolate, is generally very good.

Komodo dragons, at up to 3 m (10 ft) in length, are more than capable of killing a human with ease, although human predation is rare. Zoologists formerly believed that the main problem was the dragon's pathogen-filled bite from the harmful bacteria residing in their mouth. More recently theories have been put forward that the Komodo dragon is actually venomous, and that the biggest problem when bitten is shock and massive blood loss due to the ferocity of the bite. In any case, getting bitten is not a good thing.

The dragon usually bites a larger animal and then waits for the infection to kill it. So, despite the fact that being actually eaten is unlikely, the bite itself can be deadly. Keep at a considerable distance and never enter dragon territory alone. If you use basic common sense you should have a wonderful time viewing these magnificent animals. The absence of crocodiles on Komodo Island (due in part to a lack of suitable habitat) leave the Komodo Dragons with no natural predators.

Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) also reside in most of this area, however they are not found on Komodo. The saltwater crocodile is the largest of all living crocodilians and the average size for an adult male is 5.2 m (17 ft) (although the largest saltwater crocodile on record was 8.8 m (29 ft) in length, from northern Queensland). They are known throughout their range as man-eaters and account for many human deaths every year. This can all be avoided by using basic common sense. Never swim in the ocean near a river mouth, in swamps or in large rivers. Never clean fish near the water or frequent the same spot at a river over a prolonged period of time, saltwater crocodiles are known to memorise a potential prey item's patterns for days or weeks at a time before attacking.

• Bali
• Sulawesi
• Maluku