Kelimutu is a volcano on the island of Flores in Indonesia. Kelimutu is Keli=Mount and Mutu=Boiling means mount is always active. It is a good base for a trip to the coloured craters of the volcano. There are three craters which are usually dark red, green and light green, but the colours are not fixed and depend on the activities of the volcano, so the colour changes from lighter or darker. The similar Kawah Putih (White Crater) near Ciwidey on the island of Java has only one lake, with light green to white colour.

Get in

Airplanes from Denpasar to Maumere and Ende are limited. The ticket price is more than Rp 1 million to more than Rp 2 million for one way trip.

Buses from Bajawa (3-4 hr, Rp 80,000) start at 06:00. Gunung Mas runs 12-seater "Travel Bus" from Ruteng to Kelimutu (continuing to Maumere) at 07:00 and 13:30-14:00. Your accommodation may be able to arrange a "Travel" shared car for Rp 100,000 per person (as of Nov 2018).

From Ende there are more options. Public cars (2 hr, Rp 40,000), Toyota Kijang are the normally the most comfortable option. Bemos (Rp 20,000) and buses (Rp 30,000) also ply the route in 2½ hr. If you're feeling adventurous ojeks will take you there for Rp 100,000 letting you make your way in your own pace and stop for photos along the very scenic route.

From Maumere (3-4 hr) there is the same plethora of buses (Rp 30,000) and public cars (Rp 50,000), just ask at your hotel.

From Riung, the public bus to Ende (Rp 50,000) leaves at 06:00 and you can catch a bus to Kelimutu from there.

Your hotel can arrange transport for you in the public cars, but the downside is that the car will save a seat for you from their start in Maumere/Ende, so you have to pay the price of the full route even though you only get on in Kelimutu. Given that enough people get off in Kelimutu, it is better to just flag a car/bus in Kelimutu when you are ready to leave. It might take you an hour to do so, but there is also no guarantee that the car your hotel arranges for you will arrive at a specific time. This is Indonesia.

Get around

The ubiquitous ojek is never far away. Depending on your guesthouse's proximity to the national park, ojeks are between Rp 25,000-35,000 (1 way) for a ride up to see the sunrise at 04:30. It's best to walk back since it's a nice walk, and there's nothing worse than having an eager ojek driver pulling at you to leave the beautiful lakes just as the light is getting perfect for that moment.

You can rent a motorbike at many places around town for Rp 100,000 for the day.

The cars licensed to carry public transport passengers are the ones with yellow license plates. (However, it seems everyone is willing to stop and let you on for a price).

Some hikers sometimes hike down from Kelimutu to Ende on foot. This is not so difficult, because the hike goes down and the forest is light.

See

Kelimutu sunrise

• Mount Kelimutu. The main attraction. Beautiful at sunrise, the 3 mineral lakes at the top (in the craters) change colour with the changing of the volcnoes activities. The lakes change color completely from time to time. In the national park you can see a table of what color the lakes were for each year going back 20 years. It is impossible to take the three lakes altogether in one frame as displayed on postcard from the ground. Should use drone or sometimes there are chartered air planes fly over the three lakes. Rp 10,000 for motorbike parking. Rp 150,000 for entrance fee. (updated Dec 2018)
• Monkeys. On your way down the volcano you will find the monkeys have awoken. There is an official feeding ground where you can go and feed the monkeys. Be careful, they are sneaky buggers, and there's always a risk of being bitten or scratched when interacting with wild animals. 
• Local villages. The settlement itself is surrounded by spectacular scenery, landscapes dotted with palms and banana trees. There are also a number of visible burial sites in front gardens, a local cultural tradition. 
• Hot springs. Near the entrance to the Kelimutu National Park you find the hot springs. A perfect end to an early morning. 
• Waterfalls. Opposite Rainbow Cafe, a small path leads down to a roaring waterfall. Popular with the young locals, this is considered the perfect site for a picnic. 

Buy

Not far from Kelimutu (about 5 km in the Ende direction), the big fruit and vegetable market is where the villagers sell the produce from their gardens. Everything is fresh, tasty and picked daily.

Ikat sarongs and scarfs woven by the local women in the surrounding villages are easy to find. They come in 2 qualities, natural dye and chemical dye. If you don't know the difference, opt for the cheaper chemical dye.

Eat

Besides the guesthouses, there are several good restaurants around Kelimutu offering western and local menus. And of course a couple of warungs peddling the cheap and tasty Bakso and Soto Ayam.

Try the traditional Moni dinner offered by a young local called Ivan, the son of the owner of "Marias Inn" guesthouse - he will do vegetarian on request.

• Rainbow Cafe. 
• Bintang cafe and restaurant, Moni, ☏ +62 852 37906259. 
• Chenty Restaurant &Cafe. Beside Bintang Restaurant. Their specialty is delicious Moni cakes - mashed potatoe with herbs deep fried til crispy and well worth the wait. 

Sleep

Accommodation in Kelimutu is plentiful, although fairly spread out over 2 km along the main road. Prices are per room, and all have private bathrooms with western toilets. This lists accommodations in the order you approach them when arriving from Ende. Take your own covers or wear a sweater to bed, as the blankets these lodges provide for you are usually too thin to warm you up.

• Arwanty Bungalow. 2 large bungalows each with 2 rooms that can hold 3 people. A double bed in one room and a single bed in the other room that also holds furniture making out the living room. Rp 200,000. 
• Bintang Lodge by Tobias, Moni kelimutu, ☏ +62 852 37906259, cafe.bintang@gmail.com. Clean and big rooms with tiled floor. The pricier rooms have hot showers. The restaurant is a great place to meet other travelers. As of May 2012, this is the only place in town with working internet, but there is only laptop and the speed is horrible (Rp 10,000/h). Rp 100,000-350,000. 
• Watugana. 2 very comfortable rooms upstairs and 5 cheapies downstairs with less light and no view, but otherwise same. Rp 100,000-200,000. 
• Maria Inn, Main road (opposite the school - head up the path where you see their sign and veer right). The budget rooms in the concrete in the back are old and worn-down, but they will do for a night - as at January 2012 they were closed for renovation. The two bungalows in front are nicer, though their bathrooms are so so. The owners are kind and helpful. Check if this is clean and try to bargain a bit - it's a good idea to check prices at other places first as their opening gambit can be quite cheeky. Rp 75,000-200,000. 
• Flores Sare. Imagine a hotel in an atrium setting with a beautiful garden with ponds, canals and fountains in the centre and nice comfortable rooms surrounding that garden. Then you might get an idea what this place looked like 10 years ago. Now imagine that it has never been maintained, the canals are dry, the garden overgrown, and the staff indifferent or simply absent. Rp 250,000-450,000. 
• Kelimutu Crater Lakes Eco Lodge, ☏ +62 361 7474205, reservation@ecolodgesindonesia.com. 10 cute concrete bungalows with balconies and thatched roof. The hotel recycles water and uses solar power. It is the only up-market (although hardly luxury) option in Kelimutu. Rp 700,000. 
• Santiago Dorm, cheap, though very simple dorm beds. Rp 50,000, breakfast not included.

Go next

• Maumere, 3 hours
• Ende, 2 hours, Rp 30,000 to take bemo/minibus or "Travel" car may pick you up for Rp 50,000. Wait on the side of main street (as of Nov 2018). Some travelers sometimes hike down from Kelimutu to Ende on foot and is not so difficult.