Enjoy the Adventure
Flores has been well-known for its natural and cultural wealth. A large number of travelers from all over the world have come to explore Nusa Nipa, or Snake Island, which is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Flores, in fact, has a lot to offer, particularly for pilgrims. Beginning with the arrival of the Portuguese in the eastern part of Flores in the 16th century, followed by the Dutch, the mission evolved into a harmonious culture known as enculturation. Enculturation has been practiced in Larantuka from ancient times, beginning with a procession known as semana santa, which was introduced by the Portuguese for the liturgical ritual of the Holy Week. The Larantuka community refers to Holy Week as semana santa or Hari Bae, which means “day of blessings.”
Flores, namely Larantuka, is home to Indonesia’s sole Catholic monarchy. Until recently, only royal descendants have been authorized to unlock the “Statue of Our Lady” or Tuan Ma, which was acquired in 1510. This serves as another evidence of the Church’s commitment to preserving local culture and wisdom, as well as a source of tremendous admiration.
Apart from Larantuka, which is rich in Catholic history and culture, there are a number of other cities in Flores that are worth visiting as part of a pilgrimage. This tour excursion includes the following locations: Maumere has the oldest church in Indonesia (St. Joseph’s Church and the Old Church), Wair Nokerua, the “magic spring” left by St. Francis Xavier, Maumere’s Chamber of Pau Johannes Paulus II at the Higher Seminary, Ritapiret Maumere, Putri Reinha Rosari (PRR) the Monastery Chapel where Mgr. Gabriel Manek’s body and coffin are lied down, the Christ statue in Paga, and several catholic missions in the western part of Flores, which by age is much younger than the eastern part of Flores, has many missions that influence the Flores people’s journey in general. We designed this package tour to coincide with the Ruteng diocese’s 2022 mission, Pariwisata Holistik: Berpartisipasi, Berbudaya, dan Berkelanjutan (Holistic Tourism Pastoral “Participating, Cultured, and Sustainable”). We will invite travelers to trace the history of Catholicism in Flores both physically through several objects such as churches, monasteries, catholic schools, caves, and statues, and we will also introduce the mission of the church that is still visible through this pilgrim tour package, with the experience of our tour guide who has a basic deepening of faith and Catholicism in Flores coupled with the relationships we have built with the Church and the Priests and sisters. During a tour, through procession of semana santa in Easter, or prayer activities, can help to deepen one’s faith.
We strongly recommend combining this pilgrim tour package with the Flores overland tour, which includes visits to cultural tourism sites that can add to the excitement of the trip.
Itinerary
We have carefully planned out each day to give you the best possible experience. From exploring historic landmarks to tasting delicious local cuisine, each day is packed with adventure and excitement. Join us as we take you on a journey through some of the most fascinating destinations in the world.
- Tour guide and driver will pick up the tour participants from the airport according to the arrival time to proceed to the Putri Reinha Rosari (PRR) for stay.
- The tour in Larantuka will spend for 2 days and 1 night. At the first day, the tour will start by visiting PRR chapel where Mgr. Gabriel Manek’s body and coffin are laid.
- Mgr. Gabriel Manek died on November 30, 1989 at Sint John Hospital, Lakewood, Denver, United States. His body was buried in Techny, United States on December 5, 1989. Attempts to retrieve the body of the late Mgr. Manek has been carried out since 2005, by approaching various related parties. His tomb was then dug up again on April 10, 2007. Excavations were stopped until the coffin was finally removed and opened on April 14, 2007. The body (as well as the coffin) was still intact even though it had been buried for 17 years, although his body was not preserved. The body arrived in Kupang on April 18, 2007. On April 25, the 56th anniversary of the bishop’s ordination, the bishop’s body was reburied at the PRR Monastery. Until now, his body is laid in the main chapel at the PRR congregation’s Central Monastery in Larantuka. This chapel was blessed by the Bishop of Atambua, Dominic Saku on August 15, 2012. This tomb has become a spiritual tourism object in the Larantuka area.
- The tour participants will visit the chapel of Tuan Ma or Mary statue that is only open once a year during semana santa or Easter.
- The tour continued to visit the Kingdom of Larantuka known as the only Catholic kingdom in Indonesia. There, you will also meet the royal’s family and learn about the history.
- The tour participants will stay overnight at the monastery conducted by nuns at the PRR.
- Early in the morning before breakfast, the tour participants wake up in order to visit the most iconic church in Flores Gereja Reinha Rosari which was built On October 1 1885 by Father Ten Brink, SJ.
- The tour participants will pray inside the church and learn the history from the priest about the history of the church.
- After church, the tour participants go back to PRR monastery for breakfast.
- After breakfast, the tour starts at 8.30 am to travel to Maumere. On the way, the tour participants are open to enjoy the scenery where Solor, Adonara, and some small islands are giving attractions to everyone who passes by. Besides that, twin mountain Lewatobi are there to complete the story.
- Driving from the south to the north of Maumere, you will experience the city where Catholicism is strongly alive amongst its traditional beliefs.
- The tour participants will stay overnight at the Coconut Garden which is located by the white sandy beach.
- The tour in Maumere will start with a pilgrim visit to the statue of the Mother of All Nations Nilo. There, the tour participants will spend time praying under the statue which is one of the highest statues in the world with the height of 28 meter located on the hill where the entire city of Maumere and the islands on the north part are easily seen.
- After Nilo, the tour continued to visit Seminari Tinggi Ritapiret where Pope Johannes Paul XII slept in one of the rooms that are open to people who want to pray. Pope Johannes Paul XII visited Flores, especially Maumere on October 10 1989.
- After Ritapiret, the tour continued to visit one of the oldest churches in Maumere in the village of Sikka.
- Afterwards, the tour participants are back to Maumere for lunch.
- After lunch, the tour participants will visit Wair Nokerua, a spring that is “magic” to locals that firstly appeared after the visit of Saint Fransiscus Xavier. From there, the tour participants are back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
- The tour starts at 8.30 after breakfast to visit the oldest church in Flores, Gereja Kathedral St. Joseph Maumere.
- Gereja Kathedral St. Joseph was built in 1873.
- After the church, the tour continues to Koka beach for lunch. Before getting down to the beach, the tour participants stop to visit Patung Kristus Raja located in Paga village.
- The tour participants are having seafood for lunch at Koka beach
- After lunch, the tour participants are heading to Moni for dinner and overnight at Kelimutu Ecolodge
- To see the sunrise from the summit of mt. Kelimutu (1600 m abl), the tour participants will have to wake up at 4 am to the base of Kelimutu before trekking to Kelimutu through at least 300 stairs. (optional)
- After Kelimutu, the tour participants are back to the hotel for breakfast and shower.
- The tour participants are heading to Bajawa with some stops along the way.
- In Ende, the tour participants visit Keuskupan Agung Ende (Archidioecesis Endehenus) including Serambi Soekarno, a place where Soekarno, a first president of Indonesia used to spend time with some catholic priests.
- From Catedral church, the tour continues to Blue Stone Beach to relax at the beach which is full of blue stones. There, the tour participants will have lunch with seafood as main menu.
- After lunch, the tour is heading to Soa to relax at the Mengeruda hot spring.
- Located in the northern part of Bajawa in a small town called Soa. Mengeruda hot spring is a natural hot spring where tour participants can swim in it which has been facilitated in several swimming pools. Tour participants can also swim and play in hot water mixed with warm water plus a small waterfall where tour participants can massage the body naturally.
- The temperature is around 35-40 degrees Celsius where the springs appear and about 30 degrees Celsius at the river.
- From Mengeruda, the tour participants are heading to Bajawa city to check in at Sanian Hotel.
- In Bajawa, the tour activities include a visit to Patung Semesta Alam Wolowio for a pilgrim tour mixed with cultural visit to the biggest traditional village in Flores, Bena Traditional Village.
- In the morning after breakfast, the tour participants will drive to Wolowio to visit one of the highest Mary statues in Flores in height of 15 meter on the top of the hill Wolowio which is 1.400 m abl.
- Besides for pilgrim activity, on the way to Wolowio, the tour participants are open to enjoy Coffee plantations that have been widely exported due to its quality.
- After Wolowio, the tour participants are back to the town for lunch.
- After lunch, the tour participants are heading to Bena Traditional Village to see and experience the culture and living tradition in Bena which is located down the base of Inerie Pyramid Mountain.
- From Bena, the tour participants are moving to Manulalu jungle lodge for your sleeping experience on the edge of the hill away from the crowded city.
- At 09.00, tour participants drive to Ruteng with a travel time of about 5 hours from Manulalu.
- The next stop is Aimere. A small town located in the southern part of Bajawa where arak is a traditional alcoholic drink in many places in this area. Because Flores is famous for its Arak, almost every district has a distinctive Arak or in Flores it is called “Sopi”. Aimere is one of the largest Arak distillation centers. Here the tour participants will see how the initial process such as juice into arak from a small percentage of 15% to 50%. Almost all of the people in this area participate in Arak as their main source of income because Arak in Flores is one of the biggest parts that must be owned when holding traditional ceremonies.
- Lunch at Siquarra Restaurant, Waelengga, 5 minutes from Aimere.
- The mountain town of Ruteng is a good city for a stopover. Ruteng is also known as a city of thousand monasteries due to the fast number of the convents for brothers and sisters. Catholicism was firstly introduced in 1912 that every traveler should visit the Catedral church, overnight in the convent.
- In the morning after breakfast, the tour participants are going to visit Golo Curu Hill to enjoy the view and pray at the Mary statue. For people in and around Ruteng, Golo Curu Hill is used for Jesus’ cross procession.
- From Golo Curu, the tour is continued to Cancar for seeing the iconic Spider web rice field where every travelers are walking up to the hill to enjoy the view for at least 5 minutes walk.
- After Cancar, tour participants will continue to Labuan Bjo where the tour ends.
Included / Excluded
To help you plan your trip, we have put together a list of what's included and what's not included in your tour package. This will give you a clear understanding of what to expect and help you make any necessary arrangements before your journey begins.
Included
- Car
- Guide
- Accommodations (9 nights)
- Meals (8xB, 8xL, 7xD)
- Entrance fees to all tourist object inc. National park
- Donations
- Mineral water (please bring refilled bottles)
Excluded
- Travel assurance
- Tipping
- Personal expenses
What to Bring?
- Casual clothing, jacket or sweater
- Proper Trekking shoes
- Camera with enough memory card and battery replacement
- Some medicines for car sick (the road is curvy in Flores
- Enough cash. (only BNI, BRI, and, Mandiri are available in Flores
- Mosquito spray.
- Sun glasses.
- Sun lotion
- Towels
- Portable flash light
- Raincoat
