Riung 17 Islands

Taman Wisata Alam Tujuh Belas Pulau lies off Riung on the north coast of Flores and the name is a piece of official patriotism rather than a count: the seventeen refers to the seventeenth of August, Indonesian independence day, and the actual number of islands is somewhere over twenty depending on how you count rocks at high tide. What is there is a scatter of low islands with white sand, mangrove, shallow reef and clear water, worked by day boats hired at Riung harbour that do a circuit with snorkelling stops, a beach lunch and usually Pulau Ontoloe, which has a large colony of flying foxes that leave at dusk. Riung itself is a small Muslim and Catholic fishing town with basic guesthouses and very little tourism infrastructure.

What you actually see

• A patriotic name - seventeen for independence day, not for the island count.
• Flying foxes at Ontoloe - the colony streaming out at dusk.
• Shallow reef stops - the standard boat circuit with snorkelling.
• A small fishing town - Riung, with limited facilities and few visitors.

When to go

May to September; dusk for the flying foxes. Two days.

Honest expectations

Boat prices are negotiated and quoted high to foreigners; share where possible. Coral condition is mixed with bomb damage in places. Riung has few restaurants and limited banking.

Nearby

Bajawa and the Ngada villages are inland; Ende is east along the coast.