Bajawa and Bena travel guide: Ngada villages, Inerie and hot springs

Why stop in Bajawa

On a trip across Flores, Bajawa is the point where the island turns from coast and rice terraces to volcanic highland. The town itself is a working regency capital rather than a sight — markets, churches, guesthouses and a few restaurants on the main streets — but it is the natural base for the Ngada heartland to its south, where Inerie dominates every view.

The Ngada (also written Ngadha) are the people of central Flores. Most are Catholic today, yet villages around Bajawa still keep the layout, clan houses and ancestor shrines of their adat (customary) tradition. Indonesia's tourism ministry lists Bena in Ngada among the island's megalithic villages, alongside the better-known Wae Rebo in Manggarai.

Plan Bajawa as a two-night stop: arrive in the afternoon from Ruteng or Ende, spend one full day in the villages and hot springs, and move on the next morning. Climbing Inerie or visiting the Riung islands each needs another day.

Bena and the Ngada villages

Bena lies about 19 kilometres south of Bajawa in Tiwuriwu village, on a hilltop at the foot of Inerie. According to Indonesia Kaya, roughly 45 houses face each other around a long U-shaped yard that steps down the slope in nine levels, one for each clan, and the roof decorations differ according to the lineage that lives in each house. The single entrance is at the north end; the south end finishes at the edge of a steep drop. Bena's residents believe that Yeta, a god enthroned on Inerie, protects the village.

In the yard between the rows stand the ngadhu and bhaga that define a Ngada village. A ngadhu, the symbol of the male ancestors, is a single carved post under a thatched roof, shaped like a parasol; its post also serves for tethering sacrificial animals at ceremonies. A bhaga, for the female ancestors, looks like a miniature house. Kinship in Bena runs through the female line; most residents farm, and many women also weave.

Bena is the best known, but not the only, village worth seeing. Wikivoyage's Bajawa guide names Gurusina and Tololela as the other villages travellers visit most. With a driver you can combine Bena with one of them in a morning.

How to visit respectfully. These are lived-in homes, not an open-air museum. Indonesia Kaya describes no fixed ticket at Bena; instead visitors sign a guest book and leave a donation for upkeep — carry small notes, as there are no ATMs in the villages. Ask before you photograph people, keep off the stone platforms, ngadhu and bhaga, which are ancestral shrines, and dress modestly. If you would like a woven cloth, buy it from the weaver directly. If a ceremony is under way, watch from the edge unless you are invited in. For more, see our guide to etiquette in Indonesia.

• Bring cash in small notes from Bajawa for the guest-book donation and any weaving you buy.
• Ask before photographing people, and do not climb on the megaliths or ancestor shrines.
• Go in the morning, when the light is on the houses and before clouds build on Inerie.

Inerie: the view and the climb

Inerie (2,245 m) is the highest volcano on Flores; its name is usually explained as ine, mother, and rie, beautiful. Indonesia Kaya describes it as still active, with the last eruption in 1970. When we checked on 2026-10-03, Indonesia's volcano monitoring service MAGMA listed Inierie at Level I (Normal); check again before a climb.

For the view without the climb, go to Manulalu, on the ridge above Bena. Indonesia Kaya calls it the best spot for a 360-degree panorama of Inerie, with Bajawa and the hidden villages below; it is also a sunrise viewpoint, and it has a café and a bed-and-breakfast. The road to Bena passes it.

The climb starts from Watumeze village, already high on the mountain, and Indonesia Kaya puts the ascent at about three to five hours. Hikers usually leave in the small hours to reach the top at sunrise. The trail is loose gravel and rock with sections where you need your hands, and there is almost no shade, so it is hard going in the midday sun. The summit is marked by three cross-shaped posts and looks straight down on Bena. Go with a guide; the tourist information centre in Bajawa can help you find one.

Hot springs, waterfalls and viewpoints

Ngada's volcanoes heat several springs. Mengeruda, in Piga village in the Soa district north-east of town and near the airport road, is a natural hot-spring bathing place fed by water from the Inielika volcano area. Malanage, south of Bajawa towards Inerie, is a river where hot volcanic water meets a cold mountain stream, so you can choose your temperature by where you sit; Wikivoyage notes only a changing room and a small warung there. Either makes a good end to the village day.

Ogi waterfall, about 30 metres high in Pape village roughly 8 kilometres from town, is reached by a walk of about a kilometre through rice fields. Indonesia Kaya warns that signs are few, there is no public transport and only a small warung by the parking area — ask locals for directions and bring water.

For a quick look at Inerie from closer to town, Wikivoyage lists the Wolobobo viewpoint south of Bajawa.

Riung and the Seventeen Islands

If you have an extra day, the 17 Islands Marine Park (Taman Laut 17 Pulau) at Riung on the north coast is Ngada's sea-side counterpart to the highlands. Indonesia Kaya puts it about 75 kilometres from Bajawa, roughly two and a half hours by road through savanna hills, and describes it as a conservation area under the natural resources conservation agency (BBKSDA) in Kupang. It is much quieter than Komodo National Park because it is harder to reach.

Boats are hired from local residents. Snorkelling spots include the waters around Pulau Tiga and Pulau Meja, and Pulau Ontole is known for thousands of fruit bats roosting in its mangroves. Riung is best treated as an overnight detour rather than a rushed day trip.

Getting there and getting around

Most travellers reach Bajawa on the Trans-Flores road. Indonesia Kaya puts Labuan Bajo seven to eight hours away by road, and Wikivoyage gives about four hours from Ruteng and about three from Ende. In Ende, the tourism ministry says, westbound buses for Bajawa, Ruteng and Labuan Bajo leave from the Ndao terminal. A private car with driver, often booked across several days of a Flores trip, is the most comfortable option.

Bajawa's own airport, Soa (BJW), is in Masumeli in the Soa district outside town. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation listed Wings Air flights to Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo and to El Tari Airport in Kupang, each seven times a week. Confirm with the airline, as regional schedules change.

In and around town you need your own transport. Lodgings rent motorbikes and arrange cars with drivers; that is the practical way to see Bena, Manulalu and the hot springs in one day. To continue east to Kelimutu, the usual route is Bajawa to Ende and on to Moni.