Kelimutu Crater Lakes

At the luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we are always surprised about everything the Asian continent offers us. Today we colour our week travelling to Indonesia to discover the lakes inside Kelimutu.

Kelimutu is a volcano located in central Flores Island. It is one of the few volcanoes containing a crater lake. But what makes this volcano even more amazing is that it contains three lakes.

These three striking summit crater lakes are Lake of Young Men and Maidens (Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai), which is the biggest one and dark turquoise, Bewitched or Enchanted Lake (Tiwu Ata Polo), which is light brown, and Lake of Old People (Tiwu ata Mbupu), which is usually dark blue.

The three of them have three different colours. It is the only place on earth where this amazing colour variation takes place. It is believed that the lakes change colours as a result of chemical reactions resulting from the minerals contained in the lake. Their colours also vary depending on the season. Lake of Old People has become darker through the years; Enchanted Lake has gone from red to brown, while Lake of Young Men and Maidens has almost kept the same colour.

Kelimutu volcano, which is 1,639 metres high, had its last big eruption in 1968 and its responsible for the great amount of minerals, such as sulphur and copper, the lakes have.

The population of the island worships Kelimutu. They believe that when someone dies his spirit plunges into the water of one of the three lakes based on his character and age: parents and elder people´ spirits go to Lake of Old People, young people´ spirits plunge into Lake of Young Men and Maidens, and the spirits that belong to people who have committed any crime while they where alive go to Enchanted Lake.

At the 5 stars resort Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we don´t have different colour lakes, but we do have 7 spectacular Asian-style design outdoor pools. We look forward to seeing you this summer at our Asian paradise in the Mediterranean.