Another beautiful waterfall in Indonesia

Sometimes you end up in a port town of a new place and you are completely underwhelmed. Port towns don’t always show the true beauty of a new place, and after the excitement of getting to a the destination wains, you find yourself in a muggy, dusty, dirty place. While Labuan Bajo doesn't exactly fit these characteristics, the island of Flores is definitely not defined by what most travelers initially see when coming to the country via its port. This, though, is an easy fix.

Located around 30K out of the main city, the Cunca Rami Waterfall is a day trip that all LB visitors should take. While it may not be extremely easy to get to the waterfall, the cascading liquid, hidden in the hills outside of town is definitely worth the effort. With its natural beauty, high cliffs for jumping, as well as natural water slide ability, Cunca Rami won’t disappoint.

To get there, travelers can either do a tour or rent their own motorbike. If you are going with option B (which you should) be warned; Cunca Rami is hidden. I was lucky myself to have a local of Flores nearly run me off the road as he saw me pass the unmarked turn to get to the village of Cunca Rami. The turn off is about 45 minutes out of Labuan Bajo on the main road. From here, one has to then drive 20 more minutes on a hectic “road” to get to the village.

Guides will help you find the waterfall, and for $5 for your entire group, show you the village, the flora and the fauna. The waterfall itself is about a one-hour hike from Cunca Rami, but the cool waters are worth the walk. Once you see the falling water rip through the stone boundaries, calming down before pooling into the adjacent river, you’ll know the day was spent well.

Photo courtesy of Trip Advisor