Bajawa

Bajawa is a city in the central highlands of Flores, Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia.

Understand
At 1,200 m (about 3,800 ft) above sea level, Bajawa is much cooler than the coastal lowlands. Bring a sweater for the chilly nights. Bajawa is the Center of Ngadha ethnic minority interesting local villages.

By bus
All buses from Labuan Bajo stop here for the night before leaving the next morning, but you might as well stay an extra day and make a tour of it. The cheapest option from Labuan Bajo appears to be the Gemini bus (Rp150,000), which leaves at around 05:30 from the ferry jetty — free hotel pick-up can be arranged. Expect a long and bumpy ride with little comfort. However, the incredible scenery and friendly passengers and passers-by compensate a lot.

Gunung Mas offers the ride from Labuan Bajo for Rp200,000, or Rp110,000 from Ruteng in a quite luxury 12 to 15-seat busses (as of Nov 2018).

Public buses stop at the junction from where bemos wait to take you the 2 km into town. Expect to be asked to pay Rp10,000 although less should suffice. Bus to Ende is Rp50,000.

By car
Shared taxi or travel will take about seven hours by road from Labuan Bajo, to the west; or four hours from Ruteng, from Ende to the east, 120km (3h 13 min).

By car/motorbike
You would need to hire a car or motorbike to explore the Bajawa area. Your accommodation would be able to help you with these. A motorbike should be Rp100,000 per day (as of Nov 2018).

See
There are many "tourist guides" in Bajawa. None of them are in any way trained, and their primary skills are speaking English and overcharging. The best you can do is stay clear of them and just hire a motorbike (Rp100,000) or charter a bemo for the day (Rp300,000) and see the villages at your own pace.

There is an official, and very helpful, tourist information service in the mayor's office. There are also many touts that have shops with "Tourist Information" signs printed on them. Don't be fooled by them: the real tourist information will not try to sell you anything.



Eat






Drink
Just like Ruteng, Bajawa is also a great place that produces Kopi (coffee). Never order instant coffee when you are here. Remember that by default here coffee is served with sugar, so please request in advance if you would like to have less or no sugar.

Also, just like the cold area Ruteng, arak is popular drink (also called moke here).

Sleep
As of Mai 2018, accommodation in Bajawa is increasing, many new homestays are opening and others are under construction in the street behind the Edelweiss Hotel (Lorong Ditos): Marselino's Homestay, Queen's Homestay, Edelweiss Homestay (different from the hotel) and Kristian's Homestay at the end of the road offer pretty much the same services with free Wifi, breakfast included, tourist info, laundry service, and motorbike rental. Expect Rp150,000—250,000 for a double/twin room in such a homestay.

In the hills above Bajawa;



Go next
There is a bus station near the market, but the buses will just as happily pick you up from your hotel at the same price. Be prepared to circle the town a few times picking up passengers (until full) before actually leaving for your destination.

.
 * Ruteng — Rp110,000, four hours, cold area with plenty of rice field and Manggarai villages
 * Labuan Bajo — Rp120,000 to Rp200,000 and ten hours to the west by bus, or seven hours by car. Gateway to the islands of Komodo National Park
 * Ende — Rp50,000 and four hours by bus, ferry to Sumba island
 * Moni — four hours away, Rp80,000 by bus, for the colorful crater lakes of Mount Kelimutu, the main attraction in Flores