With its glorious beds of blooming tropical flowers, endless wealth of hidden beaches, colossal crater lakes, soaring volcanic mountains, great swaths of misty inland jungle and untouched coastal stretches of Komodo dragon stomping ground, it’s easy to see why this elongated island at the heart of the Indonesian Nusa Tenggara archipelago remains an intrepid traveller’s dream come true.

For most visitors the first stop in this wild land will be Labuan Bajo, where the lion’s share of boats from Bali and the west dock. Here, a cascade of Flores Island tour guides can offer excursions to the various natural wonders that abound throughout the region, from the three coloured lakes at Mount Kelimutu and the mountain treks of Poco Ranaka, to the terraced rice fields of Ruteng and the legendary sands of the Komodo National Park. There’s also plenty of scope for making some explorative scuba diving excursions to the reefs of Maumere, soothing hiked-out muscles in the hot springs at Blidit, and swigging traditional ginger coffees in the regional capital at Ende.