There are 3 waterfalls near Hallatt on Kei Besar that are very worthwhile to visit. I stayed 2 nights in Hollatt and went to all three waterfalls and also visited Banda Ely. To get to this area from Kei Kecil, there is a public boat twice per day (90 minutes, 50000/60000 IDR economy/VIP) from ‘Pelabuhan Watoek’ in Langgur:

On arrival in Kei Besar, Hollatt is another hour and a half by ojek on a rough hilly road:

Before I went to Kei Besar, I only knew of Hoko waterfall (air terjun Hoko). On the way to Hollatt my ojek driver stopped at a bridge and showed me a path along the edge. I assumed this was to Hoko waterfall but I later learned it was actually Holly waterfall. I met a family that helped me climb over rocks and through the river. The rocks are slippery and sometimes I was wading through chest deep water.

It took about 30 minutes to reach the last level of Holly waterfall.  Of the 3 waterfalls I visited in Kei Besar, this was the most difficult to reach but it was fun and refreshing!

Hoko waterfall is about 5 minutes south of Hollatt by motorcyle. It is near the road and reaching the falls only involves following a path through the rocks/water for 1-2 minutes. This is a unique and beautiful waterfall:

Air Terjun Horlai

This waterfall is about 20 minutes walk uphill from Hollat and I went with 3 girls and the father of one of the girls. He had never been there despite the fact that he has lived in Hollat for over 2 years! This waterfall feels undiscovered and I only found out about it because I stayed 2 nights in Hollat. The path up the hill is easy to see and we followed it for about 15 minutes. The last few minutes towards the waterfall is much less clear. There are also supposed to be ghosts in this area and the girls said we were only allowed to speak the Kei language. When me and their father said anything in Indonesian we were quickly and urgently ssshhhed!

The waterfall itself is multi-leveled and getting to every new level involves a bit of wading. It has incredible swimming areas that more than justify the effort in getting here. First we arrived at this pool and a small waterfall:

Then we climbed and waded up to a second swimming area:

And finally we arrived at the last waterfall:

The swimming is perfect here, especially after a jungle climb!