Kei Besar
(Updated July 2024)
Kei Besar isn’t frequently visited, but if you have time the waterfalls are incredible. I’ve been to Kei Besar on at least 6 occasions from 2014 to 2024. There are a lot less tourists here (I haven’t seen one yet) and the people are especially friendly; even by Kei standards. There is almost no English spoken in Kei Besar so get your Bahasa ready!
Waterfalls
I’ve now been to 11 waterfalls on Kei Besar and they all take some effort to reach, but are more difficult to reach than others. In addition to the 3 photos below on the east coast there are also Arki, Banda Efruan, Renfan and Wassar waterfalls. There are also at least 4 waterfalls on the west coast of Kei Besar (Ad, Soinrat, Harangur, and Weduar). I’ll update this page with photos of all these waterfalls later. They are updated with photos on the map page.
For more details and photos of the waterfalls please check out my trip to Kei Besar waterfalls and 8 Best Kei Besar waterfalls.
Elat
The largest settlement in Kei Besar still feels like a small town. I used to stay at hotel here sometimes but as of 2024 it is no longer a hotel.
Hollatt
This is the most convenient place to stay for visiting the waterfalls and can also be a base for a trip to Banda Ely. This is a pretty normal coastal village, with a hill rising steeply behind it:
There isn’t any kind of sandy beach here, only rocks and waves. However, there are nice beaches in the northeast at Har and Soin.
There is 4G signal here and on most of the villages in the northeast. There is also electricity along the whole coast but power outages can happen and can last for quite a long time because there is only one power line coming from Elat and if something happens it can take a while to repair it. I had a power outage that lasted about 12 hours in Wassar this year (2024)
There is a homestay I stayed at this year next to the ocean and near the big pier. The rooms are nice and there is even an attached bathroom with a western toiler. It was about 200,000 Rp if I remember correctly.
Banda Ely
Banda Ely is interesting because it is the only location in Indonesia where the original language of the Banda islands is spoken. The original settlers arrived here after fleeing the Dutch in 1621. For most tourists Banda Ely will mostly be of interest to pick up unique souvenirs:
I didn’t find the village itself especially noteworthy but it was a nice daytrip from Hollat:
As of July 2024 there is a new, beautiful road between Hallat running north all the way to Ur.
For transportation to Banda Ely, arrange an ojek in Hollat or walk about 1.5 hours. There are almost no helmets in this area, so if you want to wear a helmet it’s better to bring your own! There are also boats twice a week from Banda Ely to Langgur/Tual that stop at most of the villages on the way. This boat has a capacity of about 70 people so it could be an option to come by boat to Elat from Langgur and return to Langgur from here or villages further north.
Lerohoilim
is located south of Elat and I stayed in a homestay in 2014. There is a nice beach:
And the village is nice as well:
Lerohoilim may have some appeal to travelers that don’t want to see tourists or perhaps to people touring around Kei Besar. It’s also near Harangur waterfall.
West coast north of Elat
Also in 2014, I took an ojek north of Elat to Wer Fravav. That was a very interesting trip as I don’t think they see many tourists there. The whole village seemed to turn out to see me:
And the children were especially happy:
Ad and Soinrat waterfalls are also on the coast north of Elat.
Practicalities
The ferry from Langgur to Elat takes 1.5-2 hours and run twice a day in both directions. As of July 2024, the economy ferry seats cost 60,000 Rp and the VIP air-conditioned (only one boat has this option) seats were 70,000Rp. The boats are both comfortable and usually not crowded. There are usually lots of empty seats
Road conditions (2024) are asphalt are good between Elat and the east coast. After arriving on the east side, the road gets much worse and is impassable by scooter. There are only bemos and motorcycles ojeks with bigger wheels possible there. The new highway begins at Hallat and is wide with almost perfect asphalt from Hallat north to Ur. In
To/fromHallat there was a shared bemo every second day to Elat. It cost 100,000 Rp and it met the boat coming from Langgur. Ask locals or your accommodation if you want to find out what day this bemo is coming.
I haven’t traveled on the west coast at all since 2019 but at that time the road was quite good and it was nice for a scooter almost everywhere. A lot can change in 5 years though!