My First Trip to Northeast Kei Besar
I’ve been to Kei Besar many times before but never to the northeast. This was mostly for transportation reasons because previously the only access I knew of was a small motorcycle trail from the south. I knew from my 2023 visit that there was a new road north of Hollatt so I decided to explore this area. There wasn’t any information before I went so everything was a complete surprise; including finding places to stay and eat! I expected remoteness and waterfalls and ended up getting some pretty great beaches, very friendly locals and a crazy combination of remoteness and relatively easy access—just not from the direction I arrived from.
Kei Kecil to Elat
I went with 2 local friends from Kei. They had never been to Kei Besar before so it was quite fun to go with them. A family I usually stay with in Hollat were also traveling at the same time which was very convenient for arranging transportation. We took the normal boat from Langgur to Hollat (about 60,000 IDR, 1.5-2 hours). It was supposed to leave at about 10-11 a.m. so we arrived at 9:45 and of course it departed at about 11:45.
Elat to Hollat
We took the boat and met a connecting bemo in Elat on Kei Besar (100,000 IDR pp) to continue our journey to Hollat (about 3 hours). At this time (July 2024) the bemo goes to Hollat every second day and returns the next day. It doesn’t travel either direction on Sundays. The road is good crossing to the east coast of Kei Besar and then very bad traveling up the east coast to Hollat:
The next day we went to Hoko waterfall is an amazing place I’ve been to many times before:
Banda Ely
The following day I started my solo trip to the northeast starting with a ojek (about 30 minutes) to Banda Ely. The road used to look like this:
But now it’s one of the best roads in Kei:
Anyways, I arrived without any idea of where I would stay. My strategy was just to go to the town center and then ask people. It didn’t take long before I had a nice place to stay with a lovely family
Banda Ely and the surrounding Banda villages are interesting because they have unique crafts:
And also these are the only places where the original Banda languages are still spoken. The ancestors of Banda Ely fled the Banda islands in the early 1600’s.
Banda Ely to Wasar
The next day I decided to walk north on the highway rather than taking an ojek because I didn’t really know where I was going and I wanted to ask lots of questions on the way. The other factor is that there are literally zero helmets in these villages and everywhere to the north.
On Google Maps this coast looks desolate without any communities but actually there are frequent villages. From south to north they are Hollat, Ohoi Fau, Ohoi Fahran, Banda Efruan, Banda Ely, Renfan, Wettlar, Wahrar, Langiar, Ur, Wasar, Woit, Har and Soin. Some of the villages are Christian and some are Muslim and there are often small Christian or Muslim villages outside of the main village.
The coast is nice and I met many friendly people on the way.
I also got more details about a waterfall in Renfan that I decided to visit on the return trip to Hallat. Overall it was a really nice morning and I decided to stay in Wasar (about 2-3 hours walk from Banda Ely). I asked about places to stay and it didn’t take long to find a friendly home.
There isn’t much in Wasar but there is a small waterfall nearby. I went with a couple of adults and a bunch of children:
Wasar to Haar
The next day I went with the family to stay with their other relatives in Haar. The road ended on the way but it’s supposed to be extended to Haar and Soin eventually. Here’s the trail:
Haar has a pretty great beach actually as well as a cool setting:
Haar to Soin
While in Haar I walked with a new friend to Soin and went to a few places there. The trail to Soin got super small:
Here are some photos from the brief trip to Soin and a small boat trip:
Haar
I stayed with a family in Haar but there is actually a really nice looking homestay there too:
In the morning we also went to a viewpoint above Haar:
During my homestay I saw them making coffee and they got the beans directly from the tree. Funnily enough, when I asked for some coffee for dinner they gave me coffee from a packet instead of the fresh coffee. Of course I asked for the fresh coffee the next time 🙂
Public boat access
There are actually direct boats to/from Haar, Banda Ely, Soin and many of villages on this route that travel to Tual on Kei Kecil. There is one boat in Haar (once a week) and another in Banda Ely (2 times a week) so there are options about 3 times a week for about 100,000 IDR. One person told me going to Ad (on northwest Kei Besar) by boat was also possible for 50,000 IDR but I couldn’t confirm that. There is no road connecting the northwest and northeast. Here are some photos of the boats:
If I had known about the boat option I probably would have just taken the boat back to Tual. But I left some things in Hallat and also I wanted to go to the waterfall near Renfan.
Haar to Renfan
I returned the same way I came. It was a really great walk with clear skies:
Renfan waterfall
I arrived in Renfan (Protestant village) early enough to go to the waterfall the same day. I found some young guides (I paid them 50,000 IDR each) and we set off for the waterfall:
It took an hour and 45 minutes to get to the waterfall. The river area was difficult for me and a bit dodgy but we finally made it. It was a really great place to swim!
I stayed with my guide’s family in Renfan and I was really exhausted after the walk from Haar and the return trip to the waterfall.
Renfan to Hollatt
The next day I walked/hitchhiked back to Hallatt. I received a ride with a construction truck part of the way:
Hollatt
When I returned to Hollatt I stayed a homestay I had recently found. The room had a private washroom with a western toilet:
The rest was just returning the same way to Langgur via the public boat from Elat:
