The Kei Islands: Perfect Paradise?

The most accessible part of southern Maluku, the Kei Islands are rapidly regaining their reputation as the place to go to look for perfect, unspoilt beaches. One of these beaches that is worth visiting is Ngurbloat Beach in Ngilngof village. Local natives call this beach “Pasir Panjang” or the long sandy beach.

The most popular destination is the island of Kei Kecil, which is connected by a bridge to the neighbouring island of Dullah. The bridge also connects the twin towns of Tual and Langgur that make up the capital of the entire Kei archipelago, and as such, the two islands form a practical unit.
In contrast to these two flat, deforested islands, Kei Besar, the largest of the Keis, is long, mountainous and forested.


The other islands in the Kei archipelago tend to be of the little white sands and coconut palms type, but the remotest of them, Tanimbar Kei, is noted for its traditional culture.
There is limited accomodation on Pasir Panjang on the island Kei Kecil, the best of these beaches. You can stay in small comfortable beach cottages built by the locals.They also can provide you with (warm) meals and fresh water. You also can hire a boat to visit the many small pittoresk islands or to go fishing or diving.



More and more people visit the Kei islands for surfing, windsurfing or kite-surfing or diving. The regional capital Tual is well connected by boat or by plane to the rest of Indonesia via Ambon, but has no attractions apart from its better facilities.





Local Culture

Christianity

The main religion in these islands is Christianity, with Kei being one of the few islands in Maluku where Catholics, rather than Protestants, dominate.
In fact Kei is seen as the centre of Catholicism in all Maluku!
Churches dominate most villages, and you may well be invited to join services on Sundays.

Islam

Away from the city of Tual which has plenty of non-native inhabitants from western Indonesia, Muslims are very much a minority in the Keis.
Keiese Muslims, like most in Maluku, tend to follow a very mild form of Islam, with veiled women a rarity. Mosques are mostly low-key affairs, too - however this shining new, Persian-style one is worth a look in its own right. It is on the outskirts of Tual, along the road leading towards Dullah village and Difur.

Getting There

By Air

There are several flights daily betwen Ambon and Langgur on Wings, Trigana and Expressair. Trigana also flies between Langgur and Dobo (Aru Islands) both ways, and from Saumlaki (Tanimbar Islands) to Langgur, while Expressair flies from Langgur to Saumlaki. Merpati also flies VERY irregularly from Langgur to Larat and Saumlaki.
There are plans to open a new airport with a longer airfield, which would enable larger aircraft to land here directly from Java and Sulawesi.

By Sea

Pelni ships conect Tual with Ambon, the Bandas, Dobo (Aru) and Saumlaki (Tanimbar).
They also continue on to Papua, Sulawesi and Java.
The KM Koromolin car ferry goes from Tual to Larat in northern Tanimbar (on Tuesdays), and to Kur via Tayando (on Saturdays) weekly, while the similar KM Lobster goes twice a week (Tuesday and Friday) to Dobo in Aru. Unlike the Pelni ships, these ferry runs are often cancelled when the seas are rough.

Well the Kei Island is rated in Lonely Planet as one of the top ten unspoilt beaches left in the world. As getting there takes much difficulty, be rest-assured that your excursion there will remain largely tourists-free.

For more information, visit Tourism Indonesia.

For more weekend escapade ideas, visit weekend.com.sg