Alor

Alor is the largest island in the Alor archipelago located at the eastern-most end of the chain of islands that runs through southern Indonesia, which from the west include such islands as Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores Solor and Lomblen. Other islands in the Alor archipelago include Pantar (the second largest island in the Alor arcipelago) Kepa, Buaya, Ternate, Pura and Tereweng. Politically the Alor archipelago forms its own Kabupaten or district, in the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur.

Kalabahi is the only town on the island of Alor. The variety of goods obtainable in Kalabahi is surprising considering its size and location. During the dry season it is serviced by flights five times a week from Kupang the provincial capital, using a Kasa 18 seat airplane. These flights are run by Merpati airlines. Most of them are simply Kupang - Kalabahi - Kupang, but mid-2003 a new flight Kupang - Kalabahi - Kisar - Ambon, returning the next day, was introduced. The two Pelni passenger ships Serimau and Awu also pass through Kalabahi each week. Transport to Alor during the wet season is sometimes disrupted due to high winds and large waves.

"The best" snorkelling and diving in Indonesia can be found in the Alor archipelago. Due to intriguing and often very strong currents it is best to snorkel or dive with someone who knows the area well.

Aside from the two languages Alor / Alorese and Kalabahi Malay, which are both Austronesian languages, all of the languages spoken on the island of Alor are Papuan languages otherwise known as non-Austronesian languages. There are at least 15 languages spoken on Alor, with some estimates going as high as 50 languages. The actual number is most likely to be 25 - 30. All of these are endangered languages, with some having as few as 500 speakers, and many children no longer learning a local language, but being brought up learning Indonesian as their first language.