Besides Lake Toba, the world-famous Indonesian lake tourist destination is Lake Kelimutu. This lake is a volcanic lake at the top of Mount Kelimutu. To reach this beautiful lake, Travelers must climb first.
The specialty of the lake, which is located on the island of Flores, NTT, is the view of the lake with three colors, namely green, white and blue. Every year, this exotic lake is always crowded with foreign tourists.
A turquoise lake can turn red, or vice versa. Sometimes it turns milky white, blood red, light blue, and black. The color of the lake also changes when there is an earthquake or due to other natural activities in the vicinity. This color change does not just happen once, but can happen many times.
This blue lake is named Tiwu Ata Bupu, which means the lake of parents. The red lake is called Tiwu Ata Polo or magic lake. Meanwhile, the green lake is named Tiwu Nuwa Muwi Kou Fai, which means young people's lake.
Kelimutu comes from two words, namely keli which means mountain and quality which means boiling, so Mount Kelimutu means boiling mountain.
There is a legend that tells of Konde Ratu and her people who live on the top of Mount Kelimutu. Quoted from Bobo.grid.id, it is said that among the people of Konde Ratu there are two people who have supernatural powers. They are Ata Bupu and Ata Polo. Both are friends and are subject to Konde Ratu. However, they have two distinct habits. Ata Bupu is a good person and likes to protect others, while Ata Polo is considered an evil witch who likes to eat humans.
One day, a pair of Ana Kalo (orphans) came to see Ata Bupu to ask for protection after his parents died. Ata Bupu also agreed to protect them, but on the condition that they should not leave Ata Bupu's field so that Ata Polo would not eat them. One day Ata Polo finds out where Ana Kalo is and comes to his friend's farm.
Ata Polo wanted to prey on the orphans, but was prevented by Ata Bupu. Then Ata Bupu asked Ata Polo to wait for the pair of children to grow up if they wanted to eat them. With the passage of time, the pair of orphans grew up. They are named Koo Fai and Nuwa Muri. Ata Polo also came to collect his promise to prey on the two orphans.
Ata Bupu refused and protected the two orphans. He invited them both to go to the bowels of the earth to avoid Ata Polo. However, Ata Polo continued to chase the three of them. Until finally Ata Polo and Ata Bupu and Koo Fai and Nuwa Muri were swallowed up by the earth. They were buried alive. Shortly after that incident. At the location where Ata Bupu disappeared, blue water appeared. Meanwhile at Ata Polo's place, red water came out. Meanwhile, at the place where Koo Fai and Nuwa Muri disappeared, green water appeared. Until finally the location was known as the Three Colors Lake.