Riung 17 Islands

At dusk, the sky goes dark. Thousands of giant flying foxes — fruit bats with wingspans reaching 1.5 metres — drop from the mangrove canopy of one island and stream across the strait to feed on another. The exodus takes 30 minutes, an unbroken river of black wings against the sunset. By day, the 17 islands (actually 21) offer deserted white-sand beaches, shallow reef snorkelling, and the kind of tropical stillness that bigger destinations have traded for infrastructure. Riung sits on Flores's north coast, largely forgotten by the overland trail between Labuan Bajo and Kelimutu.

Riung is a small coastal town on the north coast of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, serving as the gateway to Tujuh Belas Pulau (Seventeen Islands) Marine Park. The park's 21 islands (the '17' is a legacy of Indonesia's independence date, 17 August) offer uninhabited white-sand beaches, coral gardens accessible by snorkelling from the shore, and mangrove ecosystems. The main wildlife spectacle is the evening exodus of large flying fox colonies (Pteropus vampyrus) from mangrove roosts on Pulau Ontoloe — estimated at several thousand individuals — which takes flight each evening at dusk to feed on fruit trees across the strait. Boat trips from Riung harbour (45 minutes to the outer islands) are arranged through local operators. The town sits midway along the Trans-Flores highway between Bajawa and Ende, making it a natural stop on the east-west Flores route. Accommodation is limited to basic guesthouses in Riung town.