Flores Island Indonesia: where it is, how big it is and why it matters

Flores Island is a long, mountainous island in eastern Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province, part of the Lesser Sunda Islands and best known as the western gateway to Komodo National Park. It is also one of the province’s largest islands, with a land area reported by Britannica as 14,250 square kilometres and by Komodo Miracle Tours as 14,731.67 square kilometres.

Where is Flores Island in Indonesia?

Flores sits east of Sumbawa and west of the Solor Archipelago, in the eastern half of Indonesia. Britannica describes it as the last major island in the chain extending eastward from Java, while Wikivoyage places it in Nusa Tenggara and notes its position east of Sumbawa and west of the Solor Archipelago.

The island is long and narrow, with mountainous terrain and numerous inlets and bays. Britannica says its area is 14,250 square kilometres, while an Indonesia tourism site gives 17,164 square kilometres, showing that different sources use different measurements of what is included.

Why do travellers know Flores mainly through Labuan Bajo?

Labuan Bajo, on Flores’s western end, is the main jump-off point for Komodo National Park. Multiple travel sources identify Flores as the overland and air gateway for visitors heading to Komodo, although the island itself has its own attractions beyond the park.

Those attractions commonly cited in travel coverage include volcanic landscapes, traditional villages and crater-lake scenery. The island’s role is therefore not just as a transit point, but as the base for some of eastern Indonesia’s most visited coastal and highland areas.

How big and populated is Flores?

Wikipedia says Flores had a population of 1,878,875 in the 2020 Census and an official mid-2024 estimate of 2,014,110. Komodo Miracle Tours also cites the mid-2024 estimate of 2,014,110, reinforcing that the island’s population is around 2 million.

For scale, Britannica calls Flores 5,500 square miles or 14,250 square kilometres. The different figures used by sources reflect differences in whether offshore islands are included, so readers should treat the island’s reported size with care.

What makes Flores geographically distinctive?

Britannica describes Flores as heavily wooded, rugged and mountainous, rising to 2,399 metres. The island’s volcanic spine shapes both travel and settlement patterns, and several travel guides describe a landscape of steep interiors and coastal lowlands.

That geography is part of why Flores is often presented as a destination for nature, culture and overland travel rather than a simple beach island. It also explains why road journeys between towns can feel much longer than distances on a map suggest.

Why was Flores in the news in 2026?

Search interest in Flores has also been driven by a major earthquake reported in August 2026. The Jakarta Post said BNPB told reporters on 19 September 2026 that 142 people had died after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Flores Island on 15 August 2026, and RRI reported that BMKG recorded 13,863 aftershocks.

Other outlets reported different casualty totals during the fast-moving response, which is common in the first days after a disaster. For readers, the key point is that Flores is not only a travel destination but also an island that can be affected by severe seismic events in eastern Indonesia.

Sources

• Britannica
• The Jakarta Post
• RRI
• Wikivoyage