By Stanislaus Jumar Sudiyana – Jakarta
On the Indonesian island of Flores, a journey on foot may become more than a pilgrimage. It can be an invitation to encounter local communities, rediscover the richness of faith and culture, and bring renewed hope to people still facing poverty and the aftermath of an earthquake.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism is promoting Camino de Flores: The Sacred Journey of Flores, a new walking pilgrimage designed to connect religious sites, traditional villages, cultural heritage and the island’s natural landscapes. Beyond attracting visitors, the initiative seeks to distribute tourism benefits more widely and support the recovery of communities across Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana presented the initiative in Jakarta on Tuesday, Oct 13, describing it as a new travel pattern intended to extend tourism beyond Labuan Bajo, in West Manggarai, which has become the island’s principal tourism gateway.
“Through Camino de Flores, we hope visitors will discover the many destinations across Flores, from religious sites and tourism villages to natural landscapes and local cultural celebrations,” the minister said.
The first pilot journey, scheduled for Oct 23–27 2026, will cover approximately 70 kilometres along the central Flores route from Bajawa through Boawae to Ende. Around 70 participants from charitable communities are expected to take part in a program combining spiritual reflection, history and encounters with local residents.
The initiative draws inspiration from the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain, adapting the spirit of walking, reflection and encounter to the religious and cultural landscape of Flores.
For Mari Elka Pangestu, the initiative’s originator, Flores offers an opportunity to develop a pilgrimage that brings together spirituality, nature and community empowerment.
“Indonesia can have its own Camino, and Flores is the perfect place for it,” she said, expressing hope that the journey would encourage visitors to stay longer and enable economic benefits to reach villages along the route.
Yet for those who see Flores not simply as a destination but as a place of faith and community, the initiative carries a deeper responsibility: tourism must serve people without diminishing the sacred traditions that give the island its identity.
Beyond the stigma of being left behind
Fr Marco Solo Kewuta, SVD, an official of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican, welcomes the initiative as an opportunity to challenge the longstanding stigma that portrays Flores primarily as an underdeveloped region.
“Flores should not be known only as a region left behind. Behind that stigma lies a wealth of faith, culture and community life that deserves to be known and appreciated,” he said.
He cautioned, however, that the economic opportunities created by the pilgrimage should not overshadow its spiritual purpose. Walking through villages, reflecting along the way and meeting local people should help visitors understand their lives and traditions, rather than simply consume another tourism experience.
“The economic dimension must not become the principal objective while the sacred character of the journey loses its meaning,” Fr Marco said. Participants, he added, need sufficient preparation to understand and respect the rituals, traditions and cultural values of the communities they encounter.
For him, a meaningful encounter with Flores requires visitors to venture beyond its better-known destinations and enter its rural interior, where poverty remains a painful reality but faith and community traditions continue to shape everyday life.
One such place is Lewouran, a village in Ile Bura district, East Flores. Since August 2026, the village has been home to a relic of Saint Peter the Apostle, on loan from the Holy See. The local community is preparing to develop the site as a national pilgrimage destination.
For communities such as Lewouran, a pilgrimage route could offer an opportunity to share their spiritual heritage while creating new livelihoods. But its success should also be measured by whether visitors recognize the challenges residents face and contribute to their well-being.
“Camino de Flores should not stop at a spiritual journey. When participants enter the rural interior, they should see the realities of people’s lives and respond with genuine solidarity,” Fr Marco said.
The hope is that the journey will help restore not only economic activity, but also the dignity of communities too often defined by their difficulties rather than their resilience, faith and cultural wealth.
Church calls for people-centred tourism
The Diocese of Labuan Bajo has also welcomed the initiative, highlighting its potential to connect the island’s religious heritage with cultural preservation, environmental responsibility and local development.
Fr Frans Nala, Secretary General of the Diocese of Labuan Bajo, hopes that Labuan Bajo and the wider West Manggarai region will become an integral part of the initiative through the proposed western route linking Labuan Bajo and Ruteng.
The region offers numerous possibilities for pilgrimage and cultural encounters, including the Golo Koe Maria Assumpta Nusantara Festival, churches, Marian grottoes, traditional villages and landscapes rich in spiritual and ecological significance.
For the diocese, however, the measure of success cannot be limited to visitor numbers.
Tourism should create employment, strengthen small businesses, support local crafts and preserve cultural traditions. Local people, particularly young people, women, vulnerable groups and rural communities, should have an active role in shaping the development of the route and sharing its benefits.
“The community must be placed at the centre of tourism development,” Fr Nala said, stressing the importance of ensuring that local residents become participants and beneficiaries rather than merely spectators in the growth of their own region.
The diocese also emphasizes the protection of the natural environment as an essential part of the pilgrimage. Safeguarding forests, water sources, biodiversity and the island’s landscapes should go hand in hand with environmental education, responsible waste management and disaster preparedness.
In this understanding, walking through Flores becomes an opportunity to deepen faith while learning to care for what Pope Francis called our “common home”.
The diocese has proposed that the Golo Koe Maria Assumpta Nusantara Festival be considered an important meeting point along the developing pilgrimage network. Integrating the festival into the route could strengthen Flores’ appeal as a destination for religious tourism while preserving its identity as a celebration of faith, culture, encounter and respect for human dignity.
The diocese has also called for clear cooperation among the Ministry of Tourism, the Labuan Bajo Flores Tourism Authority, provincial and district governments, dioceses across Flores, businesses and local communities.
Such cooperation, it says, should include transparent financing, appropriate safety standards, participatory planning and regular assessments of the pilgrimage’s social, economic, cultural, spiritual and environmental impact.
A journey that leaves something behind
The Indonesian government hopes that the pilot programme will help establish a sustainable model for future pilgrimage routes, including a western section between Labuan Bajo and Ruteng and an eastern section between Maumere and Larantuka.
The government has also outlined safety preparations for the pilot, including route marshals, medical posts, mobile water stations and contingency measures for weather conditions and challenging terrain. Funds raised through associated charitable activities are intended to support community needs, including health facilities, churches, cultural infrastructure, sanitation and access to clean water.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena has welcomed the initiative as a possible source of solidarity and recovery following the recent earthquake. He has also suggested that the concept could inspire similar walking journeys in other parts of the province, including Timor and Sumba, each reflecting its own history and identity.
For the Church in Flores, the wider aspiration is to ensure that the pilgrimage remains faithful to the values it seeks to express: encounter, solidarity, respect for human dignity and care for creation.
As Camino de Flores takes shape, its significance may ultimately lie not only in the landscapes pilgrims cross or the religious sites they visit, but in the relationships they build along the way.
A sacred journey, in this sense, is one that allows visitors to encounter Flores beyond the familiar image of a tourist destination: to listen to its people, respect their traditions, recognize their struggles and share in their hopes.
If the journey helps communities preserve their heritage, strengthen their livelihoods and face the future with greater confidence, Camino de Flores could become more than a new tourism route. It could become a path of encounter and renewal for the people of Flores themselves. – Vatican News
