Flores, Indonesia – Sitting just 50 kilometers east of Komodo, most travelers know Flores as a pitstop on the way to see the Komodo dragons. But with its many natural wonders and a rising dining and hotel scene, Flores is worth a trip on its own.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Best view – One of the best places to stay in Flores is on the hillsides of Labuan Bajo, where you can take in the green tropical surroundings and views of the portside district and the island-studded waters of the Flores Sea.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Boating – Day or overnight trips are available for travelers who want to hop between islands. Made in Italy is a floating restaurant that conducts boat tours around Flores.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Italian cuisine – The Made in Italy restaurant-boat tour features a seven-course degustation menu matched with champagne, cocktails and wines -- topped off with a glass of 25-year-old Zacapa rum, Italian chocolate and Cuban cigars.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Island hopping – The Flores Sea is dotted with islands with pristine beaches and crystal-clear water to dive in.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Corals in technicolors – The marine area around Komodo National Park is home to over 1,000 species of fish and over 350 brightly colored reef-building corals.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Boutique and cafe – Casa Selini is both a boutique and a Greek restaurant that dishes up tender chicken souvlaki and fresh Greek salads.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Cunca Rami Waterfall – After a challenging hour's hike up from Werang, travelers will be rewarded with a dramatic view of the Cunca Rami Waterfall. The waterfall is 17 meters tall with a 30-square-meter pool at the bottom.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Labuan Bajo – Labuan Bajo may be best known for its airport -- it has the closest landing strip to Komodo -- but the sleepy town is now buzzing with new restaurants and hotels, as well as traditional markets.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Rapid development – "Flores is moving so fast -- the development I've seen in the past five years is the equivalent of 20 years' development in other parts of Indonesia," says restaurateur Marco Bertini. "There weren't any roads back then -- just rocks and mud."
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Inland Flores – Moving away from the shore, Flores is a world of cloud-ringed mountains, extinct volcanoes with crater lakes and hyper-fertile valleys pockmarked with proto-industrial villages and archeological sites.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Komodo dragons – If you're still not convinced, here's an up-close-and-personal look at a Komodo dragon, the world's biggest lizard. He's one great reason to come to this part of the world, but not the only one.
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Flores, Indonesia – Sitting just 50 kilometers east of Komodo, most travelers know Flores as a pitstop on the way to see the Komodo dragons. But with its many natural wonders and a rising dining and hotel scene, Flores is worth a trip on its own.
Hide Caption
1 of 12
12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Best view – One of the best places to stay in Flores is on the hillsides of Labuan Bajo, where you can take in the green tropical surroundings and views of the portside district and the island-studded waters of the Flores Sea.
Hide Caption
2 of 12
12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Boating – Day or overnight trips are available for travelers who want to hop between islands. Made in Italy is a floating restaurant that conducts boat tours around Flores.
Hide Caption
3 of 12
12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Italian cuisine – The Made in Italy restaurant-boat tour features a seven-course degustation menu matched with champagne, cocktails and wines -- topped off with a glass of 25-year-old Zacapa rum, Italian chocolate and Cuban cigars.
Hide Caption
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Island hopping – The Flores Sea is dotted with islands with pristine beaches and crystal-clear water to dive in.
Hide Caption
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12 photos: Visiting Flores, Indonesia
Corals in technicolors – The marine area around Komodo National Park is home to over 1,000 species of fish and over 350 brightly colored reef-building corals.
Hide Caption
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(CNN)When Komodo National Park was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature in 2011, this lesser known region of eastern Indonesia became an overnight travel sensation among wildlife buffs keen to see Komodo dragons -- the largest lizards on earth.
Fifty kilometers east of Komodo, the western shore of Flores has become a springboard for the dragon hunters.
The airport in Labuan Bajo, once a ramshackle frontier town on Flores' west coast, serves as the closest landing strip for Komodo -- and has even been renamed Komodo Airport.
Most travelers fly into Bali, spend a night in town, then hop on a boat trip over to the famous isle. At best, they'll do a quick detour to the technicolor coral reefs of the Flores Sea.
But those who rush off are doing themselves a disservice.
From waterfalls straight out of paradise, to an island full of flying foxes, to stylish new eco resorts and a surprisingly sophisticated dining scene -- there's much more to see in western Flores than Komodo dragons.
Rising dining and hotel scene
"There was only one real restaurant in town (five years ago)," says restaurateur Marco Bertini. "Now there are probably 20 good places to eat."
Labuan Bajo has a "Wild West" feel to it -- with an Islamic twist.
The roads are broken, dust gets churned up in the air and the Islamic call to prayer resounds from tinny loudspeakers in the still of the night.
But it's worlds away from how it looked and felt when Italian chef Marco Bertini, owner of Made in Italy -- an al fresco restaurant that serves lobster bisque and handmade ravioli -- moved to Labuan Bajo in 2010.
"Flores is moving so fast -- the development I've seen in the past five years is the equivalent of 20 years' development in other parts of Indonesia," Bertini says.
"There weren't any roads back then -- just rocks and mud. There was only one real restaurant in town. Now there are probably 20 good places to eat."
In addition to a rising dining scene, this part of the island has started to attract investors and hoteliers.
A raft of new hotels has opened in Labuan Bajo, ranging from basic backpacker haunts like theGardena Hotel to four-star properties like Bintang Flores Hotel.
The best places are located on the picturesque hillsides like Selini on the Hill (a suite for $53, per night) and Bayview Gardens Hotel -- with lush tropical surroundings and sweeping views of the portside district and island-studded waters of the Flores Sea.
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