At 1,239m, Mount Mbeliling is the highest point in west Flores. Starting from an elevation of 600m the trek to the summit and back takes about 5 hours, passing through the delightful Mbeliling Forest reserve along a fairly well formed trail.
Most trekkers begin their summit hike at Roe Village about 27km east of Labuan Bajo along the TransFlores Highway. The village has established a small trekking centre which can provide information, guides, porters, camping equipment and supplies if you’re planning to spend the night at the summit to watch the sunrise over the ranges of west Manggarai.
It is possible to access Mbeliling from a handful of other villages in the foothills including Langgo hamlet in Wae village on the west side, Cecer hamlet in Liang Ndara village or Culu hamlet in Wae Lia (starting at the Maria Chapel) to the north or Lamung hamlet in Golo Ndaring village. Although you can probably recruit a guide from one of these villages for a one day trek, they’re unlikely to be equipped for an overnight hike at short notice in which case, Roe village is the better option. On that note, we have heard reports of some quite exorbitant guiding fees being asked (by Indonesian standards anyway) so be prepared to haggle.
Getting to Roe village is easy by private car, taxi or rented scooter. Otherwise there’s a public bus which runs daily between Labuan Bajo and Ruteng. If you’re coming from Labaun Bajo, you’ll find the Roe Trekking Association House on the right hand side of the highway.
Due to its proximity to Labuan Bajo Mount Mbeliling has become popular with the burgeoning eco and adventure tourism sector in Flores. Most tour operators are offering fully catered one day climbing tours or a two day overnight packages that combines visits to Cunca Wulang Canyon or Cunca Rami waterfall with overnight camping at the summit of Mount Mbeliling. If you have limited time or just prefer to have everything organised for you this can be a good option.