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s part of a campaign to promote tourism in the provinces of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Kompas daily newspaper is organizing a biking event allowing participants to explore the natural beauty of areas between Labuan Bajo in West Manggarai in Flores and Motaain in Belu in East Timor.

The Flores-Timor biking event will run from Aug. 13 until Aug. 23.

“Flores and Timor [islands] are very attractive places to tour on bicycle. The topography is challenging with thousands of curves, as well as uphill and downhill roads,” Kompas community director Rusdi Amral said.

Apart from that, he added, the areas are also rich in beautiful panoramas such as that of Komodo Island and Lake Kelimutu, popular for its three-colored waters. The areas also offer rich local traditions.

Many domestic and foreign tourists already visit Flores and Timor Islands both individually and in groups for bike tours, promising a bright future for tourism in NTT.

However, this potential is considered unlikely to be fulfilled without efforts such as promotions and events to attract visitors.

Events like the upcoming cycling tour involving domestic and foreign cyclists aim to help visitors learn and enjoy the social and cultural richness of the Indonesian community, inspiring them to in turn promote the nation as a holiday destination.

Rusdi said the long-distance cycling tour was not a championship but an event held to take participants to tour on bicycles while enjoying the panorama and cultural richness of the area. Cycling is a growing special-interest activity in Indonesia.

Event chair Jannes Eudes Wawa told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the biking tour was part of a series of regular events organized since 2008, starting with the Anyer-Panaroekan route and followed by Surabaya-Jakarta (2010), Jakarta-Palembang (2011), Bali-Komodo (2012), Sabang-Padang (2013), Manado-Makassar (2014), Banjarmasin-Balikpapan (May 2015) and Papua tours (June 2015).

“The Flores-Timor route could be seen as the continuation of the Bali-Komodo tour in 2002,” said Jannes, adding that this year’s route, which covers a distance of 1,118.6 kilometers, was expected to see the participation of 80 cyclists.

Jannes said many Indonesians had visited Europe and Japan to join bicycle tours while Flores and Timor attracted mostly foreign visitors. “That’s why we want to introduce Indonesians to touring Flores and Timor on bicycle,” Jannes said.

The tour route, he went on, will cover Labuan Bajo-Ruteng (Aug. 13), Ruteng-Bajawa (Aug. 14), Bajawa-Ende (Aug. 15), Ende-Kelimutu (Aug. 16), Kelimutu-Maumere (Aug. 17), Maumere-Larantuka (Aug. 18), Larantuka-Kupang (Aug. 19) on ferries, Bolok seaport-around Kupang city (Aug. 20), Kupang-SoE (Aug. 21), SoE-Kefamenanu (Aug. 22) and Kefamenanu-Atambua-Motaain (Aug. 23).