The first large town near Labuhanbajo is RUTENG , 140km to the east. Surrounded by stark, forested volcanic hills and rolling rice-paddy plains, it's an archetypal hill town and a cool, relaxing place. The market just to the south is the central meeting point for the local Manggarai people, as Ruteng is their district capital. They speak their own language and have a distinctive culture that's most in evidence in villages on the south coast. Their traditional houses are conical and arranged in concentric circles around a round sacrificial arena; even the rice paddies are round, divided up like spiders webs, with each clan receiving a slice. Most of these formations are no longer used, but a good example can still be seen at GOLO CURU , a three-kilometre walk uphill from the Agung losmen in Ruteng.

Most buses arriving in Ruteng will drop you off at a hotel if you ask. Otherwise the bus terminal is relatively central. Buses to Bajawa (5-6hr; Rp5000) and Labuhanbajo start leaving at 7am and continue sporadically until early afternoon. Buses to Ende take ten hours. The airport is about 2km out of town, from where most hotels offer free buses. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Mon-Thurs 7.30am-3.45pm, Fri 7.30-11.45am & 1.30-3.45pm, Sat 7.30am-noon) is on Jalan Yos Sudarso opposite the Sindah hotel. You'll find the post office on Jalan Dewi Sartika (Mon-Thurs 9am-3pm, Fri 9-11.30am, Sat 9am-1pm, Sun 9am-noon), 50m up from the traditional houses. The 24-hour Telkom office is on Jalan Achmad Yani.

The most popular travellers' accommodation is Sindah Hotel, Jl Yos Sudarso (tel 0385/21197; under $10), which has a good range of rooms, from budget singles and doubles to a couple of en-suite rooms, and an especially friendly manager. The en-suite rooms at the sparkling clean Rima Hotel, at Jl A Yani 14 (tel 0385/22196 or 22195; under $5) are superb value. Otherwise, walk fifteen minutes out of town on the road towards Reo to get to Wisma Agung I , Jl Waeces 10 (tel 0385/21080; under $5), which is beautifully set among the rice paddies. As for food , Rumah Makan Pade Doang, on the first corner as you walk north from the theatre on Jalan Motang Rua, has cold beer and fairly fresh seafood, a rarity this far from the coast. The appealing Bamboo Den is almost the next building on your right as you continue north and has a passable selection of Indonesian food, including cold sate and soto ayam.