Labengki: the karst islands beyond Kendari

Labengki is a group of limestone islands in the sea north-east of Kendari, in Konawe regency, and it looks like nowhere else in Sulawesi. The rock has been weathered into towers, cones and arches, with jungle on top and turquoise water between, and the comparison everyone makes is Raja Ampat, which is fair on scenery and unfair on crowds: here you may have the lagoon to yourself.

The islands are reached by chartered speedboat, usually as a two- or three-day package with a room and meals included. They are not a resort and do not pretend to be. What they offer is some of the best shallow-water scenery in Indonesia, a protected clam sanctuary, and the rare pleasure of a place that has not yet been fully discovered.

The shape of the place

Labengki Besar is the largest of the group and the one with most of the accommodation. Labengki Kecil is the postcard: a blunt cone of rock rising straight out of the water with a strip of sand at its foot and a cave you can swim into at the right tide. Between them are channels, shallow flats and a handful of beaches where a boat can land. The rock is sharp and undercut at the waterline, so getting ashore is a matter of timing and a steady hand.

Sombori, a short ride away, is a different pleasure: a drowned valley of green lagoons and channels, with cliffs on both sides and a few families living at the water's edge. The water is shallow and warm, the light is extraordinary in the early morning, and on a quiet day you will see no other boat at all.

The crossing from Kendari

There is no scheduled boat. The usual arrangement is a package through a guesthouse or operator in Kendari: a chartered speedboat, a guide, meals and a room, for two or three days. The crossing takes two to three hours in good weather, leaving from a jetty down the coast, and the last stretch is open water.

Boats are small and the sea can turn, so the dry season, roughly April to October, is the sensible window, and even then the afternoon wind makes for a wet ride home. Ask what happens if the weather closes in, and check that the boat carries life jackets and a working radio. Prices are quoted per boat or per person and vary; expect a figure in the low millions of rupiah for two nights, and pay in cash. If your operator cannot answer those questions clearly, find another one.

The giant clam sanctuary

Labengki's other draw is under the surface. The shallows hold a sanctuary for giant clams, the big, fluted, green-lipped molluscs that can live for decades and grow to a metre across. The site is protected and managed with the villagers, and snorkellers are asked to keep their distance, stay horizontal and never stand on the coral.

The clams are the easy thing to see. The reefs around the islands are also healthy, with soft coral, anemones, reef fish and the occasional turtle, and visibility is best in the calm season. There is no dive centre on the islands and no hyperbaric chamber anywhere near, so diving here means bringing your own kit and experience, or snorkelling, which is what most people do.

A day on the water

Days settle into a rhythm. You leave after breakfast, run between islands, snorkel, climb a viewpoint, eat lunch on a beach and are back before the light goes. The climbs are short and steep, on rock and wooden steps, and the reward is the view of the lagoon and the karst towers that everyone photographs. Go early; by ten the light is flat and the heat is on.

Two nights is the minimum that makes the crossing worthwhile; three gives you a day in Sombori as well. Bring shoes that grip wet rock, a dry bag and more water than you think. There is nothing to buy on the islands beyond what your host provides, and no medical care closer than Kendari.

• Book through a Kendari operator and confirm the boat.
• Two nights minimum; three is better.
• Take reef-safe sun cream and a rash vest.
• Carry cash for the boat and any extras.
• Keep the afternoon free in case the wind gets up.

Where you sleep, and what is not there

Accommodation is simple: timber bungalows with a fan, a cold shower and a veranda, some on stilts over the water at Labengki Besar, a few homestays in Sombori. Electricity usually comes from a generator and runs in the evening. Phone signal is weak or absent, and there is no wifi worth the name. Rooms are basic but clean, and the verandas are where the evenings happen.

That is the appeal as much as the scenery. The islands are not a resort, and the families who host visitors are farmers and fishermen first. Go with that: eat what is cooked, accept the pace and do not expect the facilities of Wakatobi. What you get instead is a lagoon to yourself at six in the morning and the sense of having reached somewhere still deciding what it wants to be.

Questions people actually ask

How do you get to Labengki?

By chartered speedboat from Kendari or a jetty down the coast, usually as part of a two- or three-day package with accommodation and meals. The crossing takes two to three hours in good weather, and boats do not run on a fixed schedule.

Is Labengki suitable for divers?

Snorkellers do best here. There is no dive centre, no compressor and no hyperbaric chamber nearby, so divers need to bring their own kit and experience. The shallow reefs and clam sanctuary are the main attraction.