The three crater lakes are Kelimutu's whole argument. They sit at the summit of the volcano, close enough to see in one sweep from the ridge, but with different colours that shift over time as volcanic gases and minerals change the water chemistry. On a clear morning the scene is wonderfully strange: steep crater walls, cold highland air, and coloured water held inside a living volcano.
Local Lio tradition gives the lakes spiritual meaning. Tiwu Ata Bupu is associated with the souls of elders, Tiwu Ko'o Fai Nuwa Muri with young people, and Tiwu Ata Polo with troubled or wicked spirits. That makes the viewpoint feel less like a simple lookout and more like a place people have tried to explain for a long time.