Kei Besar (Big Kei Island)

Kei Besar is the larger of the main Kei Islands, about 60 km long and dominated by a mountainous spine covered in dense forest. It is far less visited than Kei Kecil and requires more effort to explore — the main villages are on the coast, connected by irregular boat services from Tual, and roads on the island are limited.

The rewards are considerable: traditional stone villages with carved wooden houses, pristine beaches on the eastern coast with no accommodation whatsoever, and the sense of genuine remoteness that the Kei Kecil beaches have started to lose. The western coast villages are the most accessible; the eastern coast requires chartering a boat. Several villages produce traditional Kei woven cloth (tenunan), which makes an excellent purchase. A full day circuit of the accessible western coast by boat is the most practical approach.

things to do sight nature
A story
Kei Besar was largely untouched by the sectarian violence that affected parts of Maluku in 1999-2002 and remains one of the few places in eastern Indonesia where traditional Kei customs (adat) remain genuinely active. The villages on the western coast — accessible only by boat — still maintain the elaborate system of social hierarchy and customary law that predate the Indonesian state, and guests are received according to protocols that have changed little in centuries.