Where is the spider web rice field?

By Spider Web Rice Field Editorial Desk

Where is the spider web rice field? The regency tourism office places it in Meler Village, Ruteng District, Manggarai Regency, on Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province. Visitors usually know the spot as Cancar. It lies west of Ruteng town, a short way off the Trans-Flores road towards Labuan Bajo, and published distances from town vary by source.

Where is the spider web rice field on the island of Flores?

Flores is the island, East Nusa Tenggara the province and Manggarai the regency, with Ruteng as the regency capital, according to Wikipedia's regency entry. The same entry explains why older references can mislead: Manggarai now covers 1,343.83 square kilometres because West Manggarai split off in 2003 and East Manggarai in 2007. An article written before those dates may say Manggarai and mean a much larger area.

The split matters for a second reason, since the pattern is not confined to one spot. Mongabay lists Lembor in West Manggarai and Rawang in East Manggarai alongside Cancar, and Kompas (2022) writes of hundreds of lodok rice fields in Manggarai, calling Cancar the best known. A map search for the pattern can therefore return several places. This page deals with the Cancar stretch, which most people mean by the spider web rice field; the rest are on our page about other spider web rice fields in Flores.

Which district and village is it in?

The regency tourism office files the site under Lingko Meler, in Meler Village, Ruteng District, and notes that visitors know it as Spider Rice Field. Kompas (2017) gives the same village and district and adds a useful detail: the fields sit a short way off the Trans-Flores road between Labuan Bajo and Ruteng. An ISVS e-journal study describes Meler as one of 22 villages in Ruteng District.

One source disagrees. A 2025 tourism journal article writes "Cancar District". We follow the regency office, because it is describing its own territory, and we flag the other wording so that it does not throw you if you meet it.

Why is the address so confusing?

Four separate things pull in different directions, and a traveller reading signs, listings and maps will run into all of them.

• There are two Rutengs. Ruteng town corresponds to Langke Rembong District, not to the rural Ruteng District where Meler lies, as Wikipedia sets out. An address reading "Ruteng District" does not put the fields in town.
• The site has several names. The office's destination page says Lingko Meler, while its 2026 pocket guide says Lingko Lodok Cancar. Lonely Planet places the fields near Cara kampung, GeoKepo lists Sawah Lingko Cara and the Jakarta Post (2013) mentions Golocara. Our page on the names Lingko Meler, Cancar and Cara goes through them.
• Cancar's own status varies. One travel blog writes of Cancar village, the 2025 article of a Cancar district, and the official pages of Meler. In daily use Cancar works as the place name that gets you there: Travelfish says any driver or guide will know the spot.
• Entrances add local names. Bali Genie, a travel guide, places the best-known view at Weol in Wae Belang, two more names to recognise on the ground.

How far is it from Ruteng?

Every source that gives a direction says west, on the Labuan Bajo side of town. The distances do not match, so the table keeps each figure with its origin.

Please do not average these. The figures have different end points where they name one at all: Golocara for the Jakarta Post, Cara kampung for Lonely Planet, a viewpoint for Travelfish. The Jakarta Post number is also the oldest of those with a date. For a real trip, driving time and the entrance you are aiming for matter more than the kilometre count, and our guide to getting to the spider web rice field covers the transport side.

Where does the viewpoint sit?

No single spot is agreed on. Mongabay says the fields can all be seen from Puncak Weol. Komodo Trekker, an operator, describes parking near a Welcome Lodok sign and viewpoints at Puncak Weol or Bukit Cara. Travelfish mentions a viewpoint beside a telecoms tower, Lonely Planet a small pavilion followed by a dirt path to the main viewing ridge, and Museum of Wander several entrances with steps up to ridge viewpoints.

These descriptions may overlap, since the tower, the pavilion and the Welcome Lodok sign could belong to one entrance or to several. Ask your driver which entrance they mean before you set off. The climb itself is described in our Weol Hill viewpoint guide.

Can you rely on map pins and GPS coordinates?

Treat them as approximate. Travelfish publishes 8°34'59.54" S, 120°22'28.02" E for the viewpoint. Atlas Obscura pins -8.58954, 120.392547, which is a different point. GeoKepo's listing notes that its own position is unverified. Worked out from the numbers, the two pins sit about 2 km apart, so use either to find the right stretch of hills and neither as the location of a gate.

• Search Lingko Meler, Lingko Lodok Cancar and Cancar in turn, and compare each result with the two pins above.
• Save an offline map before leaving town; the visitor FAQ has the regency's note on signal.
• If a pin and your driver disagree, go with the driver and ask residents at the entrance.

How much ground do the fields cover?

Kompas (2017) counts eleven lingko from eight kampung in Meler Village, listed on the names page. A Meler customary head gave journal researchers a different number, 18 lodok, made up of 12 full circles and 6 half circles. The two may be counting different things, such as one visible stretch against the whole village.

On area, the 2025 article gives 165 hectares for the village, while Museum of Wander gives 398 hectares for the fields without naming a source. Neither comes with a boundary you could plot on a map.

What else do people ask about the location?

What district is Cancar in?

The regency tourism office places the site in Ruteng District, and an ISVS study lists Meler as one of that district's 22 villages. A 2025 tourism journal article writes Cancar District instead, which conflicts with both. Ruteng District is the rural district, not Ruteng town.

What province is Cancar in?

East Nusa Tenggara, on the island of Flores. Manggarai Regency sits within it, and for a driver on the island, Cancar or Ruteng will mean more than the province.

Which regency is Cancar in?

Manggarai Regency, whose capital is Ruteng. West Manggarai and East Manggarai have been separate regencies since 2003 and 2007, and Mongabay lists lodok fields in each of them too.

Where is lingko lodok Cancar?

It is the name the regency's 2026 pocket guide uses for this site, which the office's destination page calls Lingko Meler. That places it in Meler Village, west of Ruteng and, as Kompas describes it, a short way off the Trans-Flores road.

Is Meler the same as Ruteng town?

No. Meler is a village in the rural Ruteng District, while Wikipedia equates Ruteng town with Langke Rembong District. A form or map reading Ruteng District therefore does not put the fields in town.

Which sources support this page?

• Wikipedia: Manggarai Regency
• Mongabay (2017): spider web fields of Manggarai
• Kompas (2022): Lodok Lingko Ratung
• Manggarai Regency tourism office: Lingko Meler
• Kompas (2017): promoting the Lingko Lodok fields
• ISVS e-journal study of lingko and mbaru gendang
• Tourism journal article on Meler (2025)
• Manggarai Regency tourism office: 2026 pocket guide
• Lonely Planet: Spider Web Rice Fields
• GeoKepo: Sawah Lingko Cara
• Jakarta Post (2013), via Yahoo News
• Museum of Wander: things to do in Ruteng
• Travelfish: Cancar spider web rice fields
• Bali Genie: Lingko spider web rice fields
• Nusa Flores Travel: exploring the Lingko fields
• ASITA NTT: Lingko spider web rice fields
• Komodo Trekker: spider web rice field
• Atlas Obscura: Spider Web Rice Fields

How do I reach the desk?

Working out where Cancar fits on a wider Flores route? Message the desk on +62 811-3941-4563 or email bd@juaraholding.com. It is a guide's request desk with no vehicles of its own, and the about page says how it earns.