TRAVEL
MARCH 5, 2021
exploring the exotic komodo island
One small island in East Nusa Tenggara province (Nusa Tenggara Timur) is famous for being home to awesome scenery and wildlife animals.
This Komodo island lies between islands of Sumbawa at the west side separated by Sape Strait and Flores at the east. The island is a part of Komodo District, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. It has area about 390 kilometres wide and the home to the Komodo Dragon, the largest lizard on earth lives only in indonesia. The island was first discovered during Dutch Colonial Administration in the early 1910s from stories of Dutch sailors based in Flores. They saw the Komodo dragons on the coast but did not try to get near because of the size of the beasts were “seven meters long and breathed fire”.
Today, you can find the lizards in The Komodo National Park. Founded in 1980, it is the main attraction for tourists visiting the island. The surrounding views are breathtaking with beautiful scenery. Other animals we can find are dolphins, deer and wild birds like sea eagles. The island is located within Pacific Ring of Fire and therefore it is origin from volcanic activity. Population in this island and its surrounding is around 5,000 inhabitants with many of them living as fishermen.
Komodo island has dry climate, as a matter of fact it is one of the driest places in Indonesia. Less green tree and rugged terrain across the island with hills spreading around the island. The temperature could go as high as 40 degree Celcius, it is not a place where you can find common tropical rain-forests in Indonesia.
In 1991 the Komodo National Park was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site to protect the wildlife species that live around the island. On November 11, 2011 the park was selected as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature along with Amazon Forest, Halong bay and Iguazu Falls.
The origin of the island coming from volcanic activity located within Pacific Ring of Fire
To reach the island you can make it by air or water. Usually you need to travel to Bali island as a starting point, from there you can either rent a private yacht straight to the island and circling around, looking for beautiful places or pick a plane or boat to Labuan Bajo. There are two local airlines from Bali to choose. Indonesian Air Transport (IAT) and Trans Nusa Airlines (TGN) have daily flights to Labuan Bajo on Flores Island.
Alternatively you can opt to hop in a ferry from Bali to Labuan Bajo that costs much cheaper. But remember, using this method takes about 36 hours to arrive. Also,those ferries leave from Bali every two weeks, so you should consider this when you arrange your schedule.
After you arrive in Labuan Bajo, continue your journey to Komodo island using boat. Please choose a boat with good condition for your own safety during the trip. Takes about 1,5 – 2 hours in normal weather to reach the destination. Usually the boat will head to the pier used as a tourist entrance to the island, the bay of Loh Liang dock. A village called Kampung Komodo is located near the bay where most of the inhabitants of this island live.
To enter the Komodo National Park you are going have to pay about IDR 150.000 – 300.000 per person depending on your visiting time, weekday or weekend. Please remember this amount could be different in reality from time to time. It is strongly suggest that you bring extra cash along the way just to make sure. The park opens every day for 24 hours, visitors must be accompany by an official guide to explore the island for safety reason.
You can choose the tour package from 3 options : short, medium or long trek. The short one is about 1-2 km of trekking with a nice view of the island’s bay but no savannah ride like the long one. The all in one, long trek includes 8 km trekking and hiking to the highest point, Mount Ara that provides stunning view of the island surroundings.
Both long and short expeditions will pass the Water Hole, a Komodo’s lair where the dragons rest and mingle between them. Please wear proper apparel and do not forget to bring outdoor kit for your journey. Obey the safety rules provides by a qualified tour guide and stay close with the group, do not wander alone too far.
Most Komodo island travelers stay in Labuan Bajo where accomodation varies widely from hostels to hotels and luxury resorts. In this small town we can visit several restaurants serving delicious fresh food with reasonable great price.
Last but not least do not skip your travel to the Pink Beach. It is one of seven pink-sand beach in the world. The sand appears pink from a mixture of white sand and red pigment in coral produced by microscopic animals called Foraminifera. When it mix with white sand, it forms a pink color. Spreading all over the beach.
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