The Komodo dragon is the world’s largest species of lizards and its natural habitat is in Komodo National Park, located in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. They can grow to a length of 3 meters and weigh up to 150 kilograms. The suggested theory of “island gigantism” with respect to the Komodo dragon, states that those animals stranded on an island with no natural predators will tend to grow to a very large size when compared with their mainland relatives. In order to fill the biological niche on the islands in which they live, Komodo dragons evolve to grow to tremendous sizes. Despite their huge size, these animals are pretty agile, can climb trees and swim really well. They are one of the world’s most unique animals and found only in Indonesia.
Trekking the Komodo
The Komodo National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is crucial in conserving Komodo dragons given that their population has been decreasing. There are reportedly less than 2,000 Komodos left roaming freely in the wild on Komodo Island, Rinca Island and Gili Motang – all situated within the Park. During the last UNESCO World Heritage Convention, it was acknowledged that since 2021, the status of the Komodo dragon moved from Vulnerable to “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List (the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species), due to the impact of climate change and habitat loss from ongoing human activities and expansion of tourism.
Boats anchored in the bay at Padar island
The gateway to the Komodo National Park is the town of Labuan Bajo on Flores Island. Flores is the 10th largest island of Indonesia and the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara province. It is located eastwards to the more well-known Lombok and Bali islands. Kudos to Air Asia (AA) as since this carrier launched direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Labuan Bajo in 2024, the destination is now easily accessible to Malaysians. So in early November, we decided to seek out these dragons as well as to dive, snorkel and explore the other sites in this area. In Labuan Bajo, there are several cruise boat operators who will structure 2-3 day liveaboard trips to the Komodo National Park. Due to the remoteness of the islands in the Park, accessibility by boats is the best way to experience the place, and to encounter the Komodo dragons inhabiting the islands.
Our APIK Liveaboard dive boat homing us for 3 days
Our Liveaboard tour plan of the Komodo National Park
We chose a 3 day/2 night trip aboard the boat “APIK”, which could take up to 8 passengers on board. We were lucky as there were only 4 people in our group hence, accompanied by 8 boat crew, we were very well-attended to with no overcrowding onboard. We set sail to our first stop around 1 hour and 45 minutes away to a spot called Sebayur Kecil, where we did a check-out dive and snorkelled in the clear pristine waters. An abundance of turtles and other sea-life were spotted already! The corals were in amazing health at this site. We then set sail to another spot called Siaba Besar (Turtle Point) where even more turtles abounded. We saw many dolphins on the surface of the water, playfully teasing us and racing alongside our boat. Our boat then set sail after dinner to anchor overnight at the waters around Padar Island. This remote and wild island is situated between the islands of Komodo and Rinca. Defended by strong currents and swells coming from the Indian ocean to its south, going to Padar Island is an adventure to “Neverland”, as they say. Characterised by steep and dry hills, cliffs falling straight into the ocean, sea eagles flying ahead, gigantic bays with crystal waters and many unknown pink-sand beaches are what give this place a truly unique atmosphere.
Not quite at the peak of Padar island yet but already getting picturesque views just after sunrise
The following morning, we intended to disembark on Padar Island and hike up to the peak to catch the sunrise. Sunrise and sunset times are the best times of the day to do the trek, with endless changing colours in the sky, rewarding you with a breathtaking panorama overlooking the surrounding islands, deep bays, and the beautiful turquoise waters of the Komodo National Park. As it was the dry season when we visited, the terrain on Padar Island was barren and rocky, with no green vegetation save for bushes and grasslands. Padar’s rugged topography lends it a savanna-like landscape which provide ample open spaces for hunting, suited to the habitat of the Komodo dragon. These dragons are well-adapted to their environment, being excellent swimmers, which allows them to move between islands in search of food. The rangers informed us however that Komodo dragons are no longer found on Padar Island due to the lack of wildlife ie. food for them.
At the peak of Padar island
They are occasionally found on the south side of Padar Island, probably after swimming across from the nearby Rinca Island where they are found in large numbers.
The local rangers on the island will collect some charges prior to your hike up. After the registration process, we then joined a row of other tourists from the other boats anchored there overnight, who also had the same plan to trek up at the break of dawn. The trek up was on fairly well-built steps embedded into the slope. Huffing and puffing, it was a one hour hike up to the peak of Padar but the views we got were totally worth it. On our descent, we spotted a spectacular pink beach bay on the other side of the island. Pink Beaches are one of the many amazing features of Komodo National Park. The beaches get their striking colour from microscopic animals called Foraminifera, producing a red pigment on the coral reefs. When the tiny fragments of red coral combine with the white sands, this produces the soft pink colour that is visible along the shoreline.
The rangers on Komodo island with their V-fork stick
Leaving Padar, our boat’s next stop was to the Komodo Island itself. We would be trekking into the forest to seek out the Komodos, accompanied by experienced rangers who know where their usual hangout areas typically are, and how to handle them – with the aid of their simple wooden “V-Stick”. These V-sticks are brandished by the rangers to ward off any potential attack, since the V shaped fork is akin to the forked tongue of a larger dragon, hence keeping the dragons at bay. We were briefed to follow closely behind the rangers, stay only on the designated paths, not wander off alone, and be vigilant with our surroundings as these animals could be anywhere, being wellcamouflaged in their environment.
A female Komodo dragon
And so we began our trek through the barren forest. Along the path, the ranger pointed out several spots of white gastric pellets, which comprised of the undigested calcium bones, horns, hair and teeth of those prey consumed but regurgitated by the Komodos. By law, the locals are not permitted to hunt, kill or consume any wild boars, water buffaloes or deer on the islands, and they can be penalised with jailtime for doing so. These are one of the measures to ensure the sustainability of food available for the carnivorous Komodos and to prevent them from preying on humans instead. There are around 2,000 locals living in settlements on Komodo island who are the rangers, workers at the food outlets and market, teachers at the schools, and medical staff at the clinic, together with their families. It is fascinating that because of their slow metabolism, a Komodo dragon can survive on as little as one meal a month. Given their very slow digestion process, they will just typically lounge around under the sun and sleep under the trees in between a meal. But beware as they can run in short bursts of 18 kilometres/hour, which can have them snapping at the heels of the average human !
Walking the Komodo dragon
We were fortunate that day to encounter one female, one huge male, and one baby Komodo dragon. It was truly staggering to see the male Komodo’s sheer size in person and up close. But keep away from their venomous saliva constantly dripping out of their mouth! The Komodo’s sharp teeth are frequently covered by gingival tissue resulting in its saliva being frequently tinged in blood. Because of this, their mouth is full of bacteria. Even if a prey survives a Komodo’s attack, the infection from the bite will usually kill it later as the saliva contains a mix of toxic proteins capable of inducing shock and preventing blood clotting in their prey.
A huge male Komodo dragon
We also learnt that these giant lizards are cannibalistic, capable of eating each other as well as eating their young offspring, who live high up on trees for around 2 years after they hatch out in order to survive attacks even from their parents. We left the island armed with so much more knowledge and amazing facts imparted by the knowledgeable rangers.
The gastric pellets of calcium bones from the Komodo’s regurgitations
The boat them sailed us to the opposite side of the island where we anchored, to dive and snorkel. Even when snorkelling, we spotted several manta rays gliding on the surface feeding themselves with plankton, even more abundant than those chanced upon by divers on the sandy bottom underwater. The sheer size of all the fish and variety of marine species here are 10 times better than in Malaysian waters, due to its protected status and total ban on all commercial fishing within the Park. We then spent time basking on one of the many pink beaches on the island. The following day was the last day of our cruise, where we dived at Manta Point and Tatawa Besar. We visited Taka Makassar, a sandy beach found rising from the middle of the expanse of the ocean. Also known as the “Maldives of Indonesia”, this island is smaller than a football field and the crescent-shaped pinkish sandbar is surrounded by shallow turquoise waters that look spectacular. With its pristine beach, it is an incredibly unique spot. We stayed on this sandbank until sunset.
The Komodo’s lick of death
In short, all the spots we visited within the Komodo National Park were teeming with healthy diverse marine life and coral reefs, which is arguably better than at the Raja Ampat Islands. Landing back in Labuan Bajo at the end of the cruise, we bid farewell to the attentive boat crew, armed with so many fond memories and experiences. We woke up in our hotel room the next day with the news that Mount Lewotobi situated on the east side of the island, 600 kilometres away from Labuan Bajo, had erupted overnight. Clueless as to any impact on us, we rented a motorbike for the day to explore the Batu Cermin Caves (Mirror Rock), located in a natural canyon between steep cliffs. The caves are named such because of the fascinating crystalline features of its rocks that reflect and sparkle when exposed to sunlight. We then unched at the upmarket Plataran Komodo Beach Resort & Spa at the Waecicu Beach, known to have one of the best sunset spots in Labuan Bajo.
The beautiful pink sandy beaches
By that evening the airport authorities had declared the closure of the Labuan Bajo airport and cancellation of all incoming and departing flights, citing aviation safety as the volcanic ash from the eruption had begun to drift westwards to the area west of Flores island where the airport was located. Thankfully the following day, the airport opened during a short respite, allowing our Air Asia flight to depart back to Kuala Lumpur. At the time of writing this article, the Mount Lewotobi volcano is still erupting, which had already caused much disruption to tourism, flights and travel plans to and from Flores island over the past two months until now.
Such is the volatility of Indonesia, an archipelago consisting of more than 13,000 islands spread over an area similar in size to that of the continental USA. A country despite being situated on the Ring of Fire, with its rugged landmass and countless volcanic islands, contains one of the most diverse cultures, biodiversity and spectacular features in the world. In sum, with the unique feature of the habitant Komodo dragons only to be found there, we felt fortunate that we had braved the trip to experience it, volcano eruption or not!
The Makassar sandbanks
