Komodo National Park is home to some of the largest lizards in the world: Komodo dragons ( Varanus komodoensis ). These lizards are superlatives in many ways: lengths up to ten feet, up to 300 pounds in weight, and bad attitudes to match their deadly nature.
Komodo dragons are, in fact, higher up the food chain than you, and they shouldn’t be disturbed. These lizards can run as fast as most dogs, climb trees, swim, and stand for short periods.
Their tails can deliver a powerful knockout punch, and their sharp teeth can inject poison that kills in as little as eight hours.
Dragon’s Refuge
You might be wondering why such an unpleasant animal might need protection, but it does need it: It is a unique species, a product of a hotbed of biodiversity now threatened by human invasion. In 1980, the Indonesian government established the Komodo National Park to protect around 2,500 specimens of Komodo dragons within its borders.
Other animals protected by the park include the Sunda deer ( Cervus timorensis ), the wild buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis ), the wild boar ( Sus scrofa ), the macaque monkey ( Macaca fascicularis ) and more than 150 species of birds.
The park employs 70 rangers to stop poaching in the park; poachers can be sent to jail for up to ten years. They also protect dragons, which have been electronically tagged for easy record keeping. Finally, they safeguard tourists, who do not dare to touch the Komodo dragons. It’s good too, as an intimate encounter with a Komodo dragon isn’t one that you walk away from in one piece!
In 1991, the national park was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Get there
Komodo National Park is located 200 miles from Bali, near the Little Sunda Islands, bordering the East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara provinces. The park covers the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar, Nusa Kode, Motang and the Wae Wuul shrine on Flores Island.
- Rinca Island – Trip to Rinca in Indonesia
Denpasar in Bali is the starting point of the park, through the towns of Bima on the island of Sumbawa or Labuan Bajo on the western side of Flores. Labuan Bajo houses the park’s visitor offices.
- Guide to Labuan Bajo in Flores, Indonesia
- Putri Naga Komodo – How to get there (off-site)
Air: Bima and Labuan Bajo can be reached by air from Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali.
Bus: Ground buses travel between Denpasar and Labuan Bajo or Bima.
Ferry: Ferries travel between Denpasar and Labuan Bajo or Bima. Total travel time is 36 hours. The Indonesian Maritime Transport Company (PELNI) offers ferry services: they are located at Jalan Raya Kuta No. 299, Tuban, Bali Call + 361-763 963 to reserve a seat.
Live aboard – Komodo National Park can be reached via live boats catering to divers.
Get in and move
Entrance to Komodo National Park costs $ 15 for up to 3 days of stay; Visitors planning to stay for more than 16 days will pay $ 45. Visitors under 16 get a 50% discount.
The Loh Liang Ranger Station in Slawi Bay on Komodo Island is the largest facility in the park. The station includes bungalows for visitors, ranger accommodation, a compressor and diving equipment for divers, and a restaurant. Visitors can walk from here to the Banugulung lizard viewing area. Both ranger stations in Rinca and Komodo Island require you to bring a ranger when you go out on their trails.
The further you go, the more you will need to arrange overnight accommodation at ranger points throughout the park. All the park facilities are basic, from the beds to the communal bathrooms. Advance booking of accommodation is not feasible. Visitors not looking to “rough it” are advised to obtain hotel rooms in Labuan Bajo.
The park rangers organize a daily meal for the benefit of the visitors. It’s a bloody sight – you’ll see a whole goat being fed to the creatures, among other things.
Diving around the Komodos
The waters of Komodo National Park are known for their high marine biodiversity, making it an ideal destination for adventurous divers. Whale sharks, manta rays, clown toadfish, nudibranch and coral proliferate in the area.
The marine ecosystem around the islands of the park are actually two separate habitats, quite close to each other.
The southern parts are fed by the deep-sea currents that bring cold water from Antarctica through the Indian Ocean. That part of the park supports an incredible and colorful profusion of marine life in temperate zones.
Just a few miles north, tropical waters nurture more than 1,000 species of warm-water fish and marine mammals, including at least fifteen different varieties of whales and dolphins.
For more information, contact Komodo National Park at the following addresses and numbers:
Oficina de Bali
Jl. Shooter No. 2 Sanur, Bali, Indonesia 80228
Telefono: +62 (0) 780 2408
Fax: +62 (0) 747 4398
Komodo Office
gg. Mosque, Kampung Cempa, Labuan Bajo
West Manggarai, Nusa Tenggara, East, Indonesia 86554
Telefono: +62 (0) 385 41448
Telefono: +62 (0) 385 41225
- Komodo National Park – Official Website
