If you plan to see the famous Komodo dragon, you have to be prepared for it to take a while to get there. First, you have to fly to Labuan Bajo, which is only possible from some airports in Indonesia. It’s a relatively small airport in the middle of nowhere. Labuan Bajo is a fishing town located at the western end of the large island of Flores, which is the entrance point to the Komodo National Park.
Boat tours depart from Labuan Bajo every day. You can decide on a multi-day trip or only one day with snorkeling or even scuba diving. The choice is yours! I settled on a one-day trip to the most important spots in Komodo National Park.
Pulau Padar
It started with a small island in the morning to do a little hike. The view was stunning, and I was happy that after so much hiking, it was more of a walk in the park 🙂
The Pink Beach
Pink Beach (or Pantai Merah) is one of the most beautiful and unique places in the Komodo National Park in Indonesia. What makes the sand pink? The pink hue comes from tiny microscopic organisms called Foraminifera. These creatures produce a red pigment on the coral reefs. Wave action pulverizes the red coral fragments and mixes them with the white sand, giving the shore its striking pink color. I went snorkeling there and just enjoyed the crystal-clear water.
The dragon
The next stop was Komodo Island, which is one of the islands with dragons. These giant lizards are unique to see and sometimes also hard to find. But to be honest, they are not entertaining at all. They barely move, and you don’t notice them occasionally as they are perfectly camouflaged.
Here are five fascinating facts about the Komodo dragon:
- Biggest Lizards on Earth: Komodo dragons are the world’s biggest living lizards, growing up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and weighing around 150 pounds (70 kg).
- Venomous Predators: Komodo dragons possess a deadly bite. Their venom contains toxins that lower blood pressure, prevent clotting, and induce shock in their prey. This gives them a formidable advantage when hunting.
- Scavengers & Hunters: Although fierce predators who can take down animals as large as water buffalo, Komodo dragons are also opportunistic scavengers, eating leftover carcasses of dead animals.
- Impressive Sense of Smell: With their long, forked tongues, Komodo dragons can “smell” prey and carrion from up to several miles (kilometers) away. They use this exceptional sense to guide their hunt.
- Cannibalistic Tendencies: Adult Komodo dragons are known to engage in cannibalism, occasionally preying on younger and smaller Komodos.
The Manta
After that, we went to a very small island; it was more like a riff in the ocean, in the middle of the stream. We went snorkeling there to see Manta Rays. And I saw them, but yeah, if you have no Go Pro, you have no Go Pro. So, no pictures of that 🙂
All in All, it was a nice trip to Labuan Bajo. But if you are not a scuba diver, you should leave again after two days as it might get boring.
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