Wonderful Indonesia: On the trail of Komodo dragon
Life is an adventure in Flores Island and our second day of the tour was devoted to expedition to Komodo Island on Flores Sea including speed boat cruises, exciting treks and overland adventures. We had put on our casuals and trekking shoes and headed off from Luwansa Beach Resort in the morning hours to Labuan Bajo Harbour covering a distance of nearly 5 km in search of having a spectacular encounter with the nearly endangered Komodo dragons, the largest living reptile in the world and one of the seven new wonders of the world. We availed of the speed boat for cruising across the Flores Sea to reach Komodo Island.
Labuan Bajo Harbour
The lure of sighting Komodo dragon was so great that we cruised for 1½ hours (around 43 km) to get to Komodo Island. We passed through numerous tiny islands surrounded by hills on our cruise of which some islands like Masa and Papagara are inhabited by fisher folks. The speed boats ply round the year and a two-way luxury cruise from Labuan Bajo to Komodo Island would come for anything 1 billion IDR. Before reaching Komodo Island, our guide made us aware about the do’s and don’ts while sighting Komodo dragons like one should not put on colourful clothes, refrain from smoking, not to carry food items, to keep silence and not to split from the group.
A view of Indonesian Archipelago
Open all round the year, Komodo National Park is spread across 1,70,000 hectares of land amid Indonesian Archipelago comprising three islands- Komodo, Rinca and Padar. The national park listed in the World Heritage Site, has closed Savannah grassland. On reaching Komodo Island, we had to hire two more local guides who briefed us about Loh Liang trekking trail. Loh in Bahasa implies bay and Liang is the hole of the nest of the dragon. The entrance fee of the national park is around 2,25,000 IDR, area tax is 50,000 IDR and the guide charges are 80,000 IDR for a group. There are three kinds of treks that one can take up- short trek, medium trek and long trek. We preferred the 2 km medium trek that lasted for 1 ½ hours for sighting Komodo dragons in the national park.
As we began our trek, we sighted a pair of Komodo dragons- the male is usually lazy and remains dormant while the female is constantly in search of its prey. The lifespan of a Komodo dragon is usually 50 years and its breeding season is from May to August. Usually Komodo dragons do not have their regular food but catch their preys and have around 25 kg food once in a month. Our shutterbugs went on clicking and we took a whale of time having a lifetime glimpse of the dragons.
A pair of Komodo Dragons
Female Komodo dragon
In search of its prey
From there on, we proceeded to climb the Frigate Hill and Sulphuria Hill (Sulphuria in Latin implies Cockatoo bird) - a steep uphill trek. Whenever we came across Komodo dragons along our trekking route, our guides warned us to keep quiet. We could spot wild orchids, tamarind and lemon basil in the dense forest.
Komodo National Park overlooking Flores Sea
Wild Orchids in bloom
Once our medium trek was over, we came across a small market in the island that sells wooden Komodo dragons, wooden decorative bowls, ash trays and hand woven shawls of Flores Island called Tenun Ikat, all crafted by village folks of Komodo Island. Flores Sea has a rich diversity of marine life and we then cruised across Pink sea beach, the one-of-its-kind in South-East Asia rich with corals.
Wooden Komodo dragons
Decorative bowls made in Komodo Island
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