The worldwide pandemic has forced us to take refugee inside the safety of our house and practically stripped our opportunity to go outside to see the world. That means lots of us cannot go travel right now as international boundaries are temporarily closed and safety measures are tightened up. For some of us, quarantine and travel restrictions result in devastating travel cancellations. Just like the Komodo National Park, where travellers need to gave up their long-awaited trip until further notices. The Komodo Dragon Island and its surrounding are closed for now, but you can still take a peek some bits of the park. For you who are supposed to be basking in the beauty of Komodo this summer, these semi-virtual tour might help.
Aerial View of Komodo Dragon Island
The first thing you’ll see upon your arrival to the Lost World—I meant the Komodo National Park. Book a window seat cause you will see some of the most scenic aerial landscape! From the plane you’ll witness arrays of brownish little islands sprung from the vast blue ocean—a promising sight for adventures!
The Gate of National Park
The first thing you will see before entering the national park on Komodo Dragon Island. This is where you buy your tickets and get a ranger to guide the walk. No trip inside the island should be done without ranger’s companion. You might as well kill yourself.
The entrance fee will cost you Rp 150.000 on working days and Rp 250.000 on the weekend if you are a non-Indonesian national. This doesn’t include ranger fee which cost Rp 80.000 per group.
Hiking Trails
There are three hiking routes in Komodo Dragon Island you can choose: short, medium, and long. Longer routes doesn’t guarantee more sightings of the dragons, but it does give you more opportunity to spot them in the wild. The hiking trails grants superb scenery of rustic dry forests, ocean view from the Regatta hills, buffalo’s waterhole (where they love to soak!) and some rugged terrains. If you are lucky, you might spot Timor deer or wild boar beside the dragons!
Dry Forest on Komodo Dragon Island
In contrast with lush tropical greens forests and green jungles in most areas in Indonesia, the dry forest in Komodo Dragon Island is totally something else. Instead of forest canopies, high-rise Lontar palm Borassus trees punctuates the skyline, growing scattered in the terrain. The base of the hills and valleys are dotted with Kepuh tree (Sterculia Foedita), Midnight Horror/ Bungli (Oroxylum indicum), Tamarind, Kesambi tree (Schleichera oleosa), Java Cassia, Orange Jessamine (Murraya paniculate) and other tropical deciduous plants.
More Komodo Travelling Stories:
A Tranquil Morning in Komodo Liveaboard
Komodo Yacht Charter to Wonderful Town of Ruteng
7 Days of Sailing Trip in Komodo Diving Liveaboard
Open Grass-Woodland Savanna
The Komodo Dragon Island is predominantly covered with open grass-woodland savannah—which contributes to its Jurassic-esque charm. Most of the land grows Ohwi grass, bristle grass, spear grass, Christmas grass, and Kangaroo grass. They are the best for Komodo’s dry climate and make such beautiful bushes especially during the dry season!
Komodo Dragons’ Beach
If you find np dragons inside the forest, try the beach. They usually love to lie idle in one of Komodo Dragon Island’s white sands beaches, basking in the sun and relax—much like their hooman visitors! The giant lizard also loves to just strutting down the coastal line, sometimes even playing in the water when they like to.