Pocket Guide to Komodo Islands

POCKET GUIDE TO KOMODO ISLANDS

NATURE CONSERVANCY OF KOMODO IS PURELY A NON PROFIT TOURISM ORGANIZATION, TO GAIN AWARENESS ABOUT THE PREHISTORIC ISLANDS OF KOMODO, TO HELP THE LIVES OF PEOPLE IN KOMODO VILLAGE, AND KEEP THE SUSTAINABLE OF NATURE.

Komodo as the Indicator of Earth

Komodo were alive since 60 million years ago, if they still alive, that means the nature we are live in are as friendly as the nature in 60 million years ago. Zeby then emphasizes how dragons could make an impact to the whole world. “Once the Global Warming happens, the sea level will tide up, and because the terrain is very low, the islands of Komodo will soon disappear. Komodo dragons carry messages from the prehistoric era that we really need to take care of the nature.”

Zeby FebrinaIndonesian Komodo Activist

Komodo to the Worldwide

“We must conserve the Komodo as the endangered animal, and the only that exist on the island of Komodo. In addition, there are many activities such as diving.” The plan would be to promote Indonesia in particular of Komodo Islands and the Vote campaign at every performance when competing in foreign countries.

Rio HaryantoMotorsport GP2 Racer

PINK BEACH CHILDREN IN KOMODO VILLAGE

KOMODO DRAGON

KOMODO ISLAND SUNSET IN LABUAN BAJO

SWIMMING POOL AT BINTANG FLORES

SNORKELLING ACTIVITY

CAMP AT KOMODO ISLAND

KOMODO UNDERWATER

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KOMODO NATIONAL PARK 6103646

KOMODO & RINCA ISLANDS

FASCINATING DINOSAUR

THE VILLAGERS

CONTENTS32


KOMODO NATIONAL PARKDespite the seemingly sparse exterior of Komodo

National Park, a wealth of interesting flora

and fauna inhabit both the land and waters of

the Park. Komodo National Park has captured

worldwide attention, not only as the home of

the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon,

but also for the incredible marine diversity found

in the rich, current-swept reefs and open water

surrounding the Park.

Located between the islands of Sumbawa

and Flores in the Lesser Sunda islands of Indonesia. The Park belongs in the Komodo Sub-District of Manggarai District in the Province of East Nusa Tenggara.

Komodo National Park was established in 1980. The Park was also declared as a World Heritage Site and A Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1986.

The islands were declared a national park to protect the endangered Komodo dragons and their environment, as well as the biodiversity of the islands.

The marine park was established to protect the high diversity of marine life in the waters surrounding the islands, some of the richest on the planet.surrounding the islands, some of the richest on the planet.

The main islands are Komodo Island, Padar, Rinca, Gili Motang and Nusa Kode but there are many smaller islands included as well.

GEOLOGY

Komodo National Park lies in the heart of “Wallacea”. The Wallacea

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region resulted from two continents colliding together to form a unique set of volcanic islands that contain a mixture of both Australian and Asian birds and animals.

The islands of Komodo National Park are generally young, oceanic volcanic islands that are constantly changing by rising, eroding, and subsiding into the sea.

West Komodo was probably the first to form from volcanic activity in the Jurrasic era about 130 to134 million years ago. East Komodo, along with Padar and Rinca, are younger and probably emerged in the Eocene era about 49 million years ago.

CLIMATE

Komodo Dragons live in one of the driest areas of Indonesia where there are few permanent water sources. Different temperatures and humidity during the year will influence the Komodo dragon’s choice of habitat and range.

Rain falls mainly from December to March during the northwest monsoon season. The highest annual temperature in the Park is 43 degrees Celsius, the lowest is 17 degrees Celsius. November is the hottest

month of the year. The hottest part of the day is in the early afternoon.

Visiting Komodo National Park

This national park (www.komodonationalpark.org), a UNESCO world Heritage Site, encompasses Komodo, Rinca, several neighboring islands, and their incredibly rich marine ecosystem.

A short, guided drangon-spotting trek is included with your entrance fee. For a longer, hour-long trek on Rinca you’ll pay an additional IDR50,000. On Komodo, where the hiking is superb, you can pay from IDR50,00 to IDR250,000 for guided treks that range from flat 3km strolls to steep 10km hikes up and over peaks and into deep valleys. Arrange your treks upon registration in Komodo. All guides speak some English and are very knowledgeable about the islands’ flora and fauna. A camera permit is another 25,000IDR.

Komodo is one of the driest corners of Nusa Tenggara, and heavy rains are not common. However, the seas are calmest between April and September.

ENTRANCE FEE IDR50,000

CONSERVATION FEEIDR20,000

PHOTO CAMERA FEEIDR50,000

VIDEO CAMERA FEEIDR150,000

RANGER / GUIDEIDR50,000 (PER GROUP)

KOMODO & RINCA ISLANDSTheir jagged hills carpeted with savannah and

fringed with mangroves, are home to a few

hundred fishermen and the legendary Komodo

Dragon. The world’s largest lizard, known locally

as ora.

Mostly of the travel agency only have the

route of the Park around the Komodo and Rinca because according to the nature, all of the dragons in Padar and Gili Motang did the migration to Komodo and Rinca in 1970s.

These isolated islands are surrounded by some of the most tempestuous waters in Indonesia. The convergence of warm and cold water currents breeds nutritious thermal climes, rip tides and whirlpools that attract large schools of pelagics, from dolphins and sharks to manta rice and blue whales. The coral here is pristine. Add it all up and you have some of the best diving in the world, which is why live aboard based in Bali and Lombok ply these waters between April and September when the

crossing is smooth and the diving at its finest.

Rinca receives just as many visitors as Komodo because its closest to Labuan Bajo, Flores - the main departure point for trips to the Komodo National Park. Dragons are easy to spot, as they tend to hang around the camp kitchen. Komodo looks and feels wilder, the offshore dive sites are magnificent, but the dragons don’t hang about the camps too often, so you have to hike to find them.

There are numerous hiking trails, but it’s not permitted to explore without a guide, a forked staff his primary weapon.


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Komodo Island

Spectacular Komodo, its steep hillsides jade in the short wet season, frazzled by the sun and winds to a deep rusty red for most of the year, is the largest island in the national park. A succession of eastern peninsulas spread out like so many fingers, fringed in pink sand, thanks to the abundance of red coral reefs offshore. The recently renovated camp of Loh Liang and the PHKA office, where you can organise treks, is also on the east coast of the island.

The fishing village of Kampung Komodo is an hour-long walk south of Loh Liang. It’s a friendly stilted Bugis Village that’s full of goats, chickens, and children.

Rinca Island

Rinca is slightly smaller than Komodo and every bit as alluring. It’s also close to Labuan Bajo and easily done in a day trip. Boats arrive at the sheltered dock of Loh Kima. It’s a five-minute walk through the magroves, where you run across long-tail macaques and wild water buffalo grazing in the tidal marsh, to the PHKA camp at Loh Buaya, which has a ticket office and information center, ramshackle wooden bungalows and a cafe. Keep the entrance ticket if you’re heading to Komodo.

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Activities

HIKING

Most visitors stay one night at Komodo and only do the short hike to Banu Nggulung - bad decision. The longer you hike, the more spectacular the scenery (think massive sea views, lonely beaches and bays, deep valleys that recall the Land of the Lost).

Walks from Loh Liang include the climb to the 538m-high Gunung Ara (IDR200,000, 9km, five hours return), there are expansive views from the top. Poreng Valley (IDR150,000, 5.5km, four to five hours return) is another potential dragon haunt, and has a more out-in-the-wild feeling than Banu Nggulung. The trail continues over Bukit Randolph, a memorial to the 79-year-old Randolph Von Reding who dissapeared on Komodo in 1974, to Loh Sebita (IDR150,000, 9km, four hours). This is the best hike. It’s challenging, the views are spectacular, you’ll likely see a dragon or two, and you can organise your boat to pick you up in Loh Sebita. There’s also plenty of other wildlife, such as buffaloes, deer, wild boar and Komodo’s rich bird life.

DRAGON SPOTTING

You’re likely to see dragons if you do the standard stroll to Banu Nggulung, a dry river-bed about a half-hour walk from Loh Liang. The organised feeding of goats to dragons is a thing of the past, and dragons are now only fed here when the PHKA want to do a head count. Banu Nggulung still occasionally attract dragons, but you’re more likely to find them on your way here and back.

When you do some across a scaly beast, it’s wise to keep a safe distance and move slowly and calmly. A telephoto lens is handy but not essential. It is also possiblo to spot dragons foraging for food and fresh water on some of the other walks, but it’s never guaranteed.

SNORKELLING & DIVING

Almost everybody who visits the park hires a boat in Labuan Bajo. Boats always offer snorkelling (gear included) as part of the itinerary. Most folks snorkel around the small island of Pulau Lasa near Kampung Komodo.

Of course, diving is the thing here. Given the conditions - up and down currents, and chilly temperatures - and the effort involved in diving these amazing sites. However, it is not recommended for the inexperienced diver.

Paradise of Komodo Underwater

Komodo Island and national park reserve offers the liveaboard diver just about every type of tropical diving imaginable - from warm, calm and colourful shallow reefs alive with hundreds of colourful reef fishes and crammed with invertebrates, to current-swept deep cool water sea mounts, walls and pinnacles patrolled by sharks, tuna and other big fish.

The variety of marine life that you can see when you’re Komodo scuba diving rivals the world’s best dive destinations. This is close to the world’s epicentre for marine diversity and you’ll see loads of stuff here on a liveaboard diving cruise that you just won’t see anywhere else in the world.

From sunfish, mantas, dolphins and eagle rays to pygmy seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, clown frogfish, nudibranchs and blue-ringed octopus, all are at home amongst a spectacular range of colourful sponges, sea squirts, tunicates and corals; Komodo is a macro enthusiast’s heaven.

Geologically, Komodo Island and Rinca are part of Flores, separated from Sumbawa to the west by the Sape Strait. In the middle of the strait, the bottom drops to almost 300 metres. The many islands and relatively shallow seas between Flores and Komodo’s west coast mean very fast currents at tidal changes, especially when the higher tidal waters of the Pacific Ocean in the north flow through into the Indian Ocean to the south. The upwellings from the deep surrounding seas bring nutrients and plankton to keep these waters rich and well-fed, which makes perfect conditions for some spectacular scuba diving.


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DIVING AROUND KOMODO & LABUAN BAJO

Among the several dozen dive sites mapped in the park are Batu Bolong, a split pinnacle with absolutely pristine coral and, ompared to elsewhere in the park, light current; Crystal Bommie (aka Crystal Rock), with electric soft corals, turles, and schooling pelagics. There’re also plenty of reefs and grey sharks around here. The currents are strong here and at Castle Rock (aka Tako Toko Toko), a tremendous sunrise dive site where, with a little luck, you’ll dive with dolphins. Then there’s The Cauldron, aka Manta Soupa a shallow drift dive over white sand where massive manta rays school and clean themselves on the rocks. If you’ve never seen mantas before, dive here. It’s guaranteed.

When it comes to Komodo outfitters, there are several choices. You could sign up for day trips with the dive shops in Labuan Bajo. This is the cheapest way to go (IDR800,000 for two divers). They operate year-round, but it’s a long haul (up to three hours) to and from the sites, you can’t customise your itinerary.

CN DIVE p. 41159 / +62 813 3928 5913www.cndivekomodo.com

IKAN BARUp. +62 813 534 4511www.goodwilldiving.com

KOMODO LIVEABOARDSp. +62 813 531 48479www.komodoliveaboard.com

KOMODO AQUA DIVINGp. +62 385 418 75www.divingkomodo.com

DIVE KOMODOp. +62 385 418 62www.divekomodo.com

DIVINE DIVINGp. +62 385 419 48www. divinediving.info

DIVING SEA SAFARIp. +62 361 721 212www.divingseasafari.com

KOMODO

Ferries travelling between Sape and Labuan Bajo haven’t been stopping at Komodo for several years now, so the only way here is by some sort of charter. One way to arrive is on a boat tour between Lombok and Flores - these stop at Komodo for a night or two.

Labuan Bajo is the best jumping-off point for Komodo and Rinca. It is possible to charter boats from Sape in Sumbawa to Komodo, but be extremely cautious, as many boats here are barely seaworthy.

Two day Komodo trips for up to six people cost a standard IDR1,500,000 from Labuan Bajo. Price includes landings on Rinca and Komodo, meals and snorkelling gear.

RINCA

Chartering a boat to Rinca costs about IDR750,000 return from Labuan Bajo/ Boats usually leave at about 8 in the morning for the two-hour journey to the island and then return via snorkelling spots. You can book throughyour hotel, an agecy, or freelance agents in Labuan Bajo, or speak directly to the captains at the harbour, which will allow you to size up the boat and check that the vessel has a radio and life jackets.

Getting There & Away

PERAMA TOUR & TRAVEL p. +62 361 750 808www.peramatour.com

FLORES EXOTIC TOURSp. +62 812 366 2110www.komodoisland-tours.com

KOMODO TOURSp. +62 361 966 4512www.komodotours.com

TRIP TO KOMODOp. +62 856 373 7535www.triptokomodo.com

KOMODO HOLIDAYSp. +62 813 408 090 79www.komodoholidays.com

KOMODO TOURS & TRAVEL INDONESIAp. +62 370 668 6625www.komodotours-indonesia.com

KOMODO ADVENTURE TRAVELp. +62 385 41999www.flores-komodo.com

KOMODO THE EDGEp. +62 812 381 5441www.komodotheedge.com

Beautiful Pink Beach

Pink Beach is one of the famous tourist destinations in Komodo

National Park, featured by the beautiful white sandy beach, amazing

underwater life and stunning panorama surrounding area.

The sand beach is derived from small red sand which spread out to

the beach area. Hence, this beach is popular by pink beach or Pantai

Merah, where the local people mention it. The sand appears pink

because it is a mixture of white sand and red sand, formed from pieces

of Foraminifera, kind of amoeba microscopic animals which produce

red or pink light on the reef.

It is said that the pink sandy beaches there are only 7 in the world,

one of them on the island of Komodo.

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Sleeping & Eating

IN KOMODO NATIONAL PARK

Komodo’s PHKA camp (IDR300,000 per person, per night) accommodation just went through a renovation, but what once was a series of basic wood cabins is now an overpriced version of a basic Indo hotel, complete with musty interior.

Rinca’s large stilted cabins, on the other hand, are riddled with mould and falling apart. New bungalow construction was underway at research time. Most folks choose to sleep on the decks of their chartered boats - a lot more palatable, if a bit cramped.

Both camps have restaurants with a limited menu of nasi / mie goreng, fish, and other simple meals. However, the prices are not high by Western standards.

Under no circumstances to drink any tap water. The tap water is not potable. Near park headquarters on both Komodo or Rinca Island, you may purchase water and soft drinks. If you go trekking into the island’s interior be sure to take a large bottle of water with you. You will need it!

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Gateway To Komodo National Park

Once a small fishing village, Labuan Bajo (also spelled Labuhanbajo and Labuanbajo) in Flores is now a busy bustling epicenter of tourism. It is the launching point as well as the gateway for trips to Komodo National Park, home to the famous Komodo dragons.

Nearby Seraya Island is a great opportunity to do some diving and snorkeling and every evening at Kalong Island thousands of flying fox bats put on an amazing display.

The gorgeous ramshackle harbour, freckled with bay islands, blessed with surrealist sunsets and surrounded by rugged green hills. There are sweet beach bungalows on empty islands closer to shore, and there’s ever-expanding collection of hotels and restaurants with a view.

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BY SEA (FERRY)

Travel timeapproximately 36 hours

The gateway cities of Labuan Bajo and Bima are also connected to Denpasar, Bali by inter-island ferry.

Contact the Indonesia Sea Transportation Company (PELNI) at Jalan Raya Kuta No. 299, Tuban - Bali (p. +62 361 763 963) to reserve a seat on the KM. Tilong Kabila, which departs Benoa Port, Bali bound for Bima and Labuan Bajo

Benoa-Bima-Labuan Bajo

Fortnightly (every two weeks) on Saturdays09.00-20.00 (next day).One-way ticket IDR143,000 - IDR435,000

Labuan Bajo-Bima-Benoa

Fortnightly (every two weeks) on Thursdays 8.00-11.00 (next day).One-way ticketIDR143,000 - IDR435,000

How To Get To Labuan Bajo

BY AIR

DepartEveryday

Denpasar (DPS) - Labuan

Bajo (LBJ)10.00 - 11.50 & 13.00

- 14.20LBJ - DPS via Bima12.05 - 12.35Bima - DPS12.50 - 13.45LBJ - DPS14.35 - 15.15

PriceIDR600,000 - IDR120,000(depend with the class you take)

BY LAND

The gateway cities of Labuan Bajo and Bima are connected to Denpasar, Bali by overland buses.

Hotels in Labuan Bajo

BINTANG FLORES HOTELp. +62 385 42 000(Rate around US$220)www.bintangfloreshotel.com

The Bintang Flores Hotel is a five-storey hotel set in a spacious tropical garden. Drawing on Indonesian architectural influences, it combines local style and charm with modern conveniences and international standards of service. With a large swimming pool and private white-sand beach, the hotel offers complete facilities in a protected environment.

JAYAKARTA SUITES KOMODOp. +62 385 416 88(Rate around US$220)flores.jayakartahotelresorts.com

The Jayakarta Suites Komodo-Flores will be an extraordinary resort located on the white sandy beach in Labuan Bajo, surrounded by beautiful sea and amazing mountainous scenery. The 4-star luxury resort in Labuan Bajo, Flores has the beautiful sea on one side and amazing mountain scenery on the other.

PURI KOMODO RESORTp. +62 385 410 30(Rate around US$110)www.anamemeraldresort.com

The resort is spacious but with sophisticated details that combine in themselves as special atmosphere of Bali.

PURI SARI HOTELp. +62 385 244 3710(Rate around US$90)www.purisarihotel.com

Another brand-new luxe hotel, set 2km down a rutted dirt road and on the beach. Rooms are huge with king beds, wi-fi, wood furnishings and marble sinks.

BAJO KOMODO ECO LODGEp. +62 385 413 62(Rate around IDR700,000)www.ecolodgesindonesia.com

This imposing neocolonial house has six brights and spacious rooms and two detached bungalows.

BAYVIEW GARDEN HOTELp. +62 385 415 49(Rate around US$70)www.bayview-gardens.com

CENTRO BAJO HOTEL(Rate around US$70)centrobajohotel.indonesiaroom.com

GREEN HILL BOUTIQUE HOTELp. +62 385 412 89(Rate around IDR500,000)www.greenhillboutiquehotel.com

GOLO HILL TOP HOTELp. +62 385 413 37(Rate around US$50)www.golohilltop.com

GARDENA HOTELp. +62 385 412 58(Rate around IDR300,000)www.gardenahotelflores.com

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Eats & Drinks in Labuan Bajo

TREE TOPp. +62 385 420 93

View over the harbour is fantastic, quite romantic. Menu is extensive, there are lots and lots of chinese & international seafood dishes. If you stick to the regional stuff and hoping for a few drinks, it`s a great spot with a rustic feel to it.

PARADISE BAR & RESTAURANTp. +62 812 555 35

This place looks like it would just be a bar, with live music. But the food can be surprisingly good as well, also the most excellent view of sunset in town.

Saturday nights, it is the only late night game in town, and gets a good mix of locals, expats and tourists.

THE CORNERp. +62 812 377 59159

MATAHARIp. +62 385 410 83

PORTO MORO

BAJO BAKERYV

MADE IN ITALYp. +62 385 413 66

For anyone who likes Italian food, “Made in Italy” is a must try. The slightly more expensive pizzas are unbelievably good.

MEDITERRANEOp. +62 821 461 61663

Decent menu with western and local options. The ambience here is relaxed, with comfy beanbags for seats and lounge music piping through.

THE LOUNGEp. +62 385 419 62

Really good food at reasonable prices. Seemed to be the backpacker hangout of town with all the people on computers in there sitting on the cushions but this adds to the atmosphere. Cocktails were good. Free Wi-Fi.

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FASCINATING DINOSAURKomodo dragons are one of the oldest living

lizards. Direct ancestors of the Komodo dragon

(Varanidae family) lived 50 million years ago.

Komodo dragons may have descended from

a larger lizard from Java or from Australia

(Megalania prisca), which existed 30,000 years

ago.

Komodo dragons could be from Asia or

Australia. One theory is that dragons island-hopped from Java to Komodo. Another theory is that they swam from Australia to Timor until they reached Flores. About 18,000 years ago the sealevel was approximately 85 meters lower than it is today. Because the shallower shelves of the islands were exposed as dry land, the Komodo dragons might have been able to easily make their way from Flores to Rinca and Komodo island.

The world’s largest lizard, known locally as ora, it can reach over 3m in length and weight up to 100kg. It hunts alone and feeds on

animals as large as deer and buffalo, both of which are found here. The males also try to eat the female’s eggs, inevitably sparking ovicious battle of the sexes.

Komodo dragons are only found in Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang, and a small part of northern and western Flores. They are recently extinct in Padar. They do not exist anywhere else on earth. Komodo dragons need protection as they are considered endangered due to their extremely limited range.

BASIC FACTS

When frightened, Komodo dragons can run up to 18 km/h for short


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distances. Usually, they run at a slower pace of 8-10km/h.

Komodo dragons can swim at least 500 meters. However, they become sluggish in the water because the water cools their body temperature down. It was happened when the food in Padar were no longer available. In that case, the deer was depleted prey by the dragon, also being hunted by humans in 1970s.

Komodo dragons are cold-blooded, they are constantly regulating their body temperature. In the early morning, they must warm-up their bodies in the sun. If their body temperature drops too low, the food in their stomach can rot and cause regurgitation or even death. However, the Komodo dragon’s body temperature must not exceed 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit). When it is too hot, they must rest and seek shade to prevent their body from over-heating.

HUNTING AND FEEDING

Komodo dragons are carnivorous and not very particular about their meat. The adults mainly prey on deer and wild boar and

sometimes other Komodo dragons. If they can, they will hunt water buffalo, palm civets, rats, and birds. They will also eat domestic animals like dogs, chickens and goats. Occasionally they will eat snakes, sea turtle eggs and monkeys. Komodo dragons prefer to eat animals which are already dead.

Komodo dragons use their tongue to detect scents and smells. They use their tongue to pick up chemical particles in the air and ground, then put them in their Jacobson’s organs located on the roof of their mouth. Jacobson’s organs are a kind of “super nose”.

Dragons can detect scents up to five kilometers away. However, they can smell up to 11 km away depending on the direction of the wind.

However, Komodo dragon’s saliva is highly septic. There are over 60 types of bacteria in the dragon’s saliva and at least one of them can cause septicemia. After being bitten, the prey can take a day to a couple of weeks to die from blood-poisoning.

The dragons have very occasionally attacked (and killed) humans. Two villagers have died in the last 20 years, and a ranger was attacked on Rinca in his office while doing

paperwork. He survived, but his bloodstains remained for all to see. Dragons are a docile bunch for the most part, but they could snap your leg as fast as they’ll cut a goat’s throat. Respect the beasts!

PEOPLE AND DRAGONS

Komodo dragons have no natural predators but deer poachers are their biggest threat. Timor deer are an essential part of the dragon’s diet and the prey predator balance is critical for the Komodo dragon to survive.

The best thing to do is to get out of the way. Climbing a tree is an option if the pursuing dragon is too large to climb the tree itself. Komodo National Park requires that all visitors be accompanied by a ranger for safety reasons. The rangers have experience in dealing with dragons and carry a stick to stop the dragons from approaching.

The people of Komodo Island revere the Komodo dragon as a mystical ancestor and treat the dragons with respect.

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A Folk Tale from Komodo

Long, long ago, a mythical princess lived on Komodo, whom people called Putri Naga, or “Dragon Princess”. The princess married a man named Majo and bore him twins: one was a baby boy and the other a baby dragon. Her son, she named Si Gerong, and raised him amongst men; the dragon she called Orah, and reared it in the forest. Neither knew anything of the other.

Years later, manly Si Gerong shot a deer while hunting in the forest. But as he stepped forward to take his quarry, a large lizard appeared from the thicket and seized it hungrily. Si Gerong tried to chase the beast away, but in vain. It stood firm over the carcass, warning him off with bared teeth.

Si Gerong raised his spear to kill the lizard, when suddenly a radiantly lovely woman appeared: the Dragon Princess. Swiftly, she parted the foes, telling Si Gerong, “Do not kill this animal, she is your sister, Orah. I bore you together. Consider her your equal because you are twins.”


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THE VILLAGERSThere is some evidence that the original people

of Komodo lived on Gunung Ara. Trees such as

jackfruit, coconut and mango, as well as remains

of ceramics on Gunung Ara suggest that people

once inhabited that area several hundred years

ago. However, the people of Komodo Village are

thought to have settled there less than 100 years

ago.

Due to the tale by the folks around

Komodo Village, the original people of Komodo Village itself were derited from Gili Motang. There’re a tale that said, once when the people of Gili Motang declared a war with the people of Sumba. One day, some of the people would leave the village by ship with the fiery spirit of war. After hours and days of the journeys, they arrived at the Sumba and killed all the people with no strings attached. Evidently, they forget about something that they forget to release the anchor of the ship when they’re first leaving the village, so that they just think that they’re arrived

at Sumba, but actually they’re still in their village as well. After all the killing mass, they feel very guity and cursed so that they decided to spread out from the vilage. Then some of the villagers come to the Komodo Island and come up to the first village in Komodo, Mpu Najo Village. Today, the origin people of Komodo itself are no longer exist.

Other theories said that the language and social structure within Komodo Village indicates that the original inhabitants are an ethnic group called Ata Komodo who descended from Bima. This group comprises only 18% of the island’s population.


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who finish elementary school continue to junior high school in Labuan Bajo or other towns.

The others are Bajo, Bugis from Sulawesi and a few Manggarai people from western Flores. Most of the population are immigrants or decedents of immigrants from Sape (eastern Sumbawa), Manggarai (western Flores), Madura (East Java), and South Sulawesi.

POPULATIONS

There are a total of four villages in the Park. Komodo Island has one village; Rinca has two villages called Rinca and Kerora, which are both part of Desa Pasir Panjang; and Papagarang Island has one village.

As of 2001, a total of about 3,134 people were living in the Park. The largest village is in Komodo, with 1,118 residents. Papagarang Village is nearly as large with 992 people. The villages of Rinca and Kerora are smaller in size, with a total of 1,024 people in both villages.

LANGUAGE

Most people in Komodo National Park can speak Bahasa Indonesia although the daily spoken language is Bahasa Komodo. In addition to these

languages, the people in Komodo Village speak Bajo and Bima languages, while the people on Rinca Island speak Bima language. On Papagaran Island, Bima and Bugis languages are also spoken.

LIVINGS

Most people living in the Park (97%) rely on fishing for their main source of income. The fishermen of Komodo and Rinca catch mainly squid, small shrimp, milkfish fry and a variety of other fish depending on seasonal availability. Seaweed harvesting is becoming an increasingly important activity in Rinca. The remainder of the people are merchants and civil servants. A few people maintain hardy garden crops and sell woodland products, such as tamarind. Some skilled craftsmen carve Komodo dragons for sale to visitors.

The people living within the Park are nearly all Islamic. Only the Manggarai minority are Christian (Catholic).

Although there is an elementary school in each of the villages in Komodo National Park, the average level of education is four years of elementary school. Less than 10% of those

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2012 NATURE CONSERVANCY OF KOMODO.

Published by Nature Conservancy of KomodoABN 36 005 607 9831st edition - June 2012

Printed in Indonesia

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1ST EDITIONPublished June 2012

Documents

Pocket Guide to Komodo Islands