Komodo National Park — Attraction in East Nusa Tenggara

KOMODO DRAGONS OBVIOUSLY SEDATED

Komodo area is absolutely stunning & the boat trip is beautiful.

However the Komodo island was simply depressing to see. We went in August which is the Komodo dragon mating season. This means the chances of seeing one actually in the wild are very low. Yet when we arrived the guides were all very excited that “there is a dragon”. After walking for 5 minutes on a well established path indeed there was a male dragon … so drugged he basically looked dead, surrounded by 50 people or so queueing to take a picture with him. It was a circus-like scene, one that makes you question where is humanity going. I don’t know how a place which harms these creatures in such a way can be called a national park … you’d be better off seeing them in a zoo. There were two more sedated adult dragons within 100m from each other which we went to see (they looked slightly better, at least they looked alive) and that was it, the “trek” was done because there were no more dragons (how could the “rangers” be so sure exactly where & how many dragons there are, I’m asking?). The “rangers” tried to explain that the dragons are not moving because they’re now resting … as much as I would love to believe this, it’s at least suspicious, that in a season where no dragons should be seen there are three adult males that happen to be resting right next to a tourist path … After asking lots of questions to the guides my theory is that every day there are a few “lucky” ones sedated and kept there for the show, I’m not sure if it’s always the same ones. I felt incredibly guilty to be part of this. Looking at these beautiful, amazing creatures downgraded to this photo show for tourists was simply horrible. Fortunately looking at the tourists around there were many people that obviously looked very uncomfortable. I think the news are starting to spread that the dragons are treated like this!

We did actually see one young dragon which wasn’t sedated which was wonderful to see - the guide’s surprise to see it was hilarious on its own, nearly like he couldn’t believe there’s a dragon they haven’t caught & drugged.

As a side note, on Rinca island the guides made it clear that we would have to be very lucky to see one & indeed we didn’t see one which fills me with hope that at least on that island they are hopefully left undisturbed. Or maybe I’m being naive?

To top it all up, the Komodo “National park”absolutely rips off tourists for money, with a 250k price per day per tourist for entry. Glad to know the money I paid is probably going to be spend on sedating drugs instead of cleaning the sea from all the trash...

They have one of the rarest animal in the world,yet they fail to manage and utilize it to give the best experience to the tourist.

Not worth the price,at all. not much experience here either. I see people give high rating here but the rating is like for other places that is NOT related to komodo park(beach,hiking etc which are at other islands). My suggestion is skip the komodo park,let them improve it first, ask the captain to go somewhere else. go see the manta rays, turtle and many other points.

you have to pay for the boat/cruise that covers 4 places(1 of them is to go see the komodo which take a few hours from the previous stop) then you have to pay the fee to enter the komodo "park" itself . So the total cost is: 400K rupiah to enter the komodo park + Cruise/boat cost ÷ 4.

the experience there is not that exciting. they kept a few komodos close to the main office/entrance,at the start of the so call "walk in the park" for posing,taking photos etc. I believe as a contingency in case we dont come across any komodo "in the wild". I won't comment on their conditions, you judge it yourself if you ever go there. I don't know if they purposely feed them to keep the komodos there or not.

Then,we walk.Maybe that path is the path of the wild buffalos too because the smell of their urine is so strong and their dropping are everywhere. A very short walk,and return. The return path is just across the small creek/waterway, you can literally see new groups coming in from across. So we just walk in circle returning back to the main entrance. Saw one small komodo the size of monitor-lizard strolling around. Then, that's it? even some bird parks,orang utan parks are cheaper and more exciting than this.phewww

i understand about the luck of seeing them etc,but it is not about the komodo itself,but the whole experience. and im sure they can improve that chance to see the komodos by improving the experience that worth the price. i saw bigger komodos,strong and active(like in the documentary) at the entrance of the island,but they are quite far away. That one is more exciting than the "park" itself.

With that kind of fee, they should make a longer path/track for the tourist, deeper into the island. Make a feeding spot,maybe? Or provide some transport like the african savannah style to explore further and cover wider area with the same amount of time. The trees etc are not that thick, it's not like rain forest,so it is possible. open your maps and se how big the island is, VS the tiny area...

Komodo Island was our fourth port stop on our 28 day Asia cruise. We understood that the only way to see the famous Komodo dragons was to purchase the excursion through the ship, so we did this for my husband, myself, and our daughters aged five and six.

We were taken by tender boats to the island and then separated into groups for the tour. Our group had three guides – one at the front, one in the middle, and one at the back. The guide at the back took a liking to our little family and was very helpful and attentive throughout the walk.

Seeing the Komodo dragons up close was an incredible experience. Our guide shared fascinating information about these giant lizards, telling us that their mouths contain around 56 different poisons. This venom makes their bite very dangerous, and they are skilled hunters, able to take down prey much larger than themselves. We were amazed to learn how powerful and unique these creatures are in the animal kingdom.

We were lucky to see quite a few Komodo dragons during the walk, which was truly the highlight of our trip. We had planned to tip the guide who had been so kind and helpful. However, it was disappointing to learn that this same guide also owns a souvenir stall nearby. At first he tried to sell us an expensive beach tour, which we politely declined. Then he brought us to his souvenir stall where he gave each of my daughters a small plastic Komodo dragon and asked for one hundred dollars. We were shocked and felt this was quite unfair, especially since the price was so high for a small plastic toy. We decided to return the souvenirs and gave him a twenty dollar tip instead, which was what we had intended to give.

This experience left a bit of a bad taste for us after such an amazing encounter with the Komodo dragons. Afterward, we walked to a nearby stall where a kind lady sold us instant ramen, which my kids really enjoyed, and then we returned to the tender boat.

Overall, seeing the Komodo dragons and learning about their incredible nature was unforgettable, but the souvenir situation was disappointing. We hope future visitors can have a more straightforward and...