Komodo Island: A Better Tourist Destination than Bali
The tension which occurs when you are stressed sometimes affects your feeling. That is why you need to relieve the stress and the boredom that you feel.
One way to kill the stress away is by traveling. The new scenery, atmosphere and experience are the things that you want to feel. Even though some people may think that traveling costs a lot of money, time and effort, it is sometimes a necessity.
It is better if you travel to new places. In order to discover new tourist destination, you will have to explore more about it. There are a lot of sources you can use as references.
Talking about tourist destinations that can be visited to kill the stress away, Indonesia has so many beautiful places that have not been touched by many people. So far, domestic and foreign tourists only know one tourist destination in Indonesia which is famous for its beaches, Bali. Indeed, Bali can be said to be a paradise for everyone who visits there.
The most striking thing about Bali is the beaches. When you hear the name of ‘Kuta’, we all know that Bali is definitely the first thing that comes to your mind.
Apart from Kuta, Bali is also famous for Ubud which features nature as an attraction for tourists. However, if you look at Indonesia as more than just Bali, you are sure to find a lot of hidden gems which may be even more beautiful than Bali.
There is a better tourist destination than Bali in Indonesia if you want to search and find out more.
Of course, you know that Indonesia has the largest species of lizard in the world, right? This lizard is named Komodo. Komodo or Varatus Komodenis is nicknamed ‘The Dragon’ and has an average weight of 90 kg and a length of about 2-3 meters.
You can imagine how big the Komodo is when viewed from the size of lizards in general. Interestingly, this ancient meat-eating animal has a deadly saliva where the saliva of this animal contains bacteria which is its main weapon in finding prey.
Komodo’s large body and scales really look like a dragon, coupled with sharp nails and a two-forked tongue that always sticks out. Prey such as pigs, horses, deer, civets, buffalo and monkeys are their main prey.
The original habitat of these animals is on the Komodo Island, once you find out more about this island, you will think that there is a better tourist destination than Bali.
Yup! Komodo Island is one of the 7 Wonders of the World (based on the 2011 voting result). This was determined by UNESCO because of the existence of dragons that can only be found in this area.
This island is included in the Komodo National Park area which consists of 3 other large islands namely Komodo Island, Rinca Island and Padar Island, as well as other small islands. The total area of this national park is 1,817 Km2. Administratively, Komodo Island is located in Komodo District, West Manggarai Regency, and is directly adjacent to West Nusa Tenggara Province.
This island has been known by many tourists because of its uniqueness. When you go to Komodo Island, you don’t need to worry because lots of fun activities are waiting for you.
The main thing that becomes the attraction of this area is seeing Komodo in real life, you can directly see the Komodo dragon in its entirety, and you will also understand all of their activities. But when you want to interact with this animal, a guide will have to accompany you so everything is done safely.
For those of you who like trekking, this island is the perfect place for you. This island is inhabited by many other animals such as horses, deer, snakes, birds and many others. You can see these animals when you do trekking.
There is also Mount Ara, which you can pass while trekking. This mountain has a height of 538 above sea level. After that, you will pass through the waterhole, here you can see Komodo Dragons resting and drinking under the trees around them.
When you choose to do trekking here, they have several options ranging from short, medium, long to adventure route. If you are trekking on a short or medium route, at the end of your trip you will be presented with an amazing view of the bay.
However, if you have an adventurous spirit, you will pass through forests, rivers as well as tall and beautiful evidence that is very refreshing and it will relieve your stress. However, there are things you need to pay attention to, when you are trekking, you will always be accompanied by a guide or often referred to as a ranger.
A ranger will equip you with a stick made from one type of tree. The stick that you will get has 2 branches that you can use to avoid the Komodo attack which at any time may come at you suddenly, considering the place you are visiting is their habitat.
Komodo Island’s Underwater World
Not only trekking, you can also enjoy the underwater world of Komodo Island by diving and snorkeling. Your diving experience will be more impressive with a view of 386 types of coral reefs, various types of animals, green turtles, whales to dolphins.
No wonder the sea in Komodo National Park is considered as the best dive spot in the world. When diving here, there are 3 best dive points that you can try.
Batu Samsia
The first is Batu Samsia. This point is a favorite place of divers because you can navigate a series of waterways and can interact with turtles, sharks, and various other small fishes.
Toko Toko
The second is Toko Toko, this point is also referred to as the stone palace under the water. You can enjoy the beauty of coral reefs while seeing the fish swimming between them.
Crystal Rock
The last point is Crystal Rock. Located at a depth of 5 meters, you can find various types of fish such as barramundi cod and parrot fish.
The best time to visit Komo Island if you want to experience the underwater world is in March to December because the wind direction, water temperature, strong currents, and seasons in that month make good visibility for diving or snorkeling.
Pink Beach
Then, if you want to take a leisurely stroll on the beach, Pink Beach is the right place for you to visit. As the name implies, Pink Beach is a beach that has pink sand. This is of course very unique considering that not many beaches have this type of sand.
Komodo National Park Area
There are only 7 beaches in the world that have pink sand and Pink Beach which belongs to Komodo National Park is one of them. Because it is included in the Komodo National Park area, of course this beach is well known for its beauty.
According to the researchers, the pink color of the sand is caused by crushed coral fragments mixed with beach sand. However, another opinion states that the pink color of the Pink Beach sand is due to the presence of microscopic animals called Foraminifera that produce bright red or pink on coral reefs.
Snorkeling & Diving
Not only the unique sand beaches, the natural beauty of the underwater world of pink beach is also a paradise for divers. There are 10 types of fine and rough coral reefs that you can see while snorkeling and diving here.
This coral reef is a place for various types of fish and other marine creatures to live. If you are a photographer, you can take a lot of shoots which results will be very satisfying.
Rinca Island
If you want other activities which is not water related, there is an area called Rinca Island. You can participate in environmental conservation activities by planting mangroves here.
Preserving The Environment
If you participate in this activity, you will be given mangrove seeds which you can mark with your own name.
From this we can conclude by visiting Komodo Island, we are not only traveling, we are also preserving the environment. This really strengthens the fact that there is a better tourist destination than Bali.
Adequate Facilities
Regarding the facilities available on Komodo Island, it can be said that they are quite adequate. There is a shelter and a food stand here.
The construction of wharves and roads, toilets, and information board that initially was well organized have been addressed in an effort to support tourism. You don’t need to worry about the food here, if you want a culinary tour you can visit Ujung Village.
The Regulations
Just like other tourist attractions, Komodo National Park also has regulations that must be obeyed by visiting tourists. These regulations are like we are prohibited from touching animals, prohibited from lighting fires, prohibited from carrying disposable drinking water bottles and styrofoam.
Tourists are also prohibited from taking anything from the area. Seeing all of these facilities and attractive tourist destinations of Komodo Island really makes us thing that there is better tourist destionation in Bali that we have not discovered yet.
