Day 573: April 26, 2026 – Komodo Island, Indonesia

Indonesia’s Komodo Island is home to the world’s largest population of Komodo Dragons in the wild. There are approximately 5,000 of these giant lizards throughout Komodo National Park, each up to 10 feet long and weighing 150-300 pounds. On our trek we spotted males, females, and juveniles, including one in a tree. They use their foot-long tongue as a primary sensory organ to navigate and locate food.

Komodo are opportunistic carnivores and will eat nearly any meat, including deer, wild boar, water buffalo, rodents, and snakes. Attacks on humans are rare, but they do occur. Between 1974 and 2012, Komodo reported 24 attacks on humans, with 5 fatalities. Visitors to the park must always be accompanied by a local park ranger. This one (below) was resting when we spotted him, then started lumbering around, flicking his tongue.

The angle of the pictures above is a bit deceptive; I’m actually not as close as I appear to be. The park rangers made sure we kept a safe distance, standing by with specialized forked branches ready to fend them off if need be!

After the Komodos, we set off to Padar Island, where an 800+ step uphill climb led to a spectacular view of Komodo National Park. I can walk for miles on flat trails, but usually don’t do well on uphill climbs, so every 10 minutes I was ready to give up. It took me almost an hour, but I finally did make it all the way to the top, and the view was breathtaking.

Parts of the trail had a rope handrail, which I was holding on to for dear life wherever it was available. Unlike this local guide, who perched himself precariously on a cliff overlooking the bay. In bare feet.

At Pink Beach, the sand gets its color from tiny red microscopic organisms called foraminifera.

This excursion is going on my list of top ten favorites. Special thanks to Ben, who made this tour happen.

FYI, origin of the “Here Be Dragons” phrase.