Komodo & Flores

Labuan Bajo, a harbour town at the western tip of Flores, is the gateway to Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site of rugged volcanic islands, savannah hills and some of the richest seas on Earth. The park’s islands — Komodo, Padar and dozens of smaller ones — are the natural home of the Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, seen on a walk with a park guide. Padar’s ridges look out over bays of white, grey and pink sand, and Pink Beach is named for its rosy sand.

The park’s waters lie within the Coral Triangle: divers and snorkellers come for manta rays and vivid coral reefs, and most visitors explore by boat, for a day or several. Inland, Flores offers green hills, rice terraces and traditional Manggarai villages. Boat trips are best in the dry season, roughly April or May to October; the park is one of the driest corners of Indonesia. It suits divers, nature lovers, couples and families with older children.