Padar Island, Komodo National Park’s Finest Diamond
As we all know, Komodo Islands have three famous large islands: Komodo, Rinca, and Padar. Among the three, Padar is the third biggest island and not quite as popular as the other two until recently. Padar Island is mainly consisting of numerous hills and volcanic mountains. Some of the hills in Padar are taller than others in nearby islands so technically it has a better view of the ocean.
Even though Padar Island is a part of Komodo National Park, unfortunately there’s not a single Komodo inhabiting the island due to the broken food chain resulting in the extinction of every Komodo in the respective island. So, since it won’t be dangerous to roam the island Padar has become popular for trekking
Trekking in Padar Island can be quite challenging…
Because some of the hills are really steep, and even though the locals have built a path ascending to the top of Gili in order to help visitors, there’s no rope or railings for hand safety so trekkers will still need to be careful. And depending on the weather, the path can be slippery because of water or dust, wearing suitable outdoor shoes is definitely recommended on this matter.
Getting on top of Gili, the highest mountain in Padar can be really exhausting but once you arrive your hard work will definitely pay off. If you go there in the morning or noon, you can get a beautiful view of the sea and the surrounding islands. But if you go there, especially in the evening, you can get an exceptional landscape of sunset on Padar Island.
Worry not, there’s plenty of ways to access Padar Island!
But you have to be wise in deciding how to go there since it can be really expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing. You can go via land or air, but traveling on land is not recommended because it can be dangerous. As for the air route, you can take an airplane directly to Labuan Bajo airport from Jakarta or Denpasar. Some of the airlines that provide the flight are Garuda Indonesia, Wings Air, and Batik Air.
Also read:
- The Best Benefit from Komodo Liveaboard
- Komodo Diving Liveaboard: Is It Backpacker Worthy?
- Boat Charter Komodo: Re-defining “Hidden Paradise”
The cost of the ticket is around 1.4 million Rupiah, and you also have to take a speed boat to the island which costs 1.5 million Rupiah. And that’s before you get a place to stay, which you can get for 200k Rupiah as the cheapest price. If you don’t want to blow your budget too much you can join an open trip on Labuan Bajo, because the total cost is way cheaper.
Long story short, Padar Island can be a challenge to explore and get into but it definitely gonna be a thrilling experience for you who loves adventure. So are you up for the challenge?
