Komodo National Park is located in the Lesser Sunda Islands, on the border between the provinces of the Eastern Lesser Sunda Islands and the Western Lesser Sunda Islands. The park, which covers 1,733 square kilometres, has three large islands, Komodo, Padar and Rinca, and 26 small islands. Of the total area of the park, 603 square kilometres is land, the rest is coastal waters.
The national park was established in 1980 to protect the Komodo varan, or as they are also called, the giant Indonesian varan, which were discovered in 1912 on Komodo Island, hence the name. The Komodo varan is the largest lizard in the world, which can be up to 3 metres long and weigh up to 70 kg. Later, other animal and marine species were also protected. In 1991, the national park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List and was also included in the list of the new Seven Wonders of Nature.
The park's hot and dry climate, with vegetation typical of savannah, is ideal for the Komodo varan. Part of the park is rainforest, while the coastal part of the park is mangrove forest. The northeastern part of Komodo Island is home to coral reefs with about 26 species of coral. Among the marine life in the park are whale shark, common moonfish (is the largest bony fish in the world), manta ray (also called the great sea devil or hornback ray), eagle ray, sperm whale, blue whale, dolphins and others.
Tourist divers love visiting Komodo Park because of the extremely rich marine fauna and flora.
