Padar Island

Padar is the third largest island in Komodo National Park, an uninhabited ridge of dry hills sitting between Komodo and Rinca. It has no village, no road and no fresh water, and almost everyone who lands there does so for a couple of hours on a boat itinerary out of Labuan Bajo. The island is best known for one thing: the view from its central ridge over three curved bays, which is the image most people picture when they think of Komodo.

The walk is a built stairway and path up a ridge from the landing jetty, and it is short but steep, hot and completely exposed. Most people reach the main viewpoint in around thirty to forty five minutes, with further high points beyond it for anyone with the legs and the time. Sections are concrete steps, others are loose gravel and rock with drops on both sides. Handrails exist in places and not in others. It is not technical, but it punishes flip-flops, and the descent on loose ground is where people slip.

The reason to climb is the view down onto three deep bays that curve into the ridge from different directions, each with a differently coloured beach. One reads white, one grey to black, and one carries the pinkish tint that comes from red coral fragments mixed through the sand. Seen from the top with the ridgelines folding away behind them, they are genuinely striking, and photographs taken in flat midday light do not do it justice. Landing on the beaches themselves is not part of the standard walk.

Go at first light: boats leave Labuan Bajo before dawn so groups climb in the cool, and by mid-morning the ridge has no shade at all. Carry your own water, because there is none on the island, and wear sun protection and shoes with grip. Padar sits inside Komodo National Park, so park entry charges apply and they have been raised, withdrawn and restructured repeatedly in recent years. No figure you read second hand is safe to rely on. Confirm the current amount and what your trip includes in writing, and verify it against official park channels close to your travel date.

Padar is reached only by boat from Labuan Bajo, either on a day trip or as the first stop of a liveaboard, and the crossing commonly takes a few hours each way. Sea conditions decide whether the day happens at all, and trips are cancelled in bad weather. Komodo dragons are not part of a Padar visit: the ranger-accompanied dragon walks happen on Komodo and Rinca, where rangers are mandatory and go with every group. Boat standards across the fleet vary a great deal, so ask specifically about life jackets, radio and crew numbers before you book anything overnight.

There is none, and this is the honest version: you are offline from the moment your boat leaves Labuan Bajo harbour, and no eSIM changes that. Goodbars runs on Telkomsel, which reaches further across Indonesia than any other network, and its value here is being connected in town rather than out in the park. As of July 2026 there is no usable coverage inside Komodo National Park, on the crossing or on the ridge. Plan for it: download offline maps, send anything that matters before you sail, and tell whoever is waiting on you that you will be out of contact until the boat is back in the bay.