Leave your luggage with the driver who will transfer it to your hotel, ready for when you return to the mainland in the evening. 

After lunch, it's time to board a speedboat and cruise for Komodo Island, home to the Komodo dragon. You will be guided around the islands walk ways on a two-hour trek by a local ranger. The rangers know the land around the island well and will be able to guide you through some of the common areas where the Komodo Dragons can be found. The rangers are experts when it comes to these prehistoric beasts, and they will inform you all about the Komodo Dragon's habits and the life of the villagers who live side by side with these majestic creatures. The Komodo dragon is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant lizard species, growing to a maximum length of 3 metres and weighing approximately 70 kilograms. Komodo dragons are apex predators. They hunt and ambush prey. Their venomous bite contains toxins that lower blood pressure, cause massive bleeding, prevent clotting, and induce shock. They have serrated teeth and powerful neck muscles, which they use to take large chunks out of their prey, with the venom increasing the loss of blood and sending its prey into shock. For prey that gets away, the Komodo Dragon has a great sense of smell and stalks its prey until the venom eventually takes its toll. Komodo Dragons can eat up to 80% of their body weight in one feed and, therefore, can go weeks between feedings. 

 On the return to the mainland, we make a short stop to enjoy some snorkelling in the crystal-clear waters, taking in the colourful corals and marine life of this beautiful underwater world. 

 We arrive back to the mainland where you will be transferred directly to your accommodation.

After breakfast, depart for the four-hour drive into the Manggarai. 

Embark on a scenic ride over mountain ranges and through lush green valleys for cultural, ecological, and natural discovery as we explore ancient local habits and rice paddies in the spectacular heartland of Manggarai.

The Manggarai are an ethnic group found in western Flores in the East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. More than 90% of the Manggarai people are Catholics. However, traditional beliefs are still followed, such as the belief in the supreme creator god. Their language, also called Manggarai, has 47 sub-dialects. They are famed for their long-standing heritage of ritual and ceremonial life and distinct agricultural and architectural practices. Manggarai culture endows the place with unique ceremonies, beliefs, attitudes, art forms, handicrafts and other themes central to daily life. Caci performances and Lingko rice fields are just a few highlights of which the Manggaraian people are rightly proud.

Our first stop on the day will be the lingko fields of Cancar. With their round, spider-web structure, these pieces of land are unique eye-catchers in Manggarai.

Long before wet-rice cultivation, the ancestors of the Manggaraian people grew dry rice, corn, and tubers in the lingko fields. Every village used to own several fields. During planting and harvesting time, ceremonies and ritual offerings will be held at the lodok, the ritual centre of the lingko. The lodok features a wooden pole and a rock. These two objects symbolise the reunion of the male and female, heaven and earth, and the creation of mankind

After a stop to enjoy a packed lunch with a view, we continue to Todo village, the first Kingdom in Manggara. The tribe settlements are designed in a circular layout with a round public space in their centre. In the past, a settlement could consist of one large house holding up to 200 people. In modern-day settlements, there are usually around 5 to 20 homes of round or oval shape, which can sit in some locations high up on stilts. After exploring the settlement and being invited into the centre and largest house after praying to the ancestors, we sit down to learn more about the history and traditions of these villages and their ancient kingdoms.

We return to Labaun Bajo as the sun begins to set. During the journey back be sure to look out for orchards, and groves, where candlenut trees, pineapple, palm trees, and many kinds of vegetables are grown.

You will be collected from your hotel this morning and transferred to the airport for your flight to your onward travel destination.

PROGRAM CONCLUDES