Labuan Bajo

Labuan Bajo
Labuan Bajo
Location in Indonesia
Labuan Bajo
Labuan Bajo (Indonesia)
Coordinates: 8°30′S 119°53′E / 8.500°S 119.883°E / -8.500; 119.883Coordinates: 8°30′S 119°53′E / 8.500°S 119.883°E / -8.500; 119.883
Country Indonesia
Region Lesser Sunda Islands
Province East Nusa Tenggara
Regency West Manggarai
Population
 • Total 1 824
Time zone UTC+8 (WITA)

Labuan Bajo is a fishing town located at the western end of Flores in the Nusa Tenggara region of east Indonesia.

Tourism

Once a small fishing village, Labuan Bajo (also spelled Labuhanbajo and Labuanbajo) is now a bustling center of tourism.[1] It is the launching point for trips to Komodo Island and Rinca Island, home to the famous Komodo dragons.

Nearby Kanawa and Seraya Islands offer diving and snorkeling. Every evening at Kalong Island, thousands of flying fox bats put on an amazing display. Within a few hours of Labuan Bajo can be found several waterfalls, trekking and many diverse beaches.

The town is quite small and can easily be traversed on foot (in 10–15 minutes). Mirror stone cave is only 4 km away. [2]There are various interesting churches and a mosque. Ojeks (3,000-5,000 Rp) and bemos pass every five minutes. One can rent a motorcycle for 75,000 Rp. per day. There are now four working ATMs in the town and the road is paved.

"Gereja Masehi Injili" Dutch reformed church

Transportation

Komodo Airport is located just 2 km from the center of Labuan Bajo and has 4-6 daily flights arriving from Bali. The port has daily ferry departures to Bima and weekly or bi-weekly departures to Denpasar and Sulawesi. There are also direct flights from Jakarta to Labuan Bajo by Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air.

Economy

The local economy in the town is centred around the ferry port and tourism, local shops and restaurants, and the diving trade. Most of the foreign tourists are European, many from Italy, Australia and the United Kingdom. The wider area produces fish and palm oil; there is also a large amount of subsistence agriculture in the villages in the region where living standards are still low. Levels of poverty in the rural areas are high.

The national and regional governments both made 2012 a year to promote the regional tourism around Labuan Bajo and the nearby Komodo National Park with a six month long festival from July until December 2012.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Benito Lopulalan, 'Growing Tourism on Flores' Archived 2012-04-29 at the Wayback Machine., The Jakarta Globe, 24 February 2009.
  2. ↑ "Wonderful Indonesia - Gua batu cermin". Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. ↑ 'E. Nusa Tenggara to hold Komodo Festival', Antara News, 21 October 2011.
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