Komodo in 4 days

About 200 square kilometres of dry hills and mangroves, and the easiest place to see dragons; walks from Loh Buaya take one to three hours.

A sandy coral plateau between Komodo and Rinca where plankton-rich currents draw manta rays, three to five metres across, to be cleaned by wrasse.

A climb of around 800 wooden steps and thirty minutes from the anchorage to a ridge above three bays that almost meet.

A 300-metre beach on Komodo Island whose sand turns pale pink where red fragments mix with white, best seen at the water's edge.

The island that named the dragon, home to around 1,700 of them; Loh Liang ranger post runs three trails through savannah and lontar palms.

A small green island forty minutes by boat from Labuan Bajo, with a white sandbar and a steep 15-minute climb to a bay view.

The former fishing village is now the park's gateway: a harbour of wooden phinisi and ferries, dive shops, and grilled fish stalls opening at dusk.

A limestone cave just outside Labuan Bajo with fossil corals from when it lay under the sea; around midday, light slips through a crack.