Rinca Island Komodo dragons: Loh Buaya and its walks

By See Komodo Dragons Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and check month. Fees change, and they are official or third-party figures, not our offers.

Rinca Island Komodo dragons are seen on guided walks from Loh Buaya, a station on a mangrove-lined inlet about 30 km southeast of Labuan Bajo, per the Komodo Guide site. The BBC ranks Rinca's population second, and a Forbes contributor ranks it first. Visitors come for the dragons, but no one can guarantee a sighting.

What is Loh Buaya?

Loh Buaya is the landing and ranger station on Rinca, and it is where a Rinca dragon walk normally starts. The Komodo Guide site places it on a mangrove-lined inlet about 30 km southeast of Labuan Bajo. An August 2026 tourism ministry notice listed Loh Buaya with the park sites then operating normally, though that status is dated and can change.

Rinca is a populated island as well as a dragon site. Wikipedia gives its area as 182.48 km2 and its population as 1,747 in 2020. Reaching it means a boat from Labuan Bajo: the Komodo Guide site reports about one hour by speedboat and two to two and a half hours by wooden boat, depending on conditions. Our guide on how to get to Komodo Island and Rinca covers the whole journey.

What do you find when you land at Loh Buaya?

A Forbes contributor described her arrival in 2024, and hers is the fullest account we know of. She describes a dock under a large dragon sculpture, a curving boardwalk above mangroves and sand, and a small museum with skeletons. After a safety briefing, a ranger opens a gate to a partially fenced enclosure. Barefoot Yachts Indonesia, a charter operator, also describes a defined arrival area and elevated walkways on Rinca. One visit and one operator do not make an official site plan, and the layout may change. Check a recent account before you rely on any of this. Our home page shows how to see Komodo dragons as part of a boat day.

How many Rinca Island Komodo dragons are there?

We know of no reliable count for Rinca alone. The closest statements conflict. One is the BBC, which in October 2020 ranked Rinca's population second, behind Komodo Island with most of the lizards. A Forbes contributor said in 2024 that the largest population lives on Rinca. Neither gives a count.

Do not confuse dragon numbers with visitor numbers. Antara reports a carrying capacity of 44,165 for Rinca. That is a planning figure for tourism. It tells you nothing about how many animals live on the island, or how crowded a given morning will be.

What walks are reported there?

Trail details for a Rinca Island trek come from a community guide and a cruise operator, not from the park, and the two differ slightly. Your route is settled on the day with the staff on duty, so use these as rough planning numbers.

The Komodo Guide site describes the short route as relatively flat and suitable for older visitors and children. That is one guide site's opinion and not a guarantee for any particular person, since heat and footing can matter as much as distance. Walk difficulty has its own page if that decision applies to you.

The animal's daily rhythm is covered under the best time to see Komodo dragons. It describes the species' habits, and nothing in it gives a recommended hour at Loh Buaya.

Who guides visitors on Rinca?

The park authority names the guide service for Rinca, which it does not do for Loh Liang on Komodo. Its guiding page says Koperasi Serba Usaha Taman Nasional Komodo, a cooperative licensed since 2006, works at Resort Loh Buaya and has 50 naturalist guides drawn from local people. The same page covers Gililawa as well, and the 50 is a figure for the cooperative as a whole.

On the ground, the Komodo Guide site puts two staff with each trekking group at Loh Buaya, one leading and one following, and says rangers there use forked wooden staffs to steer dragons away. The price table on this page shows the guiding fee as the park lists it, along with the park entry fee. For how guiding works across the park, and what the staff can require of you, see our page on Komodo National Park rangers.

What was the 2020 construction controversy?

A photo that went viral in October 2020, showing a dragon squared up to a truck, put building work on Rinca in the news. The BBC carried officials' statement that no dragons were harmed and described the project as a visitor centre and jetty, due for completion in June 2021.

The concern did not stop with the photo. The 2025 IUCN World Heritage Outlook still notes unease over what was reported as a "Jurassic Park" mass tourism scheme on the island. Two months after the photo, in December 2020, a dragon bit a construction worker there and the worker went to hospital by speedboat, according to Smithsonian magazine.

For a traveller, the lasting effect is on how to read older descriptions. A traveller account from before the work may describe an arrival that no longer matches. Use recent accounts for arrival details, and use older ones only for general impressions of the island.

Is Rinca quieter than Komodo Island?

Some sources say so, but what they offer is opinion, not visitor data. Wikipedia calls Rinca the less known, less visited of the two and a good place to watch dragons with fewer people around, in an undated description. Aqua Expeditions, a cruise operator with commercial reasons to hold a view, says Komodo Island is often crowded and recommends Rinca for observing dragons.

Neither source measures sightings or crowds. If your choice is between the two islands, our Komodo vs Rinca comparison sets out the differences that can be sourced.

What else lives on Rinca?

Two animals on the park's fauna page are tied to Rinca:

• Rinca rat. The park authority says it lives on Rinca and nowhere else, measures 30 to 40 cm and is hard to spot.
• Wild dog (ajag). Very hard to encounter, in the park authority's words, and its numbers are not known. The page places it on Rinca and names Resort Loh Baru.

The park describes both as hard to meet, so treat either animal as a stroke of luck rather than something to plan for, and ask your guide what has been around lately.

For the other landing, read about Komodo Island dragons. Use where to see Komodo dragons for the wider map and the best time to see Komodo dragons for dates.

What do travellers ask about Rinca?

Can I see Komodo dragons on Rinca Island?

Yes, Rinca has wild dragons and visitors go there to see them. The BBC described its population as the second largest after Komodo Island. Treat a sighting as possible and never certain.

Can I see Komodo dragons near Loh Buaya?

Loh Buaya is where the reported Rinca walks start, so it is the usual place to look. The sources give no odds, and no one can promise a sighting.

Is Rinca Island worth visiting for wild dragons?

It depends what you want from the trip. The reported speedboat time from Labuan Bajo is about one hour, and the BBC and a Forbes contributor disagree on whether its population is second or largest. Claims that it beats Komodo Island are opinion from an encyclopedia and a cruise operator, so weigh them as that.

Can I stay overnight on Rinca Island?

We have no sourced answer. The island has a resident population, but that says nothing about whether visitors may stay or where. Ask the park authority before you build a plan around it.

How long is the boat to Rinca from Labuan Bajo?

The Komodo Guide site gives about one hour by speedboat and two to two and a half hours by wooden boat to Loh Buaya. Sea conditions can change those times.

Which sources support this page?

• Komodo Guide: Loh Buaya ranger station
• Tourism ministry release, August 2026
• Wikipedia: Rinca
• Forbes contributor: how and where to see Komodo dragons, 2024
• Barefoot Yachts Indonesia: where to see Komodo dragons
• BBC News, October 2020
• Antara: carrying capacity figures
• Aqua Expeditions (cruise operator): Rinca Island
• Komodo National Park authority: guiding
• IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2025
• Smithsonian magazine: Komodo dragon encounters
• Komodo National Park authority: fauna page
• Komodo National Park authority: tariff notice

How do I reach the desk?

Questions about a Rinca visit can go to the desk, which answers them and takes requests. It does not hold boats, guides or tickets of its own. Because requests may turn into paid bookings, this site has a commercial interest in them, and the price and contracting company appear in a written offer before you agree to anything.

• WhatsApp: +62 811-3823-875
• Email: write to the See Komodo Dragons request desk