Komodo National Park has its own rulebook for visitors. The park authority, Balai Taman Nasional Komodo (BTNK), publishes a visitor protocol on its official website. The protocol page was last updated in January 2026. The protocol applies to everyone who enters the park, from tour operators and guides to visitors, and it sets out 22 prohibitions and the sanctions that can follow when they are broken.
This guide explains the Komodo National Park rules in plain English, using the park’s own numbering. It does not cover what entry costs or how to book. Our guide to park fees, tickets and permits covers those, along with reservations and visitor limits.
What the park’s visitor protocol is
The protocol is the park authority’s set of rules for nature tourism visits. It refers to Indonesia’s national laws on conservation, forestry, and the environment. It is not a law in its own right, though. It is the park’s own protocol, and this page describes it that way.
Who it applies to
The protocol covers every stakeholder entering the park, not only tourists. The groups it names are:
- government bodies
- travel agents and tour bureaus
- tour operators and dive operators
- accommodation and food businesses, and other licensed businesses
- souvenir sellers
- guides and interpreters
- tourists, both Indonesian and international
What businesses and guides must do
The protocol requires businesses and guides to follow the rules themselves, pass them on to their guests, and supervise how they are applied. In practice, your operator and guide are expected to brief you on the rules. It still helps to read them before you travel, so nothing in the briefing comes as a surprise.
What the protocol prohibits
The lists below paraphrase the protocol’s 22 prohibitions. The numbers in brackets are the park’s own, so you can check each item against the official page. The groupings are ours.
Following park staff and staying on route
- (01) Ignoring the instructions, information, directions, or prohibitions of park officers or Naturalist Guides on duty along trekking routes.
- (02) Trekking outside the timed-entry schedule that applies in the park. At Padar, visits are organised into sessions, explained in our guide to Padar’s visiting sessions.
- (08) Entering the park without buying the entry ticket (PNBP), or carrying out other activities without paying what is required. The fees guide linked above explains tickets.
- (11) Trekking off the designated trails or outside the designated zones at the park’s land-based sites.
Wildlife, plants and natural objects
- (03) Touching animals, or getting too close to them, on land or in the water, at the park’s nature tourism sites.
- (05) Feeding animals that live in the park.
- (12) Taking sand, coral or other physical objects from the park without written permission from the head of BTNK.
- (13) Taking plants or animals, or parts of them, alive or dead, without the same written permission.
- (18) Bringing exotic animals or plants into the park without written permission from the head of BTNK.
The protocol does not say how close is too close. Our guide to where dragons can be observed explains how dragon observation is managed on the ground.
At sea: diving, anchoring, boats and water sports
- (04) The protocol prohibits diving at dive sites inside the park without dive certification.
- (09) Dropping or releasing an anchor in park waters less than 30 metres deep, except in areas that are entirely sand. The protocol also prohibits dropping or releasing an anchor in manta ray habitat or along manta ray travel routes.
- (10) Running speedboats or other watercraft at high speed in a way that could endanger animals or tourists at dive sites or surface snorkelling areas.
- (15) Water sports using jet skis, SeaDoos, banana boats, flyboards or similar equipment in park waters.
Anchoring and boat speed are usually in the hands of the crew rather than passengers. They are still part of the same protocol, and operators are among the groups it covers. For conduct in the water, see our guide to snorkelling in the park.
Fire, litter, cooking and fireworks
- (06) Leaving litter of any kind in the park.
- (16) Lighting fires, carelessly throwing away cigarette butts, or bringing equipment or doing anything else that could start a forest fire on land.
- (20) Bringing or using firecrackers or fireworks.
- (21) Holding dinner set-ups, barbecues or other cooking on the coast or on land in the park.
Noise, drones, weapons, facilities and public order
- (07) Flying a small unmanned aircraft (a drone) in the park without permission from the competent authority.
- (14) Making loud noise, or playing musical instruments or karaoke at high volume, at the park’s nature tourism sites and in the habitat of the large flying fox and the yellow-crested cockatoo.
- (17) Vandalising, taking, moving or damaging the park’s tourism facilities and infrastructure.
- (19) Bringing firearms, air rifles or other dangerous hunting tools into the park.
- (22) Disturbing public order.
Drones: permission and consequences
Under item 07, a drone flight in the park needs permission. Our guide to permits, including SIMAKSI, covers how that works. The protocol also sets out what happens when a drone is flown without permission:
- A pilot flying without permission, or outside the terms of an approval, is asked to stop immediately and delete all the footage, as directed by park officers.
- A major violation leads to a six-month blacklist from the park, which may extend to other conservation areas in Indonesia.
- Proven breaches of the operating rules, or environmental damage, including harm to wild animals, can lead to further legal proceedings.
Do you need a guide in Komodo National Park?
The protocol does not contain a single sentence requiring every visitor to be accompanied by a guide. It does say that visitors must not ignore the instructions of park officers and Naturalist Guides on duty along trekking routes (item 01). It also says operators and guides must brief and supervise their guests.
In a September 2025 report on the park’s rules, the local outlet Labuan Bajo Today listed being accompanied by a guide among ten requirements for visitors. That list is the outlet’s own, not an official BTNK document. The report separately quoted the head of BTNK as saying the rules were made to protect nature and visitor safety.
At the mainland sites, guided walking is how visits work. Visits to the dragon-observation sites are managed with Naturalist Guides or park staff, as our dragon guide explains. On Komodo Island, visitors landing at Loh Liang walk with a guide and stay with their group.
So expect walks on land at the main visitor sites to be guided, and confirm the arrangements with your operator before you travel.
What happens if you break the rules
The protocol sets out sanctions for different groups. They are summarised below as the official page states them.
| Who | Minor violation | Major violation | Other provisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tourists (Indonesian and international) | Written warning | Six-month blacklist from the park, which may extend to other conservation areas in Indonesia | Three minor violations count as one major violation |
| International tourists, additionally | — | — | BTNK will refer the case to immigration officials at the Labuan Bajo immigration office if, during their activities, the tourist does something dangerous, is suspected of threatening public safety or order, or does not respect or obey the law, including immigration rules |
| Travel agents, tour bureaus and guides | Written warning | Written warning, plus a three-month blacklist from operating in the park, which may extend to other conservation areas, plus a recommendation of administrative sanctions to the body that issues their permits | — |
| Drone pilots | — | Six-month blacklist, which may extend to other conservation areas | Flying without permission or outside the approved terms: stop immediately and delete all footage. Proven breaches or environmental damage: further legal proceedings |
| Criminal offences (anyone) | — | — | Handled under the applicable law, with the person placed directly on the blacklist |
The protocol defines minor and major violations by referring to lettered items, and those references do not match the numbered list of prohibitions on the official page. For that reason, this guide does not say which prohibition counts as minor or major.
These sanctions are in addition to any penalties under Indonesia’s conservation, forestry and environmental laws.
Frequently asked questions
The park’s protocol does not set out a single rule requiring a guide for every visitor. It does require visitors to follow park officers and Naturalist Guides on trekking routes. A September 2025 media report listed being accompanied by a guide among its requirements for visitors, and walks at the mainland sites, including the dragon-observation sites and Komodo Island, are guided in practice.
Only with permission. The protocol prohibits flying a drone without permission from the competent authority. A pilot who does so is asked to stop and delete the footage, and a major violation can lead to a six-month blacklist. Our fees and permits guide covers how permission works.
The protocol prohibits diving at dive sites inside the park without dive certification.
It depends on who you are and how serious the violation is. For tourists, a minor violation brings a written warning, and a major violation brings a six-month blacklist, which may extend to other conservation areas. Three minor violations count as one major violation.
Yes. The protocol covers every stakeholder entering the park. It requires businesses and guides to brief their guests on the rules and supervise how they are applied.
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