Just next to Lombok where Hotel Villa Ombak is located, there is an island well known of its Dragon. It is Sumbawa that has a greater landmass than Lombok and Bali. The island is far less developed for tourism than its westerly neighbor, which provides a great experience for discovery travel. Sumbawa’s wave regularly attracts surfers from around the world, determined to find the perfect un-crowded break but the majority of the interior is untouched by foreign influences.

On the east of Sumbawa lies Komodo Island, in which the only prehistoric animal, Komodo dragon or the Giant Lizard still exist. This National park is famous for its wildlife with distinctive fauna species rarely found elsewhere. The Komodo dragon has an amazing speed and its carnivorous behavior attract nature lover from all over the globe. Komodos were named ‘ORA’ by the locals; these lizards are not so distance relative to the dinosaur, which roamed the earth million of years ago.

Komodo National Park was established in 1980 and was declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1986. The park was initially established to conserve the unique Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), first discovered by the scientific world in 1911 by J.K.H. Van Steyn. Since then conservation goals have expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial.

The majority of the people in and around the Park are fishermen originally from Bima (Sumbawa), Manggarai, South Flores, and South Sulawesi. Those from South Sulawesi are from the Bajau tribe or Bugis ethnic groups. The Bajau were originally nomadic and moved from location to location in the region of Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku, to make their livelihoods. Descendents of the original people of Komodo, the Ata Modo, still live in Komodo, but there are no pure blood people left and their culture and language is slowly being integrated with the recent migrants.

Little is known of the early history of the Komodo islanders. They were subjects of the Sultanate of Bima, although the island’s remoteness from Bima meant its affairs were probably less troubled by the Sultanate other than by occasional demand for tribute.