Pink Beach (Pantai Merah)

Set in the natural wilderness that is the Komodo National Park, Pink beach requires a little more effort than most to get to. This however does not put a steady stream of visitors to the beach off, which speaks volumes about how special this place is.

There are only a handful of pink beaches around the world with other notable ones in the Bahamas and on Lombok. However neither of these have quite the same degree of pinkness as Komodo Island’s Pink beach.

Set in a small, south-facing bay the sand is only a small part of the beach’s appeal. Equally striking is the brilliant blue, crystalline water that laps the shoreline. 

Although it seems a long way to travel just to kick back in the sun, Pink beach has such a relaxed feel to it you may not be able to resist. If you do feel compelled to do something more active you have a few choices. One is to take a hike up the hill that overlooks the beach ; here you will get the best views and photos of this unique place.

Pink beach is also a great spot for snorkelling. The water is generally fairly calm and whilst the beach is perfectly sandy there are abundant coral reefs a little way off the shore. The colourful coral gardens are home to a variety of hard and soft corals, which in turn support a wealth of fish and other marine life.

The sand gets its famous hue from microscopic organisms in coral called Foraminifera. These produce a red pigment which fuses with the calcium carbonated of the sand turning it pink.

But what about the komodo dragons I hear you ask! Well, technically it is possible that you might see one of these giant lizards anywhere on Komodo Island or neighbouring Rinca, it is very unlikely at Pink beach.