Lombok - Traveling around

The province of West Nusa Tenggara has 2 mayor islands, Lombok and Sumbawa, with the provincial capital Mataram in Lombok.
It is part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east.

The Lombok Strait is also part of the bio-geographical boundary between the fauna of Indo-Malaysia and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia.
Known as the Wallace Line, after Alfred Russel Wallace who first remarked upon the striking difference between animals of Indo-Malaysia and those of Australasia.

For more information about Alfred Russel Wallace follow this link: The Alfred Russel Wallace Website.

Lombok is roughly circular about 70 km across and a total area of about 4,725 km².
The climate is similar as the nearby island of Bali; hot and humid, although there is a little less rainfall here.
Lombok has an average rainfall of 1500mm per year.
The wettest month is January with a rainfall of 280mm over 21 days and August being the driest with only 19mm over 2 days.

Lombok has a population of just over three million people, with a majority of 90% of Sasak people.
The rest of the population consists of Balinese and some Chinese, Javanese, Buginese and Arabs.

The main religion is Islam which first arrived in Lombok in the early half of the 16th century.
A non-orthodox Islamic group found only on Lombok are the Wektu Telu, "Three Prayers", who pray only three times daily, instead of the five times stipulated in the Quran.

Wektu Telu has influences not only of Islam, but also Hinduism and pantheistic beliefs and are entwined with animism.
Next to the Islam the Hindu religion is practised by the minority of Balinese Hindu's who live mainly in the Western part of Lombok.

Lombok's places of interest

Lombok has a lot to offer with beautiful landscapes, temples, rainforest, hot springs and authentic villages with their art work.
There are different ways to explore the island, either take day trips from a central point like Senggigi or Kuta in the South, or take a multiple-day trip by car around the whole or part of the island.

For more information about the diving around Lombok go to: the 3 gili's, or the 7 gili's, or the South coast

West Lombok

There are 3 major cities close to each other; Mataram, Ampenan and Cakranegara.
Ampenan used to be the main port of Lombok and has a divers population of Arab, Malay and Indonesian ethnic people like the Buginese from Sulawesi. Cakranegara, often shortly referred to as Cakra has been the commercial center in the province and has a large Balinese population.

The West of Lombok is very green year around and has beaches, Senggigi, historical sites, summerpalace in Narmada build in 1805 for the Balinese Radja, and the oldest and most holy Hindu temple and bathing place at Suranadi. Here you find the detailed weather graphs for Senggigi.

Central Lombok

Central Lombok with the Southern slopes of Rinjani is very fertile and lush. The area is an ideal place for hiking in the rainforest at Sesaot. From Senggigi you can do this as a day trip and from other locations like Kuta you might consider to stay overnight.
Here you find the detailed weather graphs for Praya, central Lombok.

North Lombok

North Lombok along the coast is dry and has black sandy beaches. Via the coastal road you can go up to the Mt. Rinjani national park.
The village Senaru offers the Senaru ascent route to the crater rim, but if you do not want to climb the mountain, the park has less strenuous treks to offer through the lush rainforest.
There are enough simple accommodation around to stay here 1 or 2 nights and enjoy the nature.
Here are the detailed weather graphs for Senaru, north Lombok.

East Lombok

East Lombok has not many tourists yet, but it has a lot to offer; white and black sandy beaches in the Northeast, tropical rainforest and rice fields on the foot of Mt. Rinjani and Labuahan Lombok from which the ferry to Sumbawa leaves.
Day trip from either Senggigi or Kuta, but there are simple accommodations if you want to stay longer to enjoy this area..

South Lombok

South Lombok is known by surfers for its great waves and is therefore more developed for tourists with it's beautiful beaches.
There is a variety of accommodations around this area, which also has some nice dive locations to offer.
Since it is noted for its drought the South has been less densely populated by indigenous people.
The settlements here are normally built on hilltops and are inhibited by the Sasak people.
Famous for its woven fabric, pottery and woven ketak basket and other fine crafts.
Here you find the detailed weather graphs for Kuta, south Lombok.

Batugendeng peninsula or Sekotong area

This area has beautiful little islands easy to reach from the mainland and therefore a great place to be for divers and snorkelers alike. The reefs are exceptional beautiful and full with small colourful marine life.
You can either stay on one of the islands or on the mainland.
Here you find the detailed weather graphs for Pelangan on the Batugendeng peninsula.

Mount Rinjani National Park

Indonesia is located in the so called ring of fire and has, as the name suggests, numerous volcanos.
Mt. Rinjani is an active volcano and with its hight of 3.726 metres the fourth highest mountain in Indonesia. In the mountain range Jayawijaya in the Papua province there are 2 higher peaks; Puncak Jaya with 4.884 metres and the Puncak Trikora with 4.750 metres. Then there is the to Mount Kerinci on Sumatra with a hight of 3.805 metres.

Mount Rinjani is part of Taman Nasional Gunung Rinjani, this national park has officially 41.000 hectares within the park boundaries and a further 66.000 hectares of protected forest outside.

There is a dens tropical forest on the lower and middle elevation slopes with a lot of fig trees and typical tropical wildlife.
Higher up a Casuarina forest takes over and eventually give way to an alpine flora above the treeline.

Australian bird species, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Green Hanging Parrots, are living in the park because of Lombok's location east of the Wallace or Walleacean line.
(click here for detailed map of the Wallace Line).

The long-tailed grey macaque and the rare ebony leaf monkey together with the Rusa deer and the Muntjac or barking deer are inhabitants of these forests.

Special is the endemic species of civet in the Park, namely the Musang Rinjani - Paradoxurus hemaproditus rinjanicus.

Mount Rinjani

The volcano has an oval-shaped caldera of 6 km by 8.5 km and is filled partially by a crater lake. This lake is called Segara Anak, Child of the Sea, and is approximately 2.000 metres above sea level and has an estimated depth of 200 metres. There are hot springs at the crater rim.

Volcanic activity from 1994 to 1996 resulted in the growth of a crater cone in the centre of the caldera. This cone, first called Gunung Baru, New mountain, had lava flows into the lake and hence it's appearance was renamed Mount Barujari which means new finger.

The most recent eruption of Mount Rinjani began in February 2010 when observers at the Gunung Rinjani Observation Post detected a smoke plume that rose 100 m from the volcano.
The activity in early 2010 is centred about Gunung Baru jari.

Rinjani erupted three further times on May 23rd 2010 with activity continuing until May 24th.
According to the volcano's official monitoring agency, ash from Mount Barujari was reported as rising up to two km into the atmosphere and damaged crops. Lava flowed into the caldera lake, pushing its temperature up from 21° to 35°C, while smoke spread 12 km.

The volcano did not directly threaten villagers during any of the eruptive activity in early 2010 however access to some sections of the Mountain was officially closed or restricted at some times.

Climbing Mount Rinjani

There are different options for climbing the Rinjani, but for all you need to be in good health and physical condition.
It is critical to understand and respect this great mountain: sadly, visitors have died here through failing to follow sensible procedures and make all necessary preparations.

Few actually make the very strenuous effort required to reach the actual summit but instead stop at the crater rim, approximately 2.700 m, where the views of the crater lake are mind blowing.

To make the extra 1.000 metre ascent to the very top requires a considerably higher level of fitness, not to mention strength of spirit and sense of adventure. Best time to climbe depends largely on the weather conditions; see the detailed weather graphs.

Typically, a trek to the crater rim involves two days and one night on the mountain. The longer ascent to the summit can be done with just one night's camping but is often part of a longer trek of four days and three nights.

There are essentially two ways to approach the climb - semi-independently with a private guide or as part of an organized trek. It is extremely inadvisable, if not impossible and illegal, to climb Rinjani without the services of a professional guide.
An organized trek is by far the easiest and safest option but it is perfectly possible for us to make all of the arrangements with one of the professional trekking centres on the mountain.
Proper sturdy climbing/hiking boots are an absolute necessity as is a substantial windproof jacket and a head-light.
Air temperatures towards the summit are as low as 4°C, often with a significant extra wind chill factor!
You must prepare accordingly.

Other locations

Other dive locations which can be reached easily from Bali or direct from your home country...