With the three 'big cities', the airport and the biggest concentration of hotels, West-Lombok is the best place to stay for the visitor. Here are the popular Gili Islands, as well as the most important Balinese temples, the center of the Wetu Telu and Gunung Rinjani. Our first route takes you north, from Ampenan to the beach of Senggigi, the Gili's, the Wetu Telu center Bayan and surrounding, and eventually to the foothills of Gunung Rinjani. The second route goes south to quiet beaches and surfing locations of the southern peninsula.
Senggigi
The roads which leaves Ampenan towards the north, passes two small mountains before it reaches a long, bow-shaped beach. On the mornings after moonless nights these hills offer the best view over the sea which is scattered with small fishing boats with colorfull sails, which return to the beach north of Ampenan. When the sunsets the fishermen leave the beach in one long line; their lights create a nice play of lights which can be seen from most hotels on the beach of Senggigi.
The first of the two small mountains which are passed from Ampenan, named Batu Layar, contains the dedicated grave of one of the islamic saints (
wali) which spread the islam on Lombok. The local population prays near a shrine close to the road. It's possible to walk from the summit of the second mountan to the Balinese temple along the beach of Batu Bolong.
The hotel colony grows with the day and slowly crawls towards the north along the coast. The hotels are built along a road which runs to Pemenang, twenty km north of Batu Bolong. The road passes several hilla which offer very nice views over the coconut trees along the beach and the sea. The old road to Pemenang is located more inland. It starts in Mataram, passes the villages Rembiga and Gunung Sari, which has a busi day market, and then ascends around the village of Sidemen.
Tuak
Sidemen is famous because of it's red palmsugar, which is by boiling the juice of the sugarpalm tree. The sugar -
gula merah - is sold in half circles on the markets. The juice of the palm is, just after it's cut off from the trees, drunken fresh as well. The sweet juice is then named
tuak manis. Giested into foaming, alcoholic palm wine it's simply called
tuak.
Further north is a nice coffee house neas the mountain pass of Pusuk. When the weather is clear you have a nice view over the Gili Islands from here. From Pusuk the road descends to Pemenang, which passes groups of monkeys which wait for gifts from passers-by.
The Gili Islands
Near Pemenang a road leads to Bangsalm, the embarkation point for the three Gili Islands, which are just off the coast. The public
bemo don't go all the way to the small town, but stop on a side road. There is a money changer and a
cidomo is also available.
All three islands have white sand beaches, clear water for snorking and cheap accomodation in bungalows. Most hotels can be found on Gili Meno. You can rent a boat for a trip along all islands. Especially in the main season - June until the beginning of September - this is a good thing, because the available accomodation fills up rather quick. The beach is the only place to sleep then.
Gili Air: Most Crowded
Gili Air is closest bo Bangsal and is the most densely populated island of the three. Most people live in the south, were the most bungalows are as well. The beach runs around the entire island. The best places for sunbathing and snorking are along both sides of thee shop with diving gear with the name Boronang. The shop rents gears and organises excursions to Pak Nasutions favorite diving spot, 45 minutes to the north by boat. There is a hot source about 10 meters under the sea level which produces fresh water.
The water around Gili Air is crystal clear, but there is not much to see for snorklers. The coral has been blown away with dynamite and there is not much fish as well; sometimes there are dangerous jelly-fish which force visitors out of the sea. The best place for snorkling is the edge of the cliff which surrounds the island; the coral descends to about 14 to 20 meters.
Gili Meno: Hotels and Blue Coral
Gili Meni, the central island, is home to only a few hundred residents. The most quiet and least exploited island of the three, makes Gili Meno also the most attractive. Drinking water is brought in from Lombok. The sources of the island only bring in salt water which is hardly good enough to bath in. Just inland is a big salt lake, which is separated by small dykes for salt mining, which takes place in the dry season (May until October). The dry times are sometimes marked by cholera on the island. The rest of the year there are malaria musquitos; don't forget tablets and a musquito net.
The hotels and bungalows are located along the southeastern coast. They offer a nice view over Gili Air and Gunung Rinjani in the east. The best place for snorkling is the northeastern coast, near the Blue Coral Bungalow, which has it's name from the blue-colored corals just offshore. The reef offers a big variety of coral spiecies and small, colorfull fish.
Gili Trawangan: Snorkling Paradise
Gili Trawangan, most offshore, is with 3,5 sq.km. the biggest of the three Gili's. Many of the residents are, like the other people of the Gili's, descendants of Buginese migrants from South-Sulawesi. They have interchanged with the local Sasak-population and speak the Sasak language as well.
On the climax of the tourist season, the months July and August, many of the daily flood of tourists which leave from Bangsal find a place to sleap on the beach. All
losmen are located along the eastern coast. The young, mainly European tourists which come to the Gili's, spend their days on the beack, sunbathing. Snorkling and playing frisbee are the favorite sports. On many places you can rent goggles and other diving gear. The reefs off the eastern coast of Trawangan are reasonable, but beware of the strong currents futher off the beach, they can be dangerous. A walk around the island takes about four hours.
You can find good equipped diving centers on the Gili's. Most centers also take care of the beginners, but also can provide you with the heavy things, like diving in the strong currents off the west coast of Trawangan, where divers can see huge shells (
tridacna), as well as sharks, mantha's, and blue tailed rays.
The Northwest: Traditional Villages
About two kilometers past Pemenang, an unpaved road runs from the northwestern coast of Lombok to the beach of Sira, where you can find hotels. It's a good place for diving. From Sira until past Tanjung (where there is a Sunday market) the beach is made from black vulcanic sand.
Anyar (which also has a Sunday market), capital of the subdistrict Bayan, is located 35 km north of Tanjung. On a number of other locations along the road, pumestone is collected. The road runs through a coconut-palm forest, interchanged with sawah's and vegetable gardens, which locally are over one km long. Inland the islamic cemetaries are passed, marked by old, Westindian red jasmin trees.
Three traditional villages between Pemenang and Anjar - Jambianon, Krakas en Gondang - are located off the tourist locations and have managed to stay out of the tourist influence for a long time. The residents are friendly and have a quiet, traditional existance.
Jambianon, two km south of Tanjung, is located along a bay with beaches. The water is clear, but a big part of the coral is blown away by dynamite, however there are still a few good snorkling places left.
For a nice price fishermen will take you there. Local fishermen can slso bring the tourists to the south, to Sira for snorkling and to take a look at the seaweed farms. You can even ask them if they can bring you to the Gili's. On a hilltop west of the bay is a Balinese Temple, Pura Medana, with a nice view; the sunset above Gunung Agung is very spectacular.
Unusual Fishery Village
Krakas (longname Karang Kates) is located about four km north of Tanjung. It's a fishery village, but not an usual one. About 400 meters off the beach, on a depth of ten meters is a source which exhausts cold, clear drinking water. Fishers get the water for their families there. For a small amount of money they will bring tourists to the source, when they also teach them to use their hand-made harpoon.
Gondang, just past Krakas, is the starting point of a trip on foot to the nice fall of Tui Pupas and the seven caves nearby. The fall and the caves are along the road near the settlement of Keruak. From Gondang a good, 6 km long road runs to the village of Selelo. The road also runs along Gangga, one of the most important centers of Wetu Telu.
Holy Forest of Bebekeq
In the nearby forest of Bebekeq a periodical ritual is held. Just before the village of Anyer, near the village Sukadana, is the settlement of Segenter. The inhabitants have maintained to their traditions due to their relatively strong isolation, this goes for their style of building as well as their Wetu Telu habits. They are friendly and open to visitors, however most don't speak Indonesian. For a good conversation you probably need sign language, unless you can find a Sasak-speaking guide.
Bayan: Center of the Wetu Telu
Bayan is located five km southeast of Anyar. Just before the village a road to the south runs to Batu Koq and Senari, starting points for the ascend of Gunung Rinjani. The area has several
losmen. From here it's less than one hour walking to the high fall of Sendang Gile, from which the vast sawah's east of the village get their water from.
Bayan is one of the centers of the Wetu Telu; the local
penghulu (religious leader) lives besides a pension north of the main road. The Wetu Telu supporters live along the northern side of the road and the orthodox muslems across the road. It is assumed that islam was introduced on Lombok through Bayan. The 300 year old mosque of the village is said to be the oldest of the island. East of Bayan a road runs across steep hills to Kali Putih in about 10 km. The distance to Mataram is measured at 90 km, or 126 km through Labuhan Lombok along the eastern coast and the road which runs across the island towards the west.
Garlick and Shallot
From Kali Putih a road runs towards the south to the foothills of the Rinjani, which finished in Sembalun Lawang after 18 km. It's possible to climb the Rinjani from Sembalun Lawang, but it's more easy and friendly to do this from Bayan. About five km before the village you can see the steep, bald slopes which ascend from the hills. Access of this village is marked by a big monument of garlick, not a subtile hint to the most important product of export. Sembalun Lawang is located along the northern side of a steel valley which is planted with garlick. The village Sembalun Bumbung is at the southern end of the valley.
The two villages are seen as the most wealthy of Lombok. The rich vulcanis soil is producing more than enough garlick and shallots. The residents of the Sembalun area believe that the brother of 'raja Majapahit' is buried in the neighborhood. Whether it's true or not, the area has a remarkable Jawanese influence on language, music and dances.
The two Sembalungs are connected by a not so good 2,5 km long road. From Sembalun Bumbung you can walk to Pesugulan in four to five hours. This is the place where public transport leaves for the area of Mataram.
Lembar: Seaport in the South
Travellers which go south to the port of Lembar from Mataram, have the choice between two routes. The main road runs from Cakranegara to the southeast to Kediri, before going to Lembar. The road is in pretty good condition. The alternative is a road full of holes, which takes you through a landscape full of sawah's. This road also takes you along a Balinese temple near Gunung Pengsong and passes Rumak, east of it, to enter the main road just northwest of Kediri, near Karang Anyar.
Just west of Rumak is Banyu Mulek, a village which is known about it's pottery, made in open fire. Several products are on sale as well.
The port of Lembar often houses several big Buginese schooners. Nice boats, equipped with a diesel engine of a modern freighter. They form a sharp contrast with the efficient ferries from Padangbai on Bali.
Just south of the port you can rent a motorized boat for the trip along the coast to Gili Nanggu. Here you can find nice bungalows built on pillars, besides a nice beach and clear water. Snorkling however, is not that good, because the reefs are damaged here as well. A walk around the island only takes twenty minutes.
The island of Gili Genting, on a short distance of Gili Nanggu, sometimes is the destination for diving trips. People dive from a steep cliff. The visibility under water is not very good and there are only a few formations of soft and hard coral. The best part of the reef, with nice coral formations and many colorfull fish, is close to the surface, easy to reach for snorklers.
The Southwestern Peninsula
To reach the southwestern peninsula of Lombok, you have to take the turn just before Lembar. This road runs to the south, around the bay and then goed inland over a number of hills. A nine kilometer long sideroad stays close to the bay and offers a nice view over the port area and the bay.
The water is scattered with
bagan, fixed fishing plateaus which seem to float on the surface with their spider like look. After the sunset the fishermen set out their huge fishing nets. They use lights to attract groups of fish. Twice or three times a night the nets are raised and emptied, mostly small fish are caught.
A small road takes you along a shrimpfarm and will eventually end at the main road near Jelateng (where there is a Thursday market). A few kilometers ahead is Sekotong, the governmental center of the
kecamatan (subdistrict) which concludes the entire peninsula. Near Sekotong Tengah an unpaved road runs to Sepi.
The road to the west, which is paved for the biggest part, runs just along the northern coast of the peninsula. Every now and then there are side rivers to the seaside. The water is calm and all beaches are made out of white sand.
Most houses along the coast are simple wooden houses with red paned rooft. Just off the coast are many small islands. Coconuttrees and mangroves are intermixed with white beaches. Open trucks are the only way of public transport as yet.
Bemo are available when the road is paved. In the west of the subdistrict Sekatong (Sekatong Barat) is a Balinese settlement, Batu Liong, with a small shrine and a temple off the coast.
The village of Pelangan has a very nice beach, and just off the coast you can also have a nice place for snorkling. In this area you can also find a perl-farm, managed by Japanese. The people are very friendly; if you pay you can stay in their houses and take part in their village life. The villagers are very poor and need all the money for their basic needs like medicine and clothing.
