Lombok Island is Bali's neighboring island, where people usually go for two reasons: surfing in Gerupuk Bay and a three-day climb to the Rinjani volcano. And the southern coast of Lombok is very beautiful (IMHO much more beautiful than Bali) and people go there for semi-wild tourism and picturesque tropical beaches. I even had it on my blog a few years ago, so I myself was a fan of this place and drove there to surf with friends almost every month.
IN last years my personal opinion about Lombok has changed a lot and I stopped going there. I can't even remember how many years ago I last visited Lombok. (The only exception would be the two trips to Sumbawa when we crossed Lombak just to get to the ferry to Sumbawa, but we did not stop at Lombawa itself).
I never blogged about my personal adventures in Lombok and my reasons for stopping going there: I didn’t want to spread panic and spread horror stories. (One was enough for the whole world to start thinking that Bali will soon be washed off the face of the earth :)))
But recently I received a letter from blog readers who told me about their terrible incident on Lombok. And since this is not the only story, I decided to raise this topic. So that every person going to Lombok knows what, hypothetically, awaits him in this place under an unfortunate set of circumstances. And ideally, people would stop going to this place in principle, so that the Lombok government would finally deal with this situation.
I also have my own horror story about Lombok and I will also tell it today. My story took place in 2012, but since then the situation in Lombok has not improved, although there have been an order of magnitude more tourists. And yes, I understand that it is a personal choice for everyone whether or not to go to Lombok, but I want to take the time and encourage everyone who reads these pages to “ban” Lombok from visiting. Because only when tourists start to avoid Lombok en masse, the local government will start to do something about the attacks and crimes that occur on this beautiful, but very cruel island. I do not want to support the economy of the island, where the government for so many years has not found a way to deal with the bandits, and just turns a blind eye to everything that happens for years. Lawlessness in one way or another, of course, is everywhere, even in Bali, but the form in which it flourishes in Lombok is a real tin. And although I miss this island terribly, and constantly try to go there again, it’s not in vain that I deliberately didn’t go there for many years. And I won't go. Not because I'm scared, but because it's my conscious choice to boycott Lombok. Now let's move on to scary stories from Lombok.
History first.
From a letter sent to me recently about the attack on Lombok.
"Good afternoon!
I don’t know where to turn, we had a problem on vacation. Today my boyfriend and I were attacked right on the road by two local guys. We stopped in Kuta [Lombok also has Kuta, approx. from me], rented two scooters, the second day we drove around the neighborhood. After lunch at a local cafe in a small fishing village on the bay (Pelabuhan Ikan, Teluk Awang, Lombok Tengah) we drove back to Kuta.
A few minutes after leaving the village, a steep climb began, at the end of which two guys were standing. I rode in front, my boyfriend behind me. The speed on the rise was small 10-15 km/h. As soon as I caught up with the guys, one of them began to swing a big stick at me, the second had a machete in his hands. I did not immediately understand the intention, and when I realized it, I started screaming. The guy at that moment hit me on the back with a stick, I fell and started screaming.
My young man at that moment was just driving up the hill where everything was happening. He heard my cry, but saw everything when I was already lying on the ground. When I fell, I immediately jumped up and tried to run away from the attackers. My boyfriend rushed to save me and abandoned his bike. At that moment, the first attacker had already grabbed my scooter, and the second one ran to meet my friend with a stick and brandishing a machete. We ran back, the attacker got on my boyfriend's bike and both left on our bikes. We ran after them, shouted, called for help, but this did not lead to anything. Everything happened in 10 seconds. The road was empty, people appeared only after 30-60 seconds.
We had phones in the bikes in our pockets, my boyfriend had documents and money in his backpack, the robbers did not take him away. Everything was on a busy highway, we were just unlucky, and at that moment we were all alone there. After that, the locals took us to the nearest police station, and we spent another five hours with the police. First, we went to the crime scene, where there were pieces of the broken headlight of my bike and a stick that hit me. The police also took us to a local hospital, where they recorded wounds and bruises, which were many after the fall.
In the process, it became clear that they had not previously recorded such cases [which is not true, since attacks on Lombok happen regularly - another note from me], but in the same village, bikes were stolen from other tourists three days ago. They stole from the parking lot on the pier, the bikes still haven't found them. It is not known whether these are the same robbers or others, but the crime scene is the same. I would like to warn vacationers that a gang or even more than one criminal is operating close to the tourist area of Kuta. It is not known how their attack will end next time, but they are unlikely to stop there. Our phones are obviously more expensive than bikes, but lives are priceless. Please warn people of this danger in Lombok! Such lawlessness, associated with a threat to life, should not go unnoticed.
Ekaterina K.
Even for me, a person who has been living in Indonesia for a long time and who has seen everything, this story is horrifying. And as I wrote above in the notes in square brackets, this is not the first attack on Lombok and attacks on tourists regularly occurred in the Lombok Kuta area. It’s hard for me to say how often, because most of them simply don’t come to the surface, and only news of the most severe cases, when people were hospitalized in a very serious condition after the attack, reach the surface.
By the way, the story described above did not end there, I learned its continuation from the second letter, which I also quote below.
“Stella, hi!
Continuation and end of the story
The manager of our villa, Amin, was very worried about the scooters, because they are not his. The next morning there was a conversation that the money for the scooters should be returned. We replied that the police should deal with this matter, let them look for scooters, we did not lose them, but we were actually attacked, our losses are also no one in his beautiful country does not compensate. We didn't sign any lease documents. He only replied that all the tourists in our place would pay. And left like the owner of the bikes.
The owner of the bikes, who looked like a bouncer, announced that he needed 15 million rupees per bike, which corresponds to $ 1,150. Naturally, we didn’t have that kind of money, and it’s just a robbery. Of course, we refused, and the owner of the bikes just smiled. He said that until we pay, we will not leave here. Around the same time, we read that in Lombok, among the incidents with tourists, robbery is a common occurrence, after which there is extortion from the owners of stolen scooters. It turns out that the police deceived us when they said that this does not happen to them, only the theft of parked scooters.
At that moment, we were really scared for our lives, because not one person came to deal with us, but two or three, and also some other people were sitting at the exit from the villa, in general, we were surrounded. We did not want to talk to the owner of the scooters, because he did not care about our problems, he was going to fully compensate for his losses at our expense. We called the villa manager Amin for negotiations, we were ready to pay everything we have, just to let us out of this hell. Amin said that his owner, although we thought that he was the owner, is ready to compensate 10 million, and we will only have to give 15 million. But the owner of bikes said that he did not agree to 25 million, and he needed all 30. At the same time, the owner of bikes called some kind of boss of his own to agree on a price reduction, but he refused.
Thus, we had to give 20 million, and we only had 15. We said that we did not have so much money, and we could not give it all away, otherwise we would be completely without money, but they did not want to listen to us. They said that the last price is 15 million for two scooters. We changed the money, gave it to Amin (and not like the owner of scooters), at that time there were already seven people at the entrance to the villa. We were happy to get our feet out of there. We believe that they are all just swindlers and deceivers.
Naturally, the owner of the villa (I think that the owner was invented) Amin will not compensate anything, this performance was only for us, we were deceived, intimidated and our last money was taken away. These people were not embarrassed at all, they did not care at all that we were left in their beautiful country without money.
Later we learned from local residents that the market value of such old scooters is less than 7 million, and new ones really cost 15 million. On one of the stolen scooters, the speedometer did not work, which generally prohibits the operation of this scooter, but it was rented out, and even earned. I don't know if it was possible to get out of this situation with less losses.
We had thoughts of contacting the police to help us there, they judged somehow, and 30 million is generally some kind of space. But then we changed our minds, the local police are at the same time with them, we would only have lost time, and the ending would have been the same. Now I understand Amin's words that everyone in our place would pay. There is no other way here...
Catherine"
The second story.
My personal, although already a little old, but very indicative, it is also about an unpleasant adventure on Lombok.
Horror stories about Lombok have been around for a long time. And if someone, after reading the story above, suddenly thought that, well, he would definitely “wouldn’t let himself be bred like that” or “would have defended himself in front of the bandits,” then I will tell you my story. How did we defend ourselves?
Our story took place in 2012. My friends and I went by car to travel around Sumbawa and Lombok. We ended up in Lombok in the late afternoon, it was August and the high season, so we could not find accommodation for a long time, in Kuta (on Lombok) there were still very few guesthouses and everything was booked everywhere. We traveled around the evening Kuta and got into a small accident with a scooter.
My version of the accident: two scooters were driving towards us, one suddenly crossed the road diagonally and ended up on the oncoming lane, we couldn’t pass without a collision, the car swerved to the side so as not to knock down the one on the opposite side, and at that time the second scooter, did not look at the road, but looked somewhere to the side, so he could not avoid our car. What is important, as a result of an accident, the second scooter tangentially passed our bumper, on which scratches remained and the headlight slightly cracked. All. That is, it was not a hellish accident, it was an accident at low speeds (I think about 40 km / h) with mutual damage to the plastic. No harm done. In any other situation in the same Indonesia, everyone would just leave (there is no OSAGO insurance) or they would exchange a small amount of money and go on business.
But we, like the guys from the story above, were at the wrong time in the wrong place. It was Independence Day, which was celebrated by the whole country, there were crowds of drunken local men on the streets. So literally in a minute a crowd surrounded our car and began to threaten us.
Since I then thought that “we are in the know and they won’t divorce us,” I followed the old advice that if something goes wrong, you just lock yourself in the car and don’t get out of it under any circumstances. So they did. Our car was beaten, we were showered with curses and threats, they tried to open the windows, break down the doors. I don't even want to go into details right now. The main thing is that there were a lot of them and we understood that we had nowhere to go. And most importantly, the crowd grew and became more violent. And all this was in Kuta. No one tried to stand up for us, everyone just joined the crowd.
Of course, I don’t even want to remember all the details of that evening and that night, because even now, when I write these lines, fear for my life, hatred for such savagery and an understanding of complete impotence in front of this crowd again seethe inside me. I’ll just say that all of us sitting in the car then (and they were mostly girls) were scared because 20 adult angry screaming men were rocking our car and pounding on the windows, demanding that we urgently get out of the car, “to talk."
This hell lasted several hours, I think. At some point, there was a “helper” outside who spoke more or less tolerable English and promised that he would help us resolve the situation. The settlement was understood as a translation from Bahasa into English, that we only have to pay for the “repair” of the bike only five million rupees (at that time it was $ 500). It was about an old antediluvian moped, not even an automatic machine, which, in principle, cost at that time half the price requested for repairs. Given that we had a scratched bumper and a cracked headlight, the scale of the repair on that scooter was clearly not worth the money. Therefore, we stood our ground and replied that we were ready to cover the real cost of repairs, discuss everything in a calm manner with the owner of the bike, and not with the crowd, and that extortion and threats would not work with us.
And now to the question of the police. In the story above, Ekaterina correctly writes that there is no point in contacting the police. It's a waste of time, and in most cases, the police will just get their share, so they'll be even more interested in extorting something from you. Welcome to Indonesia.
At some point, we reported to the locals rocking our car that we would not get out of the car. They began to scare us with the police, to which we (naive back then) said yes. Let's go to the police, that's exactly what we would like to see now. The police arrived. We were all forced to get out of the car, put into a police car, and taken to the station. At that moment, the girls and I exhaled, anticipating the speedy deliverance from all this hell. Naive.
The same crowd that rocked the car burst into the station with us. Now only between us and them there was no car body. They yelled and yelled all over the precinct, they shouted curses at us, something about the fact that we are “don't respect the country” and that they will deal with us now. And although we demanded order from the police and that all leftists be expelled from the precinct, the police didn’t give a shit. They continued to extort money from us and we realized that the police were not only not going to “understand” our history, but it was also not clear which side they were on.
This madhouse continued for several more hours. For which we were rapidly losing nerve cells and faith that we would get out of this area. But we didn't give up. At the same time, we tried to find out the emergency numbers of our embassy, the numbers of the tourist police and reported on the Internet, in case someone else knew where we were and what was happening to us.
Since the police at this station realized that it was not easy to withdraw money from us, they decided to scare us by sending us to the main police station of this region, to the city of Praya. We agreed because it didn't seem to us that anything could be worse than a small police station in the village, chock-full of locals yelling and threatening us.
It takes about an hour to get to Praia. There we were handed over to another station, where we spent time until late in the morning. Until the damn morning. Because it was a holiday and there was no one to deal with us. During the 12 hours that we spent in this station, no one took any formal testimony from us, no one drew up a protocol and we did not write any explanatory notes, no one went to the scene of an accident to check something. They just talked to us, convincing us that we owe respect to the country and therefore we must pay money, then they will let us go.
Another interesting point: from the moment of the accident, we did not see the driver of the moped until the next morning. And even then, he arrived only when we asked a reasonable question, where is the other side of the accident and why is she not participating in the conversations. He arrived, but was silent all the time. The policemen and the remnants of that yesterday's crowd, who had arrived in the morning to take part in our lynching again, spoke for him.
All the time we were in the police, we had endless negotiations with the police and with the “helpers” from the locals, who smiled sweetly and sentenced “dont warr ai help yu”. But all their help was expressed in the fact that they simply voiced the amount that we had to pay in order to let us go.
By the way, we were eventually able to contact our Russian embassy in Jakarta. Do you know what they told us? “Oh, well, how many of you are there? Four? Well, don’t worry, chip in a hundred and they will let you go.” I love the officials of our country!
In general, our “negotiations” with the police lasted for hours, there is no other way to call it. They extorted money from us, poured on us with talk in the spirit of “wei yu dont respect my country” and just stupidly kept us in the police. In the end, we did pay money, but our “fortitude” brought the amount to 20 or 30 dollars, I don’t remember now. True, it cost us 12 hours in the police and several hours of meaningless conversations and defending our rights.
I'm not sure that I was able to convey with colors, all the horror that we experienced all this time, not understanding how long they would keep us in the police. Guys, it was really terrible. I do not want my short story to show you that we are so cool and we have defended ourselves. Yes, we defended, but at the same time we were shaking like I don’t know who, fearing for our lives and for our belongings. After all, boards, photographic equipment, laptops were traveling with us in the car. It was scary. From lawlessness and lawlessness and from the fact that your life for these people has no value at all. They'll do anything to get their $500.
I was lucky that I had my brave and cheerful girls with me, whom you can’t just take with threats, so we stood for 12 hours and were able to negotiate the real cost of repairs. (By the way, for our bumper and headlight, we later gave $ 100 to the car rental from our money, although I still think that the fault in the accident was at least mutual. to the side, he would have seen the car and the accident could have been avoided. About the second comrade, who abruptly changed lanes to the oncoming lane (= our lane) and who initially helped provoke the accident, no one ever remembered the police, of course. Yes, who cares about him when there are foreigners from whom you can withdraw money from scratch.)
Summarizing this story, I want to remind you that it was 2012 and in general, locals in Indonesia have not yet been so greyhounds towards tourists. To meet a divorce and an aggressive attitude was rather a rarity. Now it is, to put it mildly, much more common. So if our story happened now, I'm not at all sure that I could defend my money in the same way.
Well, and most importantly, I would definitely not want to be a tourist in the same situation and thus “diversify my vacation”.
Therefore, the choice about Lombok is yours. I made my choice. I won't go there until the local police and government have put things in order on the island. If they treat tourists this way, then in principle tourists can stop visiting them, and Lomboks can return to their old life of fishing and agriculture. There are many other places in the world that are no less beautiful than Lombok. And as for surfing, I'd rather spend a couple of hours on a flight and ride somewhere else.
- an ideal place for secluded relaxation and exciting diving.
Lombok is called the little brother of Bali. From there, until recently, tourists came mainly on an excursion. After opening international airport getting to Lombok has become much easier and the number of tourists has increased significantly. Tourism infrastructure is gradually developing. Compared to Bali, there are much fewer tourists here, but the rest is more calm, secluded and exotic.
Lombok is located in the Malay Archipelago and administratively belongs to Indonesia. Lombok is located between two islands - from the west of it is located about. Bali, from the east - the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia. In terms of area, Lombok is slightly smaller than Bali. The population of the island is 3 million inhabitants, the capital is Mataram.
How to get there
A few years ago, it was possible to get to Lombok only from the island of Bali. After the Bandara Internasional Lombok International Airport was opened on an island near the city of Praya in 2011, tourists have the opportunity to use direct international flights connecting Lombok with Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The airport accepts domestic flights from the islands of Java and Bali.
There are up to eight flights a day from Bali to Lombok, but it is extremely difficult to buy tickets online in advance. Therefore, it is better to purchase them in Bali at the airport or travel agency. The flight takes 25 minutes. Regular buses run from the new airport to the city of Mataram and the resort of Senggigi. A taxi ride is much more comfortable, but it will cost five times more. All official taxis are equipped with meters. Landing in a taxi is carried out after paying the service fee at the airport ticket office.
From Bali, the island can also be reached by ferry. Compared to air travel, the ferry option is almost 10 times cheaper. Ferries depart around the clock every hour, the journey time is about five hours. In case of bad weather, flights are cancelled. Ferries run along the route Padang Bai Pier (Bali) - Lembar Pier (Lombok). From Lembar you can take a taxi to Mataram or Senggigi.
The best way to get around the island is fixed-route taxis, which are called Bemo here. On such passenger buses, you can also make intercity trips for a small fee. It is possible to rent this transport, which is beneficial for tourists traveling in a group. An ordinary taxi will cost more and you can not find it everywhere. In tourist areas, car or motorcycle rental is practiced.
general information
The northeastern part of the island is mountainous, here is the Rinjani volcano. The south is dominated by limestone plateaus, sometimes covered with hills. There are very beautiful landscapes here - deserted roads run through green hills, clean beaches, quiet coves. The tourist infrastructure is developed in the western part of the island - in the area of the Senggigi resort, where beach holiday, and on south coast- in Kuta (not to be confused with the Kuta resort in Bali), a favorite place for surfers. In general, Lombok is more suitable for lovers of wild tourism. By car or on a bike, you can travel along deserted roads, visiting secluded exotic places.
Senggigi is a resort town located along the coastal route. There are all possibilities for recreation - hotels, expensive and cheap, cafes, restaurants. The main entertainment here is a relaxing holiday on the beach, massage, snorkeling.
Kuta Beach is attractive for surfing. Although there are few hotels and only a few cafes, there is a surf school and surf equipment rental. Many tourists rent a scooter to get around the resort. The largest hotel in Kuta - Novotel, has 2 restaurants, a spa, a private beach, outdoor pools.
Weather
The climate on the island of Lombok is tropical, hot throughout the year. Tourist season lasts year-round, but its peak falls on the period from March to August. The rainy season lasts from October to April. Most of the precipitation falls in December and January. The driest months are July and August. The average annual air temperature is 28-29 °C, the water temperature is 27-30 °C. In the northern mountainous regions it is noticeably colder than on the coast.
Attractions
The island of Lombok has enough attractions, both natural and man-made. Although they are rather modest, they have not yet been promoted, “untapped” by numerous tourist groups. You can get to local attractions by taxi or rented transport. most convenient and cheap option to join one of group tours. If you decide to travel on your own, an experienced guide can be ordered from a travel agency.
Mount Rinjani volcano is the most significant attraction of the island. Not many people can boast that they have visited the crater of a volcano. While on Lambock, it's hard to resist traveling up the mountain. Although it has gentle slopes, the height is quite impressive - 3726 m, so the climb takes a whole day. Every healthy person can overcome it, but it is not recommended to travel alone.
Volcano Rinjani
Trekking group trips are organized with porters and a guide for two or three days. Having paid $100–200, tourists receive accompanying persons, food, tents, and sleeping bags. In the crater of the volcano there is a huge lake where you can swim. After resting and admiring the unique views, those who wish climb highest point mountains.
Gili Islands - another attraction located near the coast of Lombok. Three of them - Meno, Air and Trawangan - are the most popular. Here the tourist infrastructure is quite developed: there are hotels of different price categories and several diving clubs.
Gili Islands
Holidays on the Gili Islands - a great opportunity to sunbathe on clean sandy beaches or go snorkeling and diving. The largest of them is Trawangan. , most populated by tourists, this is a party place. Lovers come here to dive among the corals.
On about. meno , on the contrary, it is quiet and peaceful. There are hotels here, but not very many, and all entertainment is concentrated only on their territory. The beaches are beautiful and clean, but there are coral fragments in the water. Meno is the right place for people who want to be in solitude on a deserted island.
Air is the smallest and greenest of the three islands. There are many locals here, there are bars and restaurants. The beach and water are clean. A great place for those who want to sunbathe and swim, but boring for party lovers.
Narmada Water Park , built at the beginning of the 19th century by one of the local kings, was used by members of the royal family for recreation. There is a Hindu temple, a swimming pool, springs with clean water, lakes. The park is beautiful and cozy, the territory is carefully cleaned.
Mayura Water Palace – witness to the history of the island. At the end of the 19th century, a fierce battle took place on the territory of the palace between the Balinese and the Dutch, as a result of which the palace was damaged. Statues, cannons, altars set up around the lake remind the locals of the distant battles for independence.
Pura Meru – Hindu temple built in 1720. Believers are invited to the ceremony by knocking on the big drums located on its territory.
Pura Lingsar – a temple complex consisting of two temples - Hindu and Islamic.
Lombok island, which is part of the Indonesian islands, is a place where tourists from different countries go to spend time without the fuss and crowds. Holidays in Lombok, Indonesia are reasonable prices, beaches, entertainment, attractions for those who appreciate a leisurely pastime surrounded by exotic natural beauties.
There are several options to visit the island of Lombok:
1. By ferry or boat. Round the clock ferry service is organized from the nearest island of Bali. The starting point is the port of Padang Bay, the place of arrival in Lombok is the port of Lembar. Travel time is 3 to 6 hours. The ticket price is IDR 80,000 per person. There is no clear timetable for ferries, the average interval is 2-3 hours.
2. By plane. From the same island of Bali, you can go to Lombok by plane. The ticket will cost from 40 euros. Air travel from Indonesian Jakarta will cost at least 90 euros. New airport islands since 2011 has been hosting international flights. Direct flights link Lombok with Singapore and Malaysia. The cost of a round-trip ticket from Singapore is from 360 euros.
You can take a taxi to the resting place from the airports or the port of Lembar. The price is most often negotiated with the taxi driver. The main rule is to bargain.
By the way, a bus runs from the international airport to the popular tourist area - Senggiji. Ticket price 20,000 rupees. For comparison, a similar route by taxi will cost 160,000 rupees.
Lombok Island: features of recreation
The main direction of recreation is a calm, measured pastime on the beach.
However, rest on the east and rest on west coast has differences.
Tourist areas and beaches
Resort Senggigi
The resort area in the western part of Lombok is located 50 km from the international airport. The western part of the island has a well-developed infrastructure. Walking through local shops, you should pay attention to products made of silk or fabric using gold and silver threads. No less valuable are the masterpieces of local potters.
The beaches of Senggigi
The beaches of this resort area are the best in Lombok. The sand here is gray-beige, and the grains of sand reach the size of a black peppercorn. The beach line is wide. There is a feeling of emptiness. Large hotels designed for foreign tourists have their own territory on Senggiji beach. Each such site is equipped with everything necessary for a quality holiday on the coast. Close to central beach The resort is located popular among Indonesians beach - Kerangdangan.
Eastern part of the island
An ordinary tourist who prefers comfort rarely visits the east coast of Lombok, but surfers in the village of Kuta are frequent guests. Despite the complete absence of any kind of tourist infrastructure, several decent guesthouses and comfortable hotels there is. The beaches of the eastern part of the island are characterized by lighter, almost white, sand. In addition to areas ideal for surfers and windsurfers, there are beaches that are well suited for families:
- Mavun Lagoon, located among the hills with lush vegetation.
- Novotel Hotel Beach - Pantai Putri Nyale.
- Tanjung A'an Beach, the water here is a deep turquoise color.
- Air Guling Bay is the closest to Kuta and is an ideal place to relax with children.
Things to do in Lombok
The nature of the island has created several interesting objects that are worth a visit while relaxing on Lombok in 2020. Among them:
- Rinjani volcano, almost 4000 meters high. Climbing the volcano takes a whole day. During the ascent, meetings with representatives of the local fauna are not uncommon. Such an excursion is a great opportunity to see the picturesque mountainous areas. At the top is a beautiful volcanic lake.
- Sendang Gila Waterfall, located a 30-minute walk from Senaru village, is the most beautiful waterfall on the island. By the way, after walking up the river for about an hour, you can see another waterfall - Tui Kelep.
- Lake Danau-Segara-Anae.
Vacationers on east coast you can walk through the many hiking trails this part of the island.
In addition to natural parks, Lombok has historical and cultural sites.
The main attractions of Lombok
- Narmada Water Park is a large-scale landscape and architectural complex founded in the 19th century. There are many springs and lakes in the park. The Fountain of Youth is also equipped here, the water from which, according to local residents, contributes to its extension.
- The Pura Kalasa temple is a vivid example of Hindu culture, located on the territory of Narmada Park.
- Mayura Water Palace, built in the middle of the 18th century. Walk around the territory palace park– the opportunity to enjoy interesting sculptural objects, fountains and admire the picturesque lake.
- Villages of craftsmen, among which: the village of weavers - Sukarare, the village of Penuyak, where clay products are made, and the village of Suradi, its inhabitants make bags and jewelry from palm leaves.
The presence of interesting cultural sites, the Indonesian flavor and the absence of a large concentration of tourists on the beaches make it possible to organize a calm and quite varied recreation. Lombok Island, Indonesia is a suitable place for families with children, lovers of water activities and connoisseurs of a secluded beach holiday.
Solitude and Lombok are practically synonymous words. Tourist infrastructure is most developed in the western part of the island of Senggigi. There, tourists will be able to do nothing and shop with full dedication. The island is famous for its pottery, silk and fabrics with gold and silver thread, handmade by local craftsmen.
Excellent surfing can be found on the other side of the island, in the resort of Kuta (not to be confused with the resort of the same name in Bali).
How to get to Lombok
The island of Lombok can be reached in 2 and a half hours by comfortable express boats. By air, you can fly here in half an hour, on a daily flight Bali - Lombok - Bali. You can fly to Lombok and directly - from Singapore or Jakarta.
Search for flights to Denpasar (nearest airport to Lombok)
Rules of conduct and safety
If you are going to visit some remote rural areas on your own, it would be prudent to take care of finding a local guide. Often the inhabitants of such places do not know not only English, but also Indonesian, so it will be possible to communicate with them only in the Sasak language.
In addition, in some places on Lombok, morals are quite strict. If you are planning to visit the countryside, religious sites or government agencies Better to wear something more modest. Women on a trip would do well to have a pareo with you - you can put it on if you decide to leave the beach for a while in one swimsuit, besides, it perfectly protects from the sun and wind.
Be careful with local alcohol. On the island, things are not particularly favorable with him, so if it seems to you that you feel worse, it is better to consult a doctor just in case (however, in case of a slight ailment the next morning, it is probably not necessary to go to the hospital).
Be sure to bring insect repellant with you. It is unlikely that you will be bitten by malarial mosquitoes if you rest on one of popular resorts, but it's still pretty sad to itch until the very end of the trip because of one small mistake.
And, what about local traditions - in Lombok it is customary to take off your shoes when entering someone's house (and even to the reception rooms of some companies) and it is not customary to give your left hand or pass something with your left hand to someone with whom you are not too close. Failure to comply with these two rules is considered very rude here.
Holidays on the island of Lombok
Shopping: shops
Pottery, silk and woven products with gold and silver thread, handmade by local craftsmen, are the main souvenirs from Lombok.
Beaches
The island's best beaches are in the Sengjiji area: they are wide, clean and with a blessedly low amount of frying and steaming. A distinctive feature of the Lombok coast is beaches with grains of sand the size of a pea of black pepper in gray-beige color. A handful of such sand is another important souvenir that is taken away from Lombok.
Kitchen
The word "lombok" is translated from Indonesian as "chili pepper", however local kitchen basically not as sharp as one might think.
One of the island's most popular dishes is called ayam taliwang. The locals can't agree on which recipe should be considered authentic, but the most common variation is chicken in a rather spicy tomato sauce with lots of spices. Its taste can be both mild and very spicy, so it's best to check when you order.
One of the things not to be missed when visiting Lombok is the local traditional massage.
The main food of the inhabitants of the island and an obligatory item on the menu of any cafe is rice with various additives. In terms of the amount of rice consumed, the islanders are hardly inferior to the Japanese, and the additives are quite diverse. In addition to vegetables (this is a mandatory part of the program), nuts, fish, chicken, meat or tofu can be added to rice, and as a condiment, you will probably be offered sambal sauce, which is based on ground red pepper.
Prices in restaurants and cafes in Lombok are highly dependent on their location. Lunch at a restaurant in one of the popular resorts will be quite expensive, and the dishes offered there will be adapted to European cuisine. In other places, you can find many small restaurants called warung, which are more oriented towards the locals. If you are interested in traditional cuisine, they are exactly what you need.
Alcoholic drinks can be bought almost everywhere, but since the majority of the population of Lombok is Muslim, in some areas (particularly in Praya) there is a ban on the sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants. In addition, alcohol is heavily taxed throughout Indonesia - it could very well be that a bottle of wine ends up being the most expensive meal on your order.
Popular hotels in Lombok
Entertainment and attractions of Lombok
Here are held interesting excursions to Rinjani volcano, Sendang-Gila waterfall and Danau-Segara-Anae lake. In the sea in the neighborhood are three coral islands Gili (Gili): Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, with white beaches, bays with clear water and coral reefs. You can get to the nearest one in 15 minutes by ferry - it is an ideal place for picnics, diving and snorkelling. In addition, there are several villages-museums of Lombok Aboriginal Sasaks on the island.
One of the things not to be missed when visiting Lombok is the local traditional massage. You don’t even need to go anywhere for this, you can get a massage right on the beach, under the relaxing sound of the waves. In addition to the fact that this massage is extremely pleasant, it is believed that it has an excellent therapeutic effect. It is still one of the main methods of treating many diseases among Sasak healers and is very popular among all segments of the island's population.
Fishing is another traditional entertainment on the island. There are many places where you can rent a boat with all the necessary equipment and go fishing in the sea - for a day or longer. It's very relaxing, but be careful - you should keep an eye on the weather forecast and don't swim too far.
And if you want more active rest- on the island there are excellent bike tours for you, where you can stretch your muscles after lying on the beach while the guide tells about local attractions.
By clicking anywhere on our site or clicking "Accept", you agree to the use of cookies and other personal data processing technologies. You can change your privacy settings. Cookies are used by us and our trusted partners to analyze, improve and personalize your user experience on the site. In addition, these cookies are used for targeted advertising that you see both on our site and on other platforms.
