Interesting Places You Must Visit in Lombok

Interesting Places You Must Visit in Lombok

Many interesting places you must visit in Lombok. Lets we start from your first arrived in Lombok.

Mataram
The city of Mataram is the capital of Lombok. Together with with Ampenan, Cakranegara & Sweta these four small towns make up the main business district of Lombok and are considered by many as being one main city. A former port town, Mataram has grown to be the main business and administrative area. Government offices, universities, shops, banks and restaurants are all readily available within the Mataram district. Hotel accommodation in Mataram caters mainly to local businessmen and merchants.

The heritage and culture of Lombok are easily noticeable in Mataram, antique shops, traditional markets and the museum with priceless artifacts tell the tale of former times.

cidomoMataram is the capital of the province which has in the past decades joined with Ampenan, the port, and Cakranegara to become the province's biggest urban complex.

At around the beginning of the 18th century, Mataram was the residence of the crown prince of Karang Asem, a kingdom in southern Bali.
The ruler himself had his seat in Cakranegara.
The royal palace no longer exists, but many of the old temples and pleasure gardens are still there. Lombok's biggest Balinese temple is the Pura Meru in Cakranegara.

Dedicated to the Hindu trinity, Brahma and Vishnu, it was built in 1720 by Anak Agung Made Karang, which has three courtyards. Three pagoda like places of worship stand in a line from north to south in the innermost courtyard. The one on the north is dedicated to Vishnu and has a roof with nine tiers. The central is dedicated to Shiva with 11 tiers on its roof and the southernmost one is for Brahma with a roof of seven tiers. Nearby is Taman Mayura. once part of the royal palace, it has an artificial lake set in the middle of a park. A raised path leads from the side of the pond to a pavilion built in the middle of the lake. In former, days, justice was meted out and religious rituals were performed in this open-sided pavilion.

Taman Mayura
The Mayura Park is what remains of the once existing Karang Asam kingdom of Bali whose King A.A. Ngurah built it in 1744. In the middle of a large pond is a structure called Balai Kambang which at the time functioned as a legal court of justice as well as a hall for important meetings. Curiously, its architecture shows both Hindu as well as Islamic influence, whereas around the place statues made of stone are found in the form of a Moslem hajji

pura meruPura Meru
Another relic remaining from the Karang Asam Kingdom is the Meru Temple at Cakranegara, close to Mataram. The temple was built in 1720 during King A.A. Made's rule as a symbol of Hindu unity on Lombok island. 

Several structures are found in this complex, all of them designated to function for particular purposes, including the 33 stalls located next to the main temple.

Narmada
Taman Narmada, 11 kilometers east of Mataram, was built in 1727 by King Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Karang Asem as both a pleasure garden and place to worship Shiva. Its big pool is said to represent Segara Anakan, the crater lake on the volcano Rinjani where they used to make offerings by throwing valuables into the water. As the became too old to make the pilgrimage up the 3,726 meter high mountain, he had Narmada made to represent the mountains and the lake. Near the pond is A place of worship and a spring whose water is believed to give dedicated pilgrims eternal youth.

Pura lingsar
This may be the only Hindu shrine in the world where both Hindus and Moslems come to worship. About 7 kilometers west of Narmada, it was built in 1714 and rebuilt in 1878 to symbolize harmony and unity between the Hindu Balinese and Moslem Sasak population of the area, especially those who adhere to Lombok's unique Wektu Telu school of Islam.

The Balinese temple is built on higher ground, behind the Moslem section in the compound. In the lower yard is a spring in which pilgrims in the temple yard stage a mock battle between Hindus and Moslems in which troth parties hurl rice cakes at each other.

Pura Agung Gunung Sari
This great temple on a hill at Gunung Sari, about four kilometers from Mataram, was witness to the Puputan battle to the last man, fought on November 22, 1894, between Lombok's last Balinese ruler, Anak Agung Nengah and followers, and the Dutch troops under General Van der Vetter's command.

Sukarare
weavingThis is a village of weavers south of Cakranegara. Lombok is known for its brightly Patterned songket cloth. People have been making it on their handlooms for many generations.
Sengkol, Pujut and Rambitan

Time seems to have frozen in these three villages in southern Lombok on the road from the capital to Kuta Beach. All the houses and barns are built in the age- old traditional style where life itself appears to be as it always has been. The arid savanna-like landscape of this area is impressive even in its starkness. 

Batu Bolong Beach
Located 9 km from dowtown Mataram, this beach has a huge rock with a hole in it. A Hindu temple lies on top facing the Lombok Strait and across is the contour of ma jestic Mount Agung of Bali. after sunbathing, relaxing and frolicking on this beautiful beachfront, try to stay till the end of the day to watch one of the most stunning sunsets you have ever seen when the sun slowly begins to disappear behind Mount Agung with incredibly flaming colours.

Senggigi Beach
Quite close to Selaparang airport, and fairly convenient to the ferry arrival port of Lembar, most visitors to Lombok usually begin their stay at Senggigi, Lombok's oldest and mos famous resort area.

senggigi A series of white sandy beaches in small palm-fringed bays, hugging the sides of steep hills sweeping down to the sea, make up Senggigi. The views up and down the coast and stretching out to sea as far as Bali are majestic. 

Swimming off the beach is safe and good waves for surfers peel to the left and right off the reef that just out from the main beach. The reef is also home to a variety of marine life and beautiful coral and is ideal for relaxed snorkeling.

Visit the very evocative shrine that sits on a black outcrop of rock that reaches out into the sea at Batu Bolong, a few kilometers from central Senggigi. It can be particularly enchanting when Hindu devotees make their offerings at dusk and Senggigi presents one of her crimson sunsets with the silhouette of Bali's Mt Agung faintly visible in the distance.

Restaurants and small cafes line the colorful main beach road. Two pulsating discopubs churn out music until the early hours, but in effect they don't disturb the laid-back and decidedly relaxed atmosphere of the place.

 Hotels belonging to some of the major international and local chains have beachfront locations with all the fancy frills expected of luxury hotels. Cheaper accommodation is likewise available in the form of small, comfortable bungalows.

Kuta
A steady 1 hour 45 minutes drive from Mataram will take you to the south coast of Lombok where the village and resort area of Kuta is situated. One of Indonesia's most stunning beaches with wide stretches of deserted sand beach, crystal-clear waters and picturesque out crops of rock. And with its superb surf breaks, Kuta is one of the most popular surf areas of Lombok.

Passing through several small Sasak villages on the way to Kuta, one gets the chance to see how traditional hand made Sasak pottery and handicraft is made and the opportunity to shop for a bargain or two.

Gili
The Gili Islands are comprised of three small islands just of the northwestern coast of mainland Lombok. Gili Trawangan is the furthest of the three islands and the journey from the departure point in the village of Bangsal usually takes a little more than an hour by outrigger. 

turtleIt is also the most popular island amongst the Gilis. Over the years it has become the most developed and most lively of the three. As well as having basic accommodations, it also plays host to a number of luxurious boutique hotels, beachfront restaurants, bars and dive centers.

The Gili Islands are three small Islands just of the northwestern coast of mainland Lombok. Gili Meno is the middle island and by far the most quiet with fewer hotels, as such it is the ideal place to visit when wishing to get away from the crowd.

Gili Air is nearest to mainland Lombok and has the largest local population of the three islands. With basic to three star accommodation, Gili Air is bounded by beautiful coral and clear waters, providing a haven for thousands of species of fish and making it a play ground for divers and those who love to snorkel. The beaches on Gili Air are fabulous.

Mount Rinjani
Mount Rinjani, a 3,726 meter high active volcano, is one of the tallest mountains in Indonesia. At the floor of the volcano's huge caldera is the sickle shaped crater Lake Segara Anakan, surrounded by steep walls, the mountain is popular with hikers. Sembalun Bumbung and Sembalun Lawang are two traditional Sasak villages on the slopes of Rinjani.

So, have you plan your visits to Lombok? If yes, please contact us for guidance, or if not, let us plan it for you.