Lombok's #1 Tourism Magazine
WORLD-CLASS DIVING
With so many islands, Lombok offers a myriad of diving opportunities. The best-known locations are around the Gili islands – Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan – where the diving is amongst some of the best in Southeast Asia.
All three islands are well served by professional dive operators who offer certification courses, day and night dives and specialised courses, as well as live-aboard adventures to exotic locations.
The “secret islands” of southwest Lombok are an undiscovered diving paradise, boasting 19 uncrowded dive sites brimming with vibrant and healthy reefs and a diverse variety of marine life just waiting to be explored by those who prefer off-the-beaten-path adventures.
Likewise, diving the south coast from Kuta is a rewarding experience for divers looking for something different, with challenging dive sites off the south coast and around the largely unexplored southeast coast.
Regarded as one of the best diving spots in the region, “The Magnet” at Belongas Bay is a challenging and glorious deep dive popular with experienced divers. Offering unique flora and fauna, Belongas is home to schools of white- and black-tip reef sharks, squid, barracuda, eagle rays and, at certain times of the year, hammerhead sharks.
LOMBOK WILDLIFE PARK
Since it first opened in 2017, Lombok Wildlife Park has become one of the most popular attractions in North Lombok – delighting guests and earning rave reviews on sites like TripAdvisor.
The Park spreads over 4 hectares with two hectares filled with gardens and animal enclosures designed to be as natural as possible.
Many of the creatures who live at the park have been rescued from circuses and zoos, and arrive at the park abused and in poor condition, physically and mentally. Owners Fellicia and Ketut now dedicate their time to giving them a safe and comfortable place to heal and live out their days happily.
The resident Sumatran Elephants are the stars of the show. Both came from a notorious zoo in Java, where they were forced to perform circus tricks and offer elephant rides for up to 8 hours a day.
Now they live in safety, and are healthy and happy. Elephant rides are not available. Instead, visitors to the park can meet the elephants up close and feed them fruit and vegetables from the fruit baskets available for purchase.
The Park also offers the chance to join the animals in their daily bath and give them a scrub in the mud bath; an activity the elephants obviously love.
The Park’s resident Orangutan from Borneo is a larger-than-life character who loves to put on a show, grabbing fruit from visitors, cuddling and playing with the guests like an overgrown child.
The Park is home to Sun Bears, Orangutans and Gibbons, Proboscis Monkeys, cute Pygmy Hippopotamus, and more.
A large walk-through bird enclosure contains a variety of pretty birds including peacocks, while the nearby snake enclosure houses lizards and large pythons, which are happy to drape themselves over guests for a photo.
The restaurant has a great selection of meals and snacks, cold drinks, juices and milkshakes, as well as serving a delicious afternoon tea.
Lombok Wildlife Park is a “must visit” on your Lombok itinerary… families with kids will love it too! lombokwildlifepark.com
HANDICRAFT VILLAGES
Lombok is famous for its traditional earthenware pottery made from local clay with distinctive designs, as well as hand-woven sarongs and fabrics (ikat).
Pringgasela in Central Lombok is a small village which is steeped in tradition and is a major centre for weaving ikat. Visit the small houses and shops here to see the old traditional looms being used to create intricately woven, colourful fabrics.
Sukarara is 5 km to the west of Praya, heading south towards Kuta. This is another weaving village where quality ikat and traditional cloth is displayed and sold. Weavers work outside many of the shops, using antiquated “back strap looms” to painstakingly produce works of art.
Some of the larger pieces can take several months to weave and collectors from around the world visit these villages to purchase the blankets, sarongs and cloth produced here.
Banyumulek, easily reached on the road south to Lembar Harbour, is an important centre for pottery on Lombok. The small village has many shops selling pottery produced in the area, as well as from the other main pottery-making villages such as Penujak and Masbagik. Lombok pottery, with its distinctive terracotta styles, is famous internationally and is exported throughout the world.
RIVER TUBING
A fun variation on white water rafting, river tubing involves floating down the river in a giant inflatable tube. Sit back and enjoy the scenery as you float down the lazy river sections and then get ready for the adrenaline to pump when you hit the rapids!
The tubes are actually giant tyre inner tubes and the best tour operators provide webbing that wraps around the tube to create a seat in the bottom, as well as life vests, helmets, and body protection for knees and elbows.
Lombok has some fabulous large rivers to explore and most of these activities take place in West Lombok, around Lingsar and Suranadi or to the east, around Pringgasela.
The half-day adventures usually take in a trek through the jungle or rice fields to reach the river and include lunch and refreshments. The routes are designed to be enjoyable and challenging, but not dangerous – making river tubing fun and exciting for the whole family!
*** Getting around Lombok is easy by car or motorbike and you can hire these in all the main tourism areas, with an International Driver’s License. The roads are generally in good condition and traffic is light. Alternatively, hire a car and driver for exploring.
Or take part in the tours and day trips by the many tour agencies on the island offering these tours; just do an internet search for the title (e.g. “dirt bikes Lombok”, “rafting Lombok”, etc.)
