LOMBOK ISLAND Overview

Beyond Bali, Lombok is a still undiscovered paradise with lush tropical greenery, which will attract every heart with fascination. The island's topography is dominated by the centrally-located stratovolcano Mount Rinjani, which rises to 3,726 m (12,224 ft), making it the third-largest in Indonesia. The most recent eruption of Rinjani was in June-July, 1994. The volcano, and its sacred crater lake, are protected by a National Park established in 1997. The southern part of the island is a fertile plain where corn, rice, coffee, tobacco, and cotton are grown. The island's inhabitants are 85% Sasak (a people, closely related to the Balinese, but mostly practising Islam), 10-15% Balinese, with the small remainder being Chinese, Arab, Javanese, and Sumbawanese. The Dutch first visited Lombok in 1674 and settled the eastern part of the island, leaving the western half to be ruled by a Hindu dynasty from Bali. The Sasaks chafed under Balinese rule, and a revolt in 1891 ended in 1894 with the annexation of the entire island to the Netherlands East Indies. Lombok has much in common with nearby Bali, but less well-known and less-visited by foreigners. It has been working to increase its visibility to tourists in recent years, promoting itself as an "unspoiled Bali". The most-developed center of tourism is Senggigi, spread in a 10-kilometer strip along the coastal road north of Mataram, while backpackers congregate in the Gili Islands off the west coast. However, in early 2000 thousands fled from religious and ethnic violence that swept over the island, and tensions remain. Some travel websites warn that tourists sometimes provoke anger in this economically depressed region Some describe the island as the only holiday resort where visitors may relax and recover. Plenty of glistening white sandy beaches are found on almost all of the entire island boundaries, and most are rare of tropical-tan seekers. But this is not all that it offers, the smaller islands to the north namely Gili Air, Gili Meno, Gili Terawangan, and to the south-west namely Gili Nanggu, Gili Gede, Gili Genting, Gili Layar and many others which only some are inhabited, provide a tropical island holiday featuring sun-sand-sea and marine beauty. The activities of swimming, snorkeling and diving would be the best, or fishing? You get the idea... Whatever your plans, whether just relaxing on a beach or exploring the countryside.