Lombok
Only a 15-minute flight (or ferry trip) away is Lombok, an unspoilt island whose name means ‘chilli pepper’. Its area is 1285 sq km (803 sq miles). The island possesses one of the highest volcanic mountains in the Indonesian archipelago, Mount Rindjani, whose cloud-piercing peak soars to 3745m (12,290ft). The population of about 750,000 is a mixture of Islamic Sasaks, Hindu Balinese and others of Malay origin. The two main towns are Mataram, the capital, and the busy port of Ampenan; both are interesting to explore. The south coast is rocky. The west, with shimmering rice terraces, banana and coconut groves and fertile plains, looks like an extension of Bali. The east is dry, barren and desert-like in appearance. The north, the region dominated by Mount Rindjani, offers thick forests and dramatic vistas. There are also some glorious beaches, some of white sand, others, such as those near Ampenan, of black sand.
At Narmada, reached by an excellent east–west highway, is a huge complex of palace dwellings, complete with a well containing ‘rejuvenating waters’, built for a former Balinese king. At Pamenang, visitors can hire a boat and go skindiving, entering a clear-water world of brilliantly coloured coral and inquisitive tropical fish.
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