Rinjani is Indonesia’s second-highest volcano, 3,726 metres above a sea you can see from its summit. Its top is a vast caldera holding the crescent-shaped lake Segara Anak, about 2,000 metres up, and a young, still-active cone, Gunung Barujari, which rises from the water. The mountain is sacred to both Sasak Muslims and Balinese Hindus, who make pilgrimages to the lake and its hot springs.
Two villages serve as trailheads. Senaru, on the lush northern slope, is the nearest to the Gilis — about an hour and a half from Bangsal harbour — and has the classic waterfalls Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep. Sembalun, in a high farming valley to the east, is the usual start for the summit, with an open, grassy approach. A third route, through the gorge of Torean, is increasingly used for the descent.
This is a serious mountain: long, steep, cold at night and dusty or slippery underfoot. Every trekker must go with a licensed guide and a park permit, and the national park closes the trails for part of the wet season. But you do not have to climb at all — a day in Senaru for the waterfalls and a traditional village is an easy and rewarding trip from Gili Air or Senggigi.
Highlights
- Sunrise from the summit, with Bali, Sumbawa and the Gilis laid out below
- The first sight of Segara Anak from the crater rim
- Soaking in the hot springs beside the lake after two days’ walking
- Tiu Kelep waterfall, reached by wading a river through the forest
- The Sembalun valley’s patchwork fields and the short climb of Pergasingan hill
- The thatched Wetu Telu mosque at Bayan, the oldest on Lombok
In pictures: Mount Rinjani
How long to stay and where to base yourself
Plan a night in Senaru or Sembalun before any trek, so that you start rested at first light — most packages include it. The standard choices are two days and one night to a crater rim (or, for the fit, to the summit from Sembalun), three days and two nights for summit, lake and hot springs, and occasionally four days at a gentler pace. Add a recovery day on a beach afterwards; your legs will ask for it.
Senaru has the wider choice of guesthouses, most with valley or sea views, and the waterfalls on the doorstep. Sembalun is higher and cooler, with simple lodges and farm stays among strawberry and vegetable fields. A few travellers base themselves on the north coast around Tanjung, between the harbour and the mountain.
