Mount Rinjani is located on the island of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province. The closest big city to Rinjani is the capital of NTB, Mataram city. According to Wikipedia, Mount Rinjani is the second highest volcano in Indonesia. Besides Mount Rinjani, actually on the island of Lombok there are still two other mountains, namely Mount Punikan and Mount Kondo. But the two mountains are no longer showing volcanic activity. On the other hand, Mount Rinjani, which is still actively developing, has become one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in Eastern Indonesia.
Tourists from Jakarta can depart from Soekarno-Hatta Airport to Selaparang Airport in Mataram. Like the travel experience that was carried out by one of my ghost writer team members. He shared the story that it took three hours to travel by air from Jakarta to Selaparang Airport. Arriving at the airport, it turned out that there were already people who picked up the arrival of a group of tourists. Please remember, Lombok is included in central Indonesian time or WITA, so if tourists depart from Java Island to Mataram, the clock position must be added by 1 hour.
The first destination after arriving in Mataram is that tourists are invited to taste Haji Moerad’s Taliwang Chicken. This food has a characteristic spicy taste. Spicy is not playing. If you’re not used to eating spicy food, it’s better to skip the Taliwang Chicken. However, this culinary tour is a pity to miss. Spicy is delicious and uplifting.
After tasting Haji Moerad’s Taliwang Chicken, tourists proceed to the hotel which is located outside the city of Mataram. Because the distance to the center of Mataram city is quite far, about 30 minutes, most tourists choose to have dinner at the hotel. If you want to go out looking for street food, it is very risky for your health to climb tomorrow morning. Even so, having dinner anywhere with our loved ones on the island of Lombok is really very pleasant.
Preparation for Climbing and Camping at the Peak of Mount Rinjani
Preparation for climbing the mountain is to charge your cellphone until it’s full. Remember, climbing to Mount Rinjani is not just a day. Tourists usually spend 3 days to really enjoy the beauty of this tourist spot on the island of Lombok. Another preparation is don’t forget to bring a lot of wet tissue supplies. What for? At the top of the mountain there are no bathrooms and toilets. Wet tissue is used for the benefit of after defecation. Hehehe. Don’t take it lightly. This thing looks simple but will be very useful later.
Do not forget to also bring a flashlight for lighting when climbing at night. Some of the climbing terrain is a steep road with a ravine on the right and a high cliff on the left. There is even a ravine on the right and left. Imagine what it would be like if there was no lighting to walk in the ravine. What you have to remember is, don’t bring too much food, you’ll end up wanting to pee back and forth. Rubbing oil also needs to be brought to warm the body when camping at the top of Mount Rinjani.
The main thing is the issue of travel safety. Do not force climbing alone without a porter and guide. Porters are useful to help transport our luggage. Meanwhile the tour guide helps to give instructions when we have to rest at the post and when to continue the hike. Guides don’t have to be taken from local people, even friends who have experience climbing have no problem being used as guides.
The first climbing trip to Mount Rinjani is the route to Sembalun. Sembalun is one of the starting points for climbing to Mount Rinjani. Compared to other climbing points, Sembalun is relatively easy to climb. From below, Mount Rinjani looks very high to climb. Can make the townspeople cringe. At the beginning of the climb the road is steep and challenging. But tourists don’t be lazy to walk if it’s not late at night. The higher the climbing location, the cooler the air temperature feels on the skin.
Segara Anak Lake and Rinjani Hot Spring
A few kilometers before the summit of Mount Rinjani, there are many campgrounds set up by tourists. They are not only domestic tourists, but also foreign tourists. After setting up the tent, tourists can make a warm drink. While gazing at the night stars, tourists generally make bonfires and sing along. This atmosphere is very romantic and memorable for city residents who are used to hard work and rarely enjoy vacations.
During camping, we usually want to pee or defecate. Actually there is one toilet that can be used. But that’s right, because the toilet is public property so the smell can’t stand it. Better to defecate in the meadow outside. Eits! Don’t laugh. In such wild conditions, anything can happen. Well, in climbing conditions like that, wet tissue will be very useful for tourists. Don’t forget these travel tips.
After eating and resting, it is recommended for tourists to immediately sleep when they arrive at the summit camp of Mount Rinjani. Why? In addition to unwinding after a long day of walking, tourists also have to get up early in the morning at 2 to see the beautiful sunrise from the top of Mount Rinjani. Rinjani Sunrise is very beautiful and too bad to miss. The beauty of the sunrise from Rinjani is not inferior to the Bromo morning sun that I told you about before.
In Rinjani there are also edelweiss flowers or eternal flowers, just like when I was on vacation to Mount Bromo in East Java. At first glance, edelwiess flowers look like ordinary grass. Not beautiful. But this flower blooms for a long time, it doesn’t wilt like other flowers. So it is not surprising that many young couples deliberately pick edelweiss flowers for their partners. Ow, so sweet!
From the campsite, tourists can also visit Segara Anakan in the tourist area of Mount Rinjani. The camping event continued around the natural lake. Not far from the campsite, a bit uphill, there is a hot spring or hot springs. The walk from the campsite to the hot spring takes about 10 minutes. Bathing in hot springs can relieve tired of a day of walking. Warm and refreshing. That’s the interesting side of a climbing vacation to Mount Rinjani on the island of Lombok.
Has anyone been there too? How was your experience climbing the mountain? Can you share it in the comments column?