Lombok

Lombok is a 4,725-square-kilometre island in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province, separated from Bali by the 35-km Lombok Strait — a stretch of water that also marks the Wallace Line, the zoogeographic frontier between Asian and Australasian fauna. The island is anchored by Mount Rinjani (3,726 m), Indonesia's second-highest volcano and one of the great hikes in Southeast Asia. The crater holds Lake Segara Anak at 2,000 metres, fed by hot springs and dominated by the young volcanic cone of Gunung Baru (2,376 m), still steaming at its centre — together one of the most striking volcanic panoramas in the region.

Southern Lombok holds some of Indonesia's most beautiful beaches, still largely untouched by the kind of mass tourism that has reshaped Bali. Tanjung Aan — with its unusual two-tone sand (white and beige) and twin turquoise-and-emerald bays — is consistently ranked among Asia's finest beaches. Mawun, Selong Belanak and Selong Blanak are equally striking. The local population is predominantly Sasak, an Indonesian Muslim ethnic group with its own language, architecture and craft traditions — including the pottery of Banyumulek and the ikat weaving of Sukarara. Between the volcano, the southern coast and the Sasak villages, Lombok offers one of the most rounded island experiences in Indonesia for travellers willing to step beyond Bali.