Cycling around Lombok

Lombok Island is the highlight holiday destination of Indonesia’s Nusa Tenggara Province. The island is basically Bali’s next-door neighbour, and serves as a popular island-hopping extension for visitors looking for an additional escape in between or after their Bali visits. Besides being the mainland home of the three popular Gili Islands located just off its north-west coast, Lombok is also known for its colourful Sasak culture, great dive spots, scenic and secluded beaches, beautiful waterfalls and lush forests surrounding its active volcano, Mount Rinjani.

One of the best ways to explore Lombok’s vast and varied countryside is by bicycle. Bouncing over dirt tracks, roaming through tiny villages, cycling alongside horse carts and winding through endless tropical countryside brings you close to the environment and people who work and live in this land. Here in the shadow of the great volcano Rinjani, you can never be sure of what will pop up around the corner.
There are numerous possibilities to explore the countryside by bike - from easy rides through quiet and flat roads to more challenging routes taking in off-road terrain and steep hills. Three of my favourite routes in north-west Lombok are outlined below. For safe cycling, take heed of the sun and heat and bring ample sun cover (including a hat) and water. To respect and enjoy Lombok’s culture and traditions I carry a sarong which I whip on whenever I stop in a village or enter a temple. Cycle early in the morning or in the afternoon, timing your ride so as to stop between 10:30 am and 2 pm when the sun is strongest.

BANYUMULEK CIRCULAR

Banyumulek is a pottery village where custom has been developed into a popular craft industry and export commodity. Although the vessels produced there today are suitable for modern household purposes, the motifs are based on tradition incorporating elegant fish and ornate floral patterns. Clay for pots as well as bricks and tiles produced around Banyumulek comes straight from the surrounding low-lying hills.

You can stop at Banyumulek to explore the kampung on foot. Winding past bamboo huts and mounds of pots, their new glaze sparkling in the sun, watch the women coiling, drawing, smoothing and forming clay into beautiful shapes. Kids chase each other around the dirt tracks and will try and sell you small earthenware vessels. The clay comes from nearby hills where piles of bricks and roof tiles are fired outdoors in open kilns that reach temperatures above 600¡ Centigrade.

The entire route can be viewed from Gunung Pengsong. Park your bike at the bottom and climb the steep steps to the Balinese temple at the top of the hill. On clear days the rice fields extend towards Mt. Rinjani in the east. To the west, across a bright blue sea dotted with hundreds of small wooden fishing skiffs lies Mt. Agung on Bali.

The route is easy to follow and cycle. Two areas of caution are the 1.5 km stretch of road on the main Mataram-Lembar route where large trucks and fast motorbikes make tracks for the port. There is only one very short (but steep) hill. The rest of the trip promises flat terrain with ample opportunities to stop for refreshments or rests.

SESAOT-BACK COUNTRY

Another superb bike ride follows the irrigation system from rice fields to the Jangkok reservoir and protected forest at Sesaot. For many years the villagers of Sesaot lived off the forest, harvesting various natural products from wood to fruits or herbs and coffee. More recently the region has been designated a protected forest and alternative income generating schemes such as kiosks, warungs and tourism have emerged. There are plans to convert the area into a Taman Hutan Raya developing the area for recreational and educational purposes. Picnic alongside a cool river or explore the lower trails on foot or by bike.

Cycling along the Sesaot trail, I met a young man carrying a stick with a bundle tied to its end. With his dark long hair and trousers torn off at the knee he resembled a hobo. We started chatting and he told me he was a salesman. ‘I come to these parts to buy handicrafts that I sell in Bali.’ Many of the settlers in these foothills are originally from Bali bringing their own influences to the artistic styles prevalent in Lombok.

There is more than enough to keep you entertained on this half tarmac-road, half off-road ride. Visit Lingsar temple complex combining Bali Hindu and Wektu Telu worship. Stop to look at basket making at Nyur Baye Gaweh. Follow the Jangkok and Sesaot rivers through irrigated fields towards Sesaot’s protected forest. The mountain range beneath Gunung Rinjani flanks the ride with Gunung Buanmangge (1916 metres) dominating the scenery as you cycle past villages, Hindu shrines, little mosques, canals, fields and jungle. Finally, relax at Suranadi’s natural spring swimming pool, Balinese temples, nature park or warungs serving delicious sate. At one of the kiosks at the bottom entrance to the car park you can sample and buy home made brem (rice wine)! And after a long hot cycle ride what better way to cool of and refresh oneself for the final leg home that with a swim?

Although not steep, some parts of the track are quite rough and may be tricky in the rainy season (you will definitely get your feet wet!) You can shorten or extend the ride and where you find the cycling too tricky push the bike without running into difficulties with timing.

SENGGIGI AND MONKEY FOREST CHALLENGE

The tropical sea in the north-west of Lombok provides some of the best bathing and snorkelling opportunities on the island. Here, the hilly coastal road runs through broad palm lined peaceful coves. A beautiful coral garden is easily accessible to snorkellers two kilometers south of Pemenang on a quiet beach undisturbed by tourist development. It is reached by a well tarmaced road all the way around the island or cuts back to Mataram through magnificent rainforest along the ‘Monkey Forest Road’.

One morning taking the climb up this road to the to the Pusak Puncak (Pusak Summit) I stopped to cool off at the top of the pass. Locking up my bike I followed a footpath running north-west of the hill-top restaurant. At the end of this track, set amongst thick trees and overlooking rainforest covered hills and the Gili Islands sparkling in the aquamarine sea, stands a Hindu shrine. Four men dressed in traditional Hindu costume invited me to join them in worship. I put on my sarong and joined in the ceremony, offering lotus petals and meditating in silence amongst the peace of moss covered shrines.

The climb to Pusak Puncak is rewarded with a freewheel through rainforest overlooking breathtaking views of the sea and Gili Islands. The route roller-coasters back towards Mataram along the coast and sparkling sea.

Although the entire route is tarmaced, the steep hills make it a challenging cycle for which you should have well functioning brakes. The coastal road has little shade and is extremely hot so should be avoided in the middle of the day. Time your ride to cycle this stretch early in the morning or afternoon perhaps ending your day with spectacular sunset views overlooking Mt. Agung on Bali.