Lombok’s Mount Rinjani is an active stratovolcano 3,726 metres high, the second highest in Indonesia after Sumatra’s Mount Kerinci at 3805 metres. As Lombok is a fairly small island, the mountain dominates the landscape. Rinjani is a volcanic complex with more than one caldera, including Samalas, Rombongan and Barujari as well as Rinjani itself.

Stratovolcanoes are found along subduction zones, areas where tectonic plates are disappearing under other tectonic plates into the Earth’s mantle. Mount Rinjani is also a “somma volcano”, one whose caldera  has been partially filled by a new central cone. The volcanic activity that formed Mount Rinjani is due to the subduction of the Indo-Australian oceanic crust beneath the Lesser Sunda Islands (an archipelago of which Lombok is part).

There used to be two cones making two peaks, Samalas and Rinjani, that formed sometime after 12,000 years before present. Rinjani’s caldera is called Segara Muncar, and is 300 metres in diameter, half of which is a small crater lake.

The only major eruption of Mount Rinjani in recorded history took place in 1847. The remoteness of Lombok before that time makes earlier eruptions difficult to confirm, except for one: the catastrophic eruption of Samalas that took place in 1257, possibly the biggest eruption in the world since the start of the Neolithic period.

Research suggests that the eruption ejected 40 cubic kilometres of material in a column 43 kilometres high. It was the biggest volcanic eruption on earth during the last 7,000 years, twice as powerful as the Tambora eruption in 1815 and eight times more so than Krakatoa in 1883. Before the eruption Samalas would have been the highest peak of the complex, at 4,200 metres.

Modern understanding is that pressure in a magma chamber beneath Samalas rose to such a point that the rock above it gave way, similar to the catastrophic eruption of the USA’s Mount Saint Helens in 1980. The subsequent explosion blasted out over one million tonnes of material a second. When the magma blew out of the volcano the chamber below it emptied, and with nothing to support the weight of the mountain it collapsed in on itself. This collapse caused six cubic miles of ash and volcanic rock to race down the remaining slopes towards the coast in giant pyroclastic flows at speeds of over 125 miles per hour.

This eruption destroyed the local civilisation at the time, including the lost royal city of Pamatan, according to the historical account written in Old Javanese on palm leaves called the Babad Lombok. In that account, Pamatan was a thriving city of 10,000 people, active in agriculture and fishing, which was totally wiped out by the pyroclastic flows. Lombok was depopulated and Bali suffered as well, allowing both islands to be conquered by the Javanese kingdom of Singhasari in 1284 without resistance.

The 1257 eruption was so big that it caused a global volcanic winter, bringing documented crop failures and famine to Europe, and contributing to the development of the Little Ice Age, a period of global cooling that lasted for 500 years.

The remnant of that massive eruption is a 7-kilometre-wide caldera, half way up the Mount Rinjani complex at 2,000 metres, whose 205-metres-deep crater lake is called Segara Anak, meaning “Child of the Sea”, after the sea-blue colour of its water. Segara Anak is still active, and a new volcanic cone has emerged in the caldera named Gunung Baru, “New Mountain”, or Gunung Barujari, “Finger Mountain”.

The lake temperature reaches 7 degrees centigrade above ambient temperature, and is probably the widest warm water volcanic lake in the world. The water chemistry is dominated by sulfide and chloride.

Segara Anak is considered a holy place by the inhabitants of both Bali and Lombok. The Balinese come once a year on the fifth of November to perform a ceremony called Pancaka Mulang Pekelem. This annual Hindu ceremony dates from the 18th century invasion of Lombok by Balinese from the kingdom of Karangasem, and attracts hundreds of white-clad Hindu pilgrims who sit to pray. The local Sasaks also come to pray on nights of full moon.

The view from the caldera rim at sunrise is breathtaking, and the reason why there are many organised hiking tours that specifically aim to arrive at the rim at sunrise to enable tourists to experience and photograph the wonderful views.

On the slope of the mountain is a cave called Payung Cave, similar in shape to an umbrella (“payung” means umbrella in Bahasa Indonesia). It is three metres by ten metres. Inside the cave is a spring of bicarbonate water that forms carbonate deposits. The cave can be visited and occasionally serves as a meditation spot for locals and tourists.

After the Samalas eruption volcanic activity continued in two new cones, Rombongan Peak (currently 2110 metres) and Barujari (2376). In the 21st century the main volcanic activity on Mount Rinjani has taken place at the Barujari caldera, with the most recent eruption in April 2009. This sent a plume of smoke and ash 8,000 metres up, and closed the mountain for hiking until the following September. Further minor activity was recorded in 2010.

It is important to remember therefore that Mount Rinjani is an active volcano that can erupt at any time. If the local authorities detect signs of increased volcanic activity that could mean that an eruption is imminent, the National Park is closed as a precautionary measure. Lombok is prone to earthquakes, and even minor tremors cause rocks to be dislodged and can trigger landslides. The National Park is also closed to hiking in bad weather.

Fatalities on the mountain are very rare but not unheard of. The most recent case was in 2007, when seven students died from exposure. The students had set out on a trek despite all hiking routes in the National Park being closed due to severe weather.

Hiking up to and into the volcanic complex’s peaks and calderas should be done carefully and safely, with a professional guide. Respect the mountain at all times!

 

Mount Rinjani National Park

The mountain area and its volcanic complex make up Mount Rinjani National Park, “Taman Nasional Gunung Rinjani” This has an area of 410 square kilometers within the park boundaries and 660 square kilometers of protected forest outside them. In 2008 the Indonesian government proposed to UNESCO that Mount Rinjani become one of the world’s official Geoparks, the only one in Indonesia, and this was confirmed in 2014.

The park is at the centre of the major bio-geographical transition zone known as Wallacea. The Wallace Line passes through the deep Lombok Strait, separating Lombok from mainland Asia to the west – a mainland that throughout the Ice Ages included Sumatra, Java and Bali. Australasian species exist east of the Wallace Line but not west of it; on Lombok these include cockatoos, honeyeaters and green hanging parrots, none of which are found on Bali.

Other Indonesian animals that are found west of the Wallace Line can be seen in the national park, these include the elusive Silvery Langur (the silvered leaf monkey) and the East Javan Langur (the ebony leaf monkey) as well as the common long-tailed grey macaque (the Bali temple monkey, known on Lombok as the Kera).

 

Senaru Traditional Village

Senaru Traditional Village serves as the main entrance to Mount Rinjani National Park. Known as the Gateway to Mount Rinjani, it is right next to the Rinjani Trek Centre where the mountain hiking trail starts.

Senaru village is considered to be one of Lombok’s cultural landmarks. As such, for a small donation tourists can be guided around the village to learn about the local Sasak way of life, customs and culture. Visitors can explore the thatched houses and join in with the traditional preparation of meals using local produce. But it’s a genuine working village, where currently around fifty families live and farm. There are rice terraces all round the village, and visitors can be taken by guides to see the small areas in the forest where the locals cultivate crops such as coffee and vanilla.

The local Sasak people consider themselves to be the cultural guardians of Mount Rinjani, its forests and its spiritual importance, and their culture is rooted in the ancient Sasak way of life. Many of the the Sasaks of Lombok, including those of Senaru village, practice a unique hybrid of Islam and ancient animism called Wetu Telu. This means “three times”, as opposed to Wetu Lima, “five times”, referring to the number of prayers a day. Wetu Telu adheres to the overall beliefs and practises of Islam, but incorporates the existence of local spirits and gods, and the veneration of ancestors.

This means for example that while Ramadan is adhered to and the Koran is recited, the people of Senaru also have an annual festival called Rebo Rarung that honours the ancient Sasak gods with traditional music and dance.

Exploring the Senaru area

Aside from hiking Mount Rinjani itself, there are some excellent walks to be had in the area around Senaru. Available guided walks include:

Sunrise waterway walk. Starting an hour and a half before sunrise, this guided walk takes you along the irrigation channel that winds through fields and traditional villages towards the coast, witnessing early morning farming activities before watching the sun rise behind the dramatic silhouette of Mount Rinjani.

Sunset walk. A one and a half hour guided walk along trails below the village, that takes you to the secret waterfall and traditional swimming pool called the Tumpasan Senaru, where you can swim or relax by the side of the pool. The way back takes you through small hamlets as the locals return from the fields, timed perfectly to see the sunset over Bali’s Mt. Agung on distant Bali.

Senaru panorama. This half-day walk leaves every morning from the Rinjani Trek Centre. You will be taken through the scenic landscape of rice terraces, irrigation waterways, traditional villages and rainforest waterfalls, with local guides who know the area and will tell you all about it.

Waterfalls

The Senaru village area is home to two of the most beautiful waterfalls on Lombok, Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep. Both waterfalls provide great photo opportunities.

Sendang Gile is a set of cascading falls a twenty-minute walk below the village down a graded trail, surrounded by tropical greenery. The main tourist entrance is ticketed and the trail takes you down a series of steps to the falls. A guided walk will take you there, then back via a different route along the edge of the valley, following the irrigation waterway.

There is however another route, that they don’t tell you about at the ticketing gate, but which you can ask a local guide to take you down, or you can explore yourself using Google maps as a reference. The starting point is opposite Café Rinjani Dawn. You then follow the irrigation stream to the falls, through lush vegetation populated by monkeys that can get quite aggressive.

The second waterfall, Tiu Kelep, is an hour’s walk upstream from Sendang Gile. It’s a beautiful waterfall with a deep natural pool at the bottom that’s perfect for swimming, in the middle of the rainforest with steep hillsides all around. The trail includes scrambling over rocks and crossing a river, so it’s recommended that you use a local guide.

There is a third waterfall, further upstream from Tiu Kelep, called Betara Lenjang. This is difficult to get to, however, and is not on the usual tourist trail – it’s for experienced rock climbers with equipment only. If you are an experienced climber (and many who tackle the summit of Mount Rinjani are) then ask at Senaru village for information about this waterfall.

 

Where to Eat in Senaru

Senaru village is set up to cater for tourists, so there are several good places to eat, both local restaurants (warungs), and hotels, with vegetarian options available. Here are some recommendations:

Rinjani Lodge Restaurant (Both Indonesian and Western dishes)

Rifka Cafe Rinjani (Good low-cost Indonesian food with vegetarian options)

Dragonfly Senaru Bar and Resto

Warung Bukit View Senaru (Great local food and wonderful views)

 

Accommodation in Senaru

True to its role as the tourists’ Gateway to Mount Rinjani, Senaru village has developed a range of modern accommodation options, from budget homestays and guesthouses to boutique hotels.

Rinjani Lodge

The most well-known option is the beautiful boutique hotel Rinjani Lodge, with thirteen luxury rooms, a garden and two infinity pools. The staff all speak English. The on-site restaurant has an Asian fusion menu and home-made ice-cream. Rinjani Lodge is the most up-market hotel in the whole Mount Rinjani hiking area.

Contact No: +62 819 0738 4944, email: info@rinjanilodge.com

Rinjani Lighthouse

Located at the top of the village close to the starting point for the Mount Rinjani hike, Rinjani Lighthouse is a highly recommended mid-range option. It is owned by a friendly German family. The hotel consists of bungalows constructed in the traditional Lombok style with wooden-frames and thatched roofs.

Contact No: +6285337076655 email: rinjanilighthouse@gmail.com

Anak Rinjani

For budget accommodation choose Anak Rinjani. The accommodation is in simple but clean and well-maintained bungalows. The beds and bedding are good quality, and the hot water showers are powerful, unlike most budget accommodation in Senaru. There is no aircon, but the rooms are provided with wall fans. Senaru’s altitude means that it is cooler at night than the Gili Islands and it’s fine at night without air conditioning.

Contact No: +62 819-1702-4389

 

Sembalun Village

Sembalun is a peaceful mountain village in north-east Lombok, on the eastern side of Mount Rinjani, and at an elevation of 1,100 metres is the highest village on the island. Strictly speaking it’s a collection of six villages: Sembalun, Sembalun Lawang, Sembalun Bumbung, Bilok Petung, Sajang and Sembalun Timba Gading, with a total population of around 20,000.

The elevation means that Sembalun is a lot cooler than most of tropical Indonesia. In the dry season temperatures can drop to 10 degrees centigrade, while in the wet season they can hover around 20 degrees.

Sembalun valley in which the villages are found is itself an ancient caldera half a million years old. Erosion has led to a wide flat land punctuated by craggy hills, remnants of the ancient volcano, whose land is now extremely fertile, and is now a checkerboard of agricultural fields.

It’s famous as being one of the two starting points for hiking Mount Rinjani, but there is much more to Sembalun than that. In fact it’s one of the best holiday destinations on Lombok and a great base for exploring the area. Its height means that there are breathtaking views from the village before you even start hiking, not only of Mount Rinjani but also of the rice terraces and strawberry fields for which the area is famous.

There are guided hikes available that start at Senaru and finish at Sembalun. The trip by car from Senaru around the foot of the mountain takes 40 minutes and costs 150,000 Rupiah to hire a driver. Otherwise if you want to start your exploration of Mount Rinjani at Sembalun you can hire a car and driver from Padang Bai that will take you round the top of the island.

What to do in Sembalun

There is no public transport in Sembalun, and the mass of drivers that are always pushing for your custom in Bali are completely absent here, so the way to explore the area is to hire a car or, better still, a motorbike. Most locals in the area ride mororbikes, and many of them are willing to rent them out in an informal manner. Accommodation in Sembalan is mostly homestays, and you can often rent a bike while you are staying there.

One recommended place to stay in Sembalun is Kita Cottages.

Hiking the Sembalun Seven Summits

As well as Mount Rinjani’s main peak, there are six lesser peaks on the east side of the massif that can also be hiked from Sembalun. These are, in order of height:

  • Sempana Peak (2329 m)
  • Lembah Gedong Peak (2200 m)
  • Kondo Peak (1937 m)
  • Anak Dara Peak (1923 m)
  • Pergasingan Peak (1805 m)
  • Bao Ritip Peak (1500 m)

Of these, the overnight hike to Pergasingan Hill overlooking Sembalun is particularly recommended. Not only does it offer spectacular views of Mount Rinjani and the Sembalun area fields below, but it can serve as a warm-up hike before tackling Rinjani itself.

It takes two to three hours to hike to the top of the hill, so you can climb it and return in a day, but the overnight camping experience is worth it for the amazing sunrise views.

The trek itself is fairly steep, a ‘moderate’ hike not an ‘easy’ one. The overall elevation gain is 670 metres. The trail isn’t well marked, but as it’s popular with visitors it is well worn and easy to follow. To start the hike, find “Pergasingan Hill – Start Point Hiking” on Google maps. There is a small hut where you will be asked to pay an entrance fee of 50,000 Rupiah. From there you follow a dirt track through strawberry fields to a rickety bamboo bridge, where the upward trail is signposted. Over the bridge the trail immediately gets steeper and more difficult. After a while the trail levels out through thick forest before getting steep again just below the top, where you have to scramble over boulders and rocks to get to the summit ridge. The campsite is easy to find at the top.

Waterfalls

The river that flows through Sembalun district is the Kokoq Puteq, and there are many waterfalls along its length. Named waterfalls that can be visited by tourists from Sembalun include:

  • Dewi Selendang Waterfall
  • Mangku Sakti Waterfall
  • Mangku Kodek Waterfall
  • Umar Maye Waterfall
  • Madu Waterfall

Of these the most recommended excursion is Mangku Sakti Waterfall, near the small village of Sajang to the north of Sembalun. This is much less famous and less visited than the two popular waterfalls at Senaru Village, but is equally wonderful. There are several reasons why it’s so good.

Firstly, the water comes all the way from the sulphur lake Segara Anak, and is a wonderful blue colour until it foams into white at the rapids and the falls. Secondly, you can climb inside it and experience the powerful 20-metre fall from just behind it. Thirdly, it’s a powerful roaring waterfall in the dry season as well as the rainy season. But most of all, getting there and back is a real adventure.

The main reason why it is less famous and less visited is that it’s difficult to get to. There are no official guided tours, and access is by a rough dirt track for most of the way, followed by a hike, so the best way to get there is with a rented off-road motorbike, which you can hire at Sembalun.

To get there you take the main road for twenty minutes until you reach the dirt road. (You can get here from Senaru as well, it’s a 45-minute drive from there.) Once off the main road the adventure begins. The trail to the waterfall is a 30-minute bike ride along a very worn and sandy track through dense jungle that involves crossing makeshift plank bridges over big holes.

The track ends at a parking area and ticket hut that the last time we checked was abandoned and falling apart. The hiking trail to the fall can still be seen clearly, although the unattended path is now overgrown, and the signs along the track are still there. After five minutes’ walk, the path hits a landslide and seems blocked. But this can be circumvented by crossing the slide downwards at first, then coming back up to the path holding on the jungle vines.

Ten minutes later you will begin to hear the roar of the waterfall, and hit the river itself. Follow the path by climbing up the rocks to the left, and head along the river towards the noise. Soon you will catch a glimpse of the powerful 20-metre fall tearing down from the slopes of Mount Rinjani and foaming into a pool. You can theoretically swim here, but the fall is a bit too strong. Instead, you can get behind the fall either by climbing up the rockfall to the right of the waterfall, or by entering the water and climbing up the slippery rocks behind the fall into the cave behind.

You can also take a look at the strong foaming rapids that course down from the waterfall into a series of blue waterholes. All in all, visiting Mangku Sakti Waterfall is a genuine adventure!

Viewpoints around Sembalun

Bukit Selong

You don’t have to go on epic adventures to see great sunsets and sunrises in Sembalun Village. One of the best points to do so is at Bukit Selong. It’s near the edge of the village area, only a short uphill hike, but it still gives wonderful views of the rice fields and a wide panorama of Sembalun itself. Following earthquake damage in the area, locals charge a small fee (5,000 Rupiah) to hike to this viewpoint.

Taman Wisata Pusuk

This viewpoint to the south of the village offers great vista views across the Sembalun valley, and for those with transport it’s the easiest to access of all, as it is found on the side of the mountain road, so you can drive to it. There is a small bamboo viewing platform where you can take photos.

The road to Taman Wisata Pusuk viewpoint winds through strawberry fields, and locals often sell their strawberries at the side of the road. If you manage to get chatting to them, you can sometimes arrange to go strawberry picking on their farms for a small fee of 30,000 Rupiah.

Pusuk Sembalun

Pusuk Sembalun Tourism Park is an area of land in the Sembalun valley set aside for visitors. One of its attractions is Beleq village (Bale Beleq), a genuine traditional village dating from the 14th century that has been deliberately left unmodernised in order to showcase traditional Sasak culture and way of life. It is believed (by the locals) to be the first village founded by the ancestors of the Sembalun people, who came from the medieval Majapahit Kingdom of Java.

Inside Bale Beleq are seven traditional houses, two Guling (places for storage) a hall called Berugaq Reban Bande for meetings and worship, and a stone called Pasek Gumi. The traditional houses are made of straw, with woven bamboo walls and clay floors. The inhabitants practice and demonstrate such traditional crafts as weaving and textile making.

Pusuk Sembalun Tourism Park is also home to a large number of monkeys. As a tourist park it has a car park, a camp site, toilets and food stalls. Entrance is 5,000 Rupiah, entrance to Beleq Village is 10,000 Rupiah.

Paragliding

The Sembalun Village area has just the right air circulation and thermal conditions for paragliding, so this is where the Lombok Paragliding company is based. They offer tandem flights with expert certified professional flyers who guarantee your safety. Particularly amazing is the Sunset Flight, where the views of Mount Rinjani and the surrounding area are stunning in the setting sunlight.

To book contact +62 877 55501355 or email paraglidelombok@gmail.com. The price for one flight is $75. The meeting point is at Lombok Green Nature Tour Office in Sembalun Village.

Ngayu-ayu

The Ngayu-ayu  ceremony is based around  a  legend  that  tells  that  in  ancient  times the only inhabitants of Sembalun  were  seven  pairs  of  husbands  and  wives  who  were  still primitive,  without  any  civilization – they wore no clothes and grew no crops. Two nobles then came to them, introduced the ideas of civilisation, and asked them if they would like to be civilised people who dressed as other people did, and if they would worship the God that created them. When the seven husbands and wives said yes, the two nobles gave them four gifts: customs as guidelines for a civilized way of life, the Quran for religion, red rice for food, and technology and weapons for farming and self-defense.

The two nobles warned them that in the future they would face three wars, but that they would help. The wars were the war against demons, the war of poisoned arrows, and the war of flags.

When the war against demons came, the people of Sembalun were helped by three further nobles, who defeated the demons by throwing diamonds three times. When the third throw was made, the demon army disappeared forever.

The three nobles then told the people that every three years they are to sacrifice a buffalo with decapitation as an expression of gratitude for the victory in the war.

That’s the story, and the actual ceremony and its rituals occur over two days.

On the first day, a procession collects water from the thirteen springs that are used by the people of Sembalun. There then follows the ceremony of Bija Tawar, to give protection to plant seeds, especially rice. The water from the springs is mixed with lime. It is then prayed over by a ritual leader to bless it, after which the water is distributed to the community, who splash it onto the rice that is due to be planted. This is followed by a reading from the Jatisware Lontar, a collection of ancient poems and stories written on palm leaves.

To conclude the first day of Ngayu-ayu, the sacred dance of Tandang Mendet is performed, with nine dancers, symbolizing the seven husband and wife pairs and the two nobles that helped them.

On the second day, people gather in a field south-west of the village, where a buffalo is slaughtered by decapitation. The buffalo’s head is then ritually buried in a ceremony called “Talet Otak Kao”, literally “buffalo head planting”. The belief is that planting the head will protect the village from disaster, especially from the eruption of Mount Rinjani. The buffalo meat is then cooked by local women to be eaten by the community together, in a feast called “Begibung”, meaning a meal in which all the food is served on one big plate.

This is followed by a ceremony called “Mapakin”, attended by the whole community. In this ritual, three traditional elders throw diamonds three times to commemorate the victory over the demons. With the first throw the first elder says “five”, referring to the perfection of the five daily prayers. With the second throw the second elder says “fifteen”, symbolising the perfection of the full moon. With the third throw the third elder says “twenty-five”, referring to the perfection of the teachings of the prophets, the divine teachings brought by 25 prophets and apostles.

This concludes the ceremony of Ngayu-ayu. The whole two day event can be witnessed and photographed by tourists in modern times.

 

The 2018 Lombok earthquake

Lombok and all of the Sunda islands lie on the subduction zone where the northward-moving Australian plate is disappearing below the Sunda plate, on which most of South-East Asia is located. This subduction is responsible for the creation of the Indonesian volcanic arc that includes Mount Rinjani, and it also makes the region vulnerable to earthquakes.

On Sunday, August the 5th 2018 a deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Lombok, killing at least 430 people and injuring more than 1,300 others. There were hundreds of powerful aftershocks, four of them major earthquakes in themselves, including a 5.9 magnitude one on August the 9th. A million people lived near the epicenter, Loloan Village in North Lombok, and hundreds of thousands of them were displaced and made homeless, ending up huddled together in large group tents without food, clean water or and medicines. 90% of Lombok’s buildings were damaged or destroyed, and emergency relief operations pulled large numbers of people from under the rubble. The island’s road network was severely damaged, significantly hampering the relief effort.

The economic impact was more than 5 trillion Rupiah – $185 million USD, mostly due to the need to rebuild shattered housing and infrastructure. Overall it was the biggest disaster to hit the region in modern history.

Economic activity in the region was paralysed for a significant time. Hiking on Mount Rinjani was closed, leaving the communities in Sembalun and Senaru that rely on income from tourism devastated. It took nearly two years to restore the region to normality – just in time for the Covid pandemic to hit, closing down tourism again.

Sasak Warriors Senaru

The Sasak Warriors community fundraising programme is a grassroots charitable initiative set up by Rinjani Dawn Adventures following the 2018 Lombok earthquakes. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the initiative provided food and water aid, house re-building and other support to villagers in Senaru.

Rinjani Dawn Adventures immediately set-about re-deploying all of their resources to helping affected people, raising money that was spent on the construction of a medical and logistics post, materials and labour for the construction of shelters, and the establishment of a local ambulance service.

The medical and logistics post was used by international doctors and aid groups, for both medical treatment and the distribution of food, blankets, tarpaulins and other essentials. The programme shared out many tonnes of rice as well as vegetables, soap, sanitary towels and other essential items.

One immediate problem was the drying up of Senaru’s water supply. The village is supplied by a pipe that comes from a catchment spring on Mount Rinjani, which was damaged in the earthquake. The Sasak Warriors programme converted a truck into a water tank for the village. When the water pipe was repaired, Rinjani Dawn Adventures further re-purposed the truck as an ambulance.

There is no home insurance in the Mount Rinjani communities, so when your house is destroyed it’s just gone. The Sasak Warriors volunteers helped rebuild the village housing and infrastructure,

In 2023, Rinjani Dawn Adventures expanded the Sasak Warriors programme to include two new initiatives. The first is raising money for a school bus. Local children walk long distances to go to school or simply don’t go to school at all. The second is and funding regular trash clean-ups on Mount Rinjani. Unlicenced cowboy operations offer cheap hiking tours but then use the mountain slopes as a dumping ground for rubbish.

Find out more about the programme and how you can help here.