Trekking Rinjani in Lombok - a guide

An ancient volcanic crater, stoic dramatic peak, vibrant turquoise lake, ominously steaming volcanoes with uniquely spectacular panoramic views; this is Mount Rinjani. Towering above the peaceful island of Lombok, Rinjani sits at over 3700 meters tall and is the soul of this beautiful island. Due to its incredible vistas and heritage, the challenge of summiting has been embraced with massive enthusiasm by the Indonesian people and many travellers from around the world.

In 2018, Lombok was rocked by a massive earthquake that many may remember seeing on the news. Videos of helicopter evacuations as hundreds of trekkers were trapped on the volcanic complex and horrible scenes of buildings reduced to rubble. Over 500 people were killed in Lombok and the landscape of Rinjani, and the valleys below, were changed forever. After 2 years of hard work and perseverance Rinjani was soon to be ready for welcoming trekkers back providing a much-needed economic boost to the region, though it was not to be. Strict border closures and lockdowns meant no tourism or trekkers to Lombok for a further 2 years. But now, after 4 years of devastation and destruction, the legendary volcano Rinjani is once again open for business.

Trekking Rinjani is the most popular multi day trek in Indonesia for good reason. Despite some sections being extraordinarily difficult, for the most part it is achievable to just about anyone with enough determination and resilience. That determination will be paid in dividends by the dream like vistas from the summit and throughout the trek. Trekking Rinjani is truly something that should at the top of any adventures list of things to do in Indonesia. Most international trekkers will attempt either a 3 day or 4 day trek which can either be started from Senaru or Sembalun sides. The latter Sembalun being far and away the more trafficked side as it is the shortest route for 1 night summit returns (the most popular trek for Indonesian locals). Whichever side you choose will not change what you see as most treks will start one side and finish the other, but it will change how your days are broken up. If you start from Senaru for a 3 day trek day 1 will be exhausting but day 2 (summit day) will be relatively relaxed after summiting before a very hard day 3. whilst starting from the sembalun side your first day will be hard but nothing compared to Senaru but day 2 will break even the fittest of trekkers, with over 16 hours of trekking including a summit, day 3 though is a breeze. I chose to do the Sembalun side (without doing too much research) for 3 days and in hindsight I would have loved to have added a day and done a 4 day trek, but whichever trek you choose just be prepared to keep moving one foot after the other, “plan, plan” or “slowly, slowly”.

Day 1

My day begins in Senaru where I dropped of some excess baggage, met the team and had some delicious banana pancakes. Shortly after arriving we were off towards Sembalun to undergo a medical exam and to check in at the park's office. the medical exam was not mentioned anywhere but it is a simple blood pressure and heart rate test and it cost about 50 000 Rp.

It was about 9:30 before we actually started trekking and by that point the sun was already beating down upon us turning my shirt a much darker and wetter shade of blue. The first few hours of the day are fairly unremarkable as we trekked along fairly easy terrain whilst dodging the seemingly endless stream of motorbikes. The local farmers are allowed to use this first part of the track to get to and from the farming fields, but most of them mainly act as transport or motorised porters for the first section of the path, ferrying people and bags for a reasonable fee. Whilst this was interesting to see it definitely distracted from the challenge at hand and I can’t imagine how people who opted to pay for ride would fair when things were to get 10x more difficult. Once reaching post 2 which is the highest point the motorbikes can get to and where the proper trek begins, we had a very lovely lunch as monkeys ran in and out of camp trying to grab whatever food they could, this would become a very common theme.

Once leaving camp the terrain got significantly more difficult but in turn the views became significantly more dramatic. The bland farm pastures and grassland is traded in for volcanic riverbeds full of black sand and beautiful pine trees that emerge in and out of fog so quickly in the ever changing weather.

The path continually got steeper and steeper as we move upwards towards the crater rim, many more monkeys lined the way and many a porter charged up past us carrying 40+ kilograms over their shoulder with one hand, and a cigarette in the other, dancing upwards in just flip flops. Whilst I felt our pace was alright it was 5pm by the time we reached the crater rim, arriving in a sea of tents that all of the porters had a rushed ahead to assembled we found ours had dinner and watched the sunset as the temperature plummeted, which for me who decided to pack an extra lens over a jumper made for a rather unpleasant night's sleep.

Day 2

Saying “day” is a bit misleading as our summit assault commenced at 2 am giving us 4 hours to reach the summit for sunrise. Lit only by our head torches and the all too frequent cracks of lightning we scrambled uphill through the volcanic sands with every 2 steps forward equalling one back.

After the first hour of difficult scrambling up steep soft terrain with the occasional questionable ladder we reached the ridgeline, the final path to lead up to the summit. Though the walking became easier we were met with precarious drops of the edge as our path winds its way up the skinny ridgeline through the darkness (apparently the route was much wider here before the earthquakes and subsequent landslides). It's extremely difficult to gauge how far the summit is as I trudge slowly towards a shadowed peak, passing Indonesians huddled in a ball for warmth as they refuel with a cigarette. Once we were nearing our physical and mental breaking point that is when the last push begins, in theory it’s a 1 hour slog up the steepest sand dune one could imagine at the same time being skirted by terrifying drops lining the side of the path. As we weave our way up past people who had thrown in the towel or just laid down in the middle of path as if they were one of the “bodies of Everest”, the sky began to glow red and finally we could see that we were close.

Buoyed by a clear site of the summit the final section began to feel easy, maybe it was more of a mental battle, mustering the energy and undergoing a final push we reached the summit found a place to sit and waited for the sun to rise over Sumbawa Island.

The scenes at the top as all the trekkers arrive is a diverse affair from tears to laughter to screams and of course cigarettes. The path down was much easier, taking in the sites that we had marched past in the dark and noting how sketchy some bits really were, we cruised back down to camp in half the time. Though no rest for the weary, after a quick breakfast and a brief laydown we were informed that we still had a further 10 hours of trekking ahead of us if we were to reach our campsite but sunset. After a rather poor decision to share in some celebratory rice wine with the porters we started to head down into the crater and towards the crater lake. The steep difficult terrain as we descend inside the crater is hell on our already exhausted legs, but thankfully after an hour or so it gives way to a gradual rolling path towards the lake. Local fisherman line the fringes of the lake, many fishing with whatever stick they could find on the way up, though the success rate of even this set up was staggering.

A quick lunch and a brief dip was all the time we could afford as it was time to head up the other side of the crater, if there is any part of the trek I wish I knew more about it would've definitely been this. The path up towards the Senaru crater had been completely destroyed during the earthquakes in 2018, and the new path that had been “constructed” in the subsequent 4 years was questionable to say the least. Sections of rock climbing where falls would certainly result in death, or steels stairs bolted to rocks that had already seen the bases rust away. Finishing in the dark again lit by our headtorches its needless to say that it was an exhausting and intense day, but as we sat around a fire once again perched on the rim of the monstrous volcanic crater it was one I'll never forget.

Day 3

Our final batch of banana pancakes are scoffed down as the sun rises behind Rinjani’s peak, seeming a world away across the other side of the crater. Whilst my weary legs are crying out for some rest there is still more to be done, as we set off down towards Senaru. The path begins by following the lines of old lava flows, as we travel down towards the rainforest below.

Day 3 is downhill 99% of the way, most of which we found ourselves in the shade of the rainforest canopy, the sounds of the rainforest came alive with many a bird's tweet or a monkey's screech piercing its way through the dense foliage. Continuing down we pass many trekkers on their way up with seemingly no idea for what they are in store for, but with few words of encouragement from yours truly and I am sure they’ll be just fine. Our peaceful walk is disturbed by loud crashing above in the trees, as we are lucky to spot the rare Ebony Lutung, huge black monkeys throwing themselves between the trees and staring menacingly down at their potential attackers. After around 6 hours of trekking through the rainforest we emerged on the outskirts of Senaru and finally we can rest.

Despite the pain and soreness, lack of sleep and complete exhaustion trekking Rinjani is a true highlight of my life and something I'm very proud of. whilst there were moments where I wish I could just lay down and sleep (like many do on the summit trail), persevering through and completing this arduous task has filled me with great satisfaction. My biggest recommendation to anyone who reads this and is contemplating the idea of trekking Rinjani themselves, just do 4 days, you’ll enjoy it so much more and the second day won't be a body breaking hell that it was for me.

I must add if you do have the time how much I highly recommend spending a few nights in the town of Senaru, it has certainly been one of the highlights of my entire Indonesian adventure as the people, food and sights are just amazing. We spent 3 nights after our trek originally planning just to relax and maybe see some waterfalls but we were quickly welcomed like family into the community and spent most of our time visiting people's homes and drinking with their friends and family. I could not recommend Senaru enough.

I must recommend Tiu Kelep Homestay as where to stay in Senaru, not only is it extremely affordable but the owner Mr. Abul is one of nicest and kindest people I have ever had the privilege of meeting.