Lombok and the Gili Islands

A green sea turtle gliding over shallow coral reef in clear blue water off the Gili Islands, sunlight rippling across its shell

Lombok sits thirty-five kilometres east of Bali across the Lombok Strait and could hardly be more different. It is Sasak and predominantly Muslim rather than Balinese Hindu, it is drier and less developed, and it holds two things Bali does not: Mount Rinjani, an active 3,726-metre volcano with a crater lake inside it, and a southern coastline of white-sand bays that are genuinely among the best in Indonesia. Off the north-west corner lie the three Gili Islands — Trawangan, Meno and Air — where there are no cars, no motorbikes and no dogs, and where you get around by bicycle or horse cart. Together they are the most straightforward escape from Bali's crowds available.

A green sea turtle over coral reef in clear water off the Gili Islands — Green turtles on the Gili reefs — reliable, and snorkelable from the beach.

Pale rose-coloured sand meeting turquoise water on a quiet tropical beach backed by dry hills — Pink Beach on Lombok's south-east coast — coral fragments in white sand.

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All Lombok and the Gili Islands Guides

17 in-depth guides to Lombok and the Gili Islands — food, nightlife, beaches, transport, money and the practical detail that is hard to find.

Lombok and the Gili Islands

All Lombok and the Gili Islands Guides

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