People & Religion

The local inhabitants of Lombok are called Sasaks. They speak Indonesian as well as their local Sasak language. The other main ethnicity’s include Balinese, Chinese, Arabian, and Javanese. Lombok has three main districts with three capital cities: Mataram in the west, Praya in central and Selong in east Lombok. The majority of commerce is in the capital city of Mataram in west Lombok. The majority of the population on Lombok are Muslims. Every Friday around 12.30 noon, Muslims go to the mosques just like Christians go to church on Sunday. Therefore, on that day most businesses and government offices are closed half day and then re-open again after praying (not including Senggigi).

If you are planning on traveling around the island and visiting small villages it is more respectable to wear slacks or knee length shorts, a shirt with sleeves or a sarong. If you happened to be here during Ramadhan, which is the Muslim month of fasting from sunrise to sunset, please do not to eat, drink or smoke out in the open public during this month long fast. Even though the people don’t seem bothered in the common tourist areas like, Senggigi and the Gili islands, it is better to respect the people and not eat or smoke openly.

The Gili Islands is a popular destination in Indonesia. Gili Islands located in the north west of Lombok, featuring three small, coral fringed islands; Gili Air, Gili Meno & Gili Trawangan  each with superb, white sandy beaches, clear water, coral reefs, brilliantly coloured fish and the best snorkeling on Lombok. Visitors, especially young European are attracted to the simple pleasures of sun, snorkeling, beautiful beaches, and socializing. The absence of cars, motorcycles, and hawkers adds greatly to the leasure of staying on the Gilis. "Gili islands" is not the local name. Gili actually means small island and there are lots of other gili's around Lombok.

Mount Rinjani, the highest mountain in this island (3,736 m), is visible from Bali island. From the top you can see all of Lombok, Bali and Sumba Islands. Senggigi beach offers you a virgin beach with great waves for suffers while Gili isles are well known for their "underwater colorful world", and is one of the best snorkeling places on this island.  

Access to Lombok from Bali has become easier and faster in recent years. You can enjoy a sightseeing adventure by sea when you choose to visit Lombok by high-speed ferry. Or you can catch a 20 minutes flight from Ngurah Rai airport to Selaparang Airport.