Lombok

Lombok is a beach island with two quite different shores. Off the northwest coast, the three Gili Islands are ringed by pale sand and clear, shallow water at around 28°C all year. Gili Trawangan has the liveliest beachfront, Gili Meno the quietest, and Gili Air sits between the two. Turtles feed on the reefs a few metres offshore, so snorkelling from the beach is part of an ordinary day.

The south coast around Kuta has wide bays set between green headlands: Tanjung Aan, Selong Belanak, Mawun and Mawi, many of them almost empty. Selong Belanak and Mawun are sheltered enough for easy swimming, but others take heavy Indian Ocean swell and suit surfers better than swimmers. The far southwest, near Sekotong, has a smaller group of islands with very clear water and few visitors. The dry season, roughly May to October, brings the calmest seas and clearest water.

Sasak food is hot, and it is the reason to eat locally. Ayam taliwang is a small chicken grilled with chilli paste. Plecing kangkung is water spinach under a fierce tomato sambal, and sate rembiga is sweet-spicy beef skewers from the Mataram suburb that gave it its name. Simple warung and the night markets in Mataram and Cakranegara are where these taste best, along with nasi campur from roadside stalls.

On the Gilis and in Kuta the food is mostly a familiar travellers' mix of fresh fish barbecues on the sand, smoothie bowls, pizza and Indonesian staples, done reasonably well, but there is no fine-dining tier. Lombok is a largely Muslim island, so alcohol is easy to find in the tourist areas and rare elsewhere.

Lombok's heritage is modest and spread out, and it is a side interest rather than a reason to come. Around Mataram, the 18th- and 19th-century Balinese rulers left Pura Meru, the Mayura water palace with its pavilion in a lotus pond, and the terraced gardens of Narmada. At Lingsar, one temple compound serves both Hindu and Wetu Telu Muslim worshippers, a rare sign of the island's layered faiths.

The Sasak side shows in the traditional villages of Sade and Ende, with thatched houses and floors made of buffalo dung, set up to receive visitors, and in the thatched old mosque at Bayan on the slopes of Rinjani. The large Islamic Centre mosque in Mataram is the city's modern landmark. Half a day or a day covers most of it.

Going out on Lombok means Gili Trawangan. The east-side strip of the island has beach bars, reggae shacks and a weekly rotation of party nights that moves from venue to venue, so there is somewhere loud most evenings, running late into the night. It is a young, barefoot, backpacker crowd, and the island is small enough to walk or cycle home.

Kuta on the south coast has a smaller surfers' bar scene with a few livelier nights a week. Gili Air keeps to sunset drinks and acoustic sets, and Gili Meno and the rest of the island go quiet after dinner. Away from the tourist areas, Lombok is conservative and largely alcohol-free, and nightlife effectively does not exist.

Mount Rinjani dominates the island. At 3,726m it is one of Indonesia's highest volcanoes, and its caldera holds the crescent-shaped lake of Segara Anak, with a young cone smoking in its middle. The classic trek from Senaru or Sembalun takes two to four days, with nights camped on the crater rim. The trails close during the wet season, roughly January to March. For something shorter, the rainforest falls at Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep near Senaru make a good half-day, and the high Sembalun valley is a fine area for gentle walking.

The water is the other half. Desert Point in the southwest is one of the world's best-known left-hand breaks for surfers, and the bays around Gerupuk and Ekas suit every level. Divers and snorkellers find turtles, reef sharks and coral walls around the Gilis.

From a mainland base, the Gili Islands are the obvious outing, a short boat ride from Bangsal or Teluk Nare. It is easy to spend a day on one of the three and come back in the late afternoon. In the southwest, boats from Sekotong go to small islands such as Gili Nanggu and Gili Kedis.

Inland, a day can string together Mataram and its temples with Sukarara for weaving, Banyumulek for pottery and a traditional Sasak village. Beyond that the choice thins. Fast boats to Bali take about two hours, which is long for a day trip, and the neighbouring island of Sumbawa is a ferry ride away and better suited to a longer journey.

Lombok works best for families who want a simple beach vacation. Gili Air and Gili Meno are the places to stay: there are no cars or motorbikes, only bicycles and horse carts, the water is shallow and calm on the sheltered sides, and children can see turtles while snorkelling just off the beach. Indonesians are warm towards children everywhere on the island.

There is nothing purpose-built for children, though, so no zoos, theme parks or museums made for them. Many south-coast beaches have surf and currents too strong for young swimmers, and good medical care means a trip to Mataram or Bali. The boat transfers and winding roads make moving bases tiring with small children.

Lombok has no public transport a visitor would use. People get about with hired drivers, taxis from the airport, scooters, and the shuttles run by travel agents. The main roads are in reasonable condition, and the drive from the airport to Kuta is quick. Reaching Senaru or Sembalun for Rinjani means slow, winding mountain roads, and the far southwest is a long haul.

The Gilis are a different world. There are no motor vehicles, so people walk, cycle or take horse carts, and each island can be crossed in under an hour on foot. Getting there means a boat from Bangsal or Teluk Nare, and moving between the three islands relies on public and island-hopping boats. Rough seas sometimes disrupt the crossings.

Shopping on Lombok is about a handful of crafts bought where they are made. Sukarara and Pringgasela are the weaving villages, known for handwoven songket and ikat. Banyumulek and Penujak make terracotta pottery, and the Sekarbela district of Mataram has workshops selling the island's cultured pearls. Rattan and ketak baskets turn up across the island.

Apart from these, there are a couple of modest malls in Mataram and stalls of sarongs, surfwear and souvenirs on the Gilis and in Kuta. Nobody comes to the island to shop.

Lombok is a cheap island to travel. Local food from warung and night markets, simple guesthouses and bungalows, scooter hire and hired drivers all cost little by Western standards, and the south coast and the Rinjani villages are especially easy on a budget.

The Gilis cost more, because everything has to come over by boat, and the same goes for the clifftop villas and resorts on the south coast. Alcohol is relatively expensive everywhere, as are diving courses and guided Rinjani treks, though these are still reasonable for what they offer.

There is little to attend. Sasak traditions do exist. Gendang beleq is a performance by large drum ensembles, and peresean is a ritual stick fight with rattan staves and buffalo-hide shields. Both are performed at weddings, village festivals and occasionally for visitors in Sade or at cultural events in Mataram. The Bau Nyale festival on the south coast, when crowds gather on the beaches to catch sea worms, comes with music and dance each February or March.

Otherwise, live music means acoustic and reggae bands in Gili and Kuta bars, and there is no theatre or concert life to speak of.

Lombok is restful mainly because of its pace. Gili Air and Gili Meno are the places for it: no engines, sandy lanes, hammocks over the water and little to do after dark. There are yoga classes and small retreats on Gili Air and around the south coast, and simple massage parlours offering Balinese-style and Indonesian massage on all three Gilis and in Kuta.

The island has no bathing culture of its own, though. The hot springs inside Rinjani's crater and in the Sembalun area are rewards for trekkers rather than places to linger, and serious spa treatments are confined to the larger resorts on the south coast and around Senggigi.