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Mount Rinjani National Park Lombok
National Geographic World Tourism
Award in 2004 A first for Indonesia
Rinjani National Park
The
National Park extends over an area of 41,330 ha. with
the surrounding protected forest covering 51.500ha.
Community base activities are conducted in conjunction
with the Rinjani Trek Center in Senaru. Mount Rinjani
and Lake Segara Anak located in the north of Lombok 85
kilometers from Mataram, Mount Rinjani is the second
highest peak in Indonesia standing at majestic 3726m.
For
the people of Lombok Sasak and Balinese alike, treat
this mountain as a sacred place, they consider the Gods
live at the summit of the mountain.
One of
the large craters called lake Segara Anak located at
2000 meters above sea level
is the destination of thousand pilgrims who place
offering in the water and take bathe to take away
disease in the hot spring. The endemic duck Belibis is
found here and several species of fish are recorded. Mt.
Rinjani, one of the over 40 National Parks throughout
Indonesia, was established in 1997. This
magnificent crater lake now holds a new and active
volcano, Mt. Baru Jari which appeared this country. on
The north side of the lake is a hot spring ( one of 4
Segara Anak hot springs found there) which is said to
cure disease.
It is truly an
unforgettable experience to climb such an impressive
Mountain as Rinjani and the 2 trek trail expedition (
Senaru and Sembalun) that are offered and the
spectacular scenery were contributing factors to
Rinjani National Park winning the National Geographic
World Tourism Award in 2004.
Over 20 villages surround
Rinjani and there are many routes up the mountain, but
the main access is from Senaru in the north and Sembalun
Lawang to the east. The challenging three - day Rinjani
trek route from Senaru to crater rim (Pelawangan), down
to the stunning crater lake then on to Sembalun Lawang,
is considered one of the best treks in South East Asia.
Those heading for the summit usually prefer to start in
Sembalun Lawang.
A model for ecotourism in
Indonesia, the community - based activities are focused on
the Rinjani Trek Centre in Senaru, the most popular
starting point for the tough trek. Developed with New Zealand
Government assistant since 1999, the Rinjani Trek Centre
embodies under one roof (satu atap) the unique partnership of
the National park, Tourism industry and local communities that
has been forgot to manage and protect the Rinjani mountain
environment.
volcanic cone which has formed in the
center.
Rinjani last erupted in 1994, and evidence of this can be seen
in the fresh lava and yellow
sulfur around the inner cone. Central Lombok, to the south of
Rinjani, is similar to Bali with rich alluvial plains and
fields irrigated by water flowing from the mountains. In the
far south and east it is drier, with scrubby, barren hills.
This area gets little rain and often has droughts which can
last for months. In recent years, several dams have been
built, so the abundant rain-fall of the wet season can be
retained for irrigation throughout the year.
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