Mount Rinjani Trek on Lombok: Our Honest Hiking Experience

General Info About the Rinjani Volcano

The Rinjani Volcano reaches its highest point at 3,726 meters — this summit is Mount Rinjani, which you climb on the trekking tours. It’s the second-highest mountain in Indonesia.

An eruption in the 13th century created the crater lake inside the volcano, which is now a popular photo spot. This is also where the so-called baby volcano stands: Mount Barujari.

Rinjani is an active volcano. When it erupts, it usually does so through the baby volcano. Compared to other volcanoes in Indonesia, though, this happens only rarely.

Location of the Rinjani Volcano

Mount Rinjani National Park is located in the north of Lombok. It’s the highest peak on the island and one of the top attractions in Indonesia.

There are three hiking trails to Mount Rinjani — from Sembalun, Senaru, and Torean. However, almost all tours start the hike in Sembalun.

Mount Rinjani on a Map

Tours to the Rinjani Volcano

As mentioned, you have to do the Mount Rinjani trek with a guide — solo hiking isn’t allowed.

Keep in mind that the trail is difficult and strenuous, and you should have some hiking experience before attempting it.

You can choose the length of the hike:

• 2 Days/1 Night Rinjani Tour: You start in Sembalun, spend one night at the crater rim, and on the second day hike to the summit and back down to the village.
• 3 Days/2 Nights Rinjani: The tours begin like the two-day option. After reaching the summit, however, you continue on to the crater lake and the hot springs, and only descend to Senaru on day three.

There are also 4-day tours to the Rinjani Volcano for those who can’t get enough of nature and mountains. This option is less common, though, and isn’t offered everywhere.

Info: Day tours into Mount Rinjani National Park are also available on Lombok. On those, however, you won’t be doing a trekking tour — instead you’ll explore other parts of the national park.

2 Days/1 Night Rinjani Hike

We recommend the two-day tour if you don’t have much time and reaching the summit is the main goal for you.

Here are the key stats for the hike at a glance:

Day 1

• Distance: approximately 9 kilometers
• Duration: 5–8 hours
• Ascent: 1,500 meters

Day 2

• Distance: approximately 16 kilometers
• Duration: 6–10 hours
• Ascent: 1,100 meters
• Descent: 2,600 meters

Prices for the Rinjani tours vary from one operator to the next. You’ll usually pay between 2,500,000 – 3,000,000 IDR (150–180 euros) for a small group tour. We paid 155 euros.

Private tours are a bit more expensive.

Book the 2-Day Tour to the Rinjani Volcano

3 Days/2 Nights Rinjani Hike

If you have three days, enjoy camping, and love being out in nature, the three-day tour is the better option for you.

Day 1

• Distance: approximately 9 kilometers
• Duration: 5–8 hours
• Ascent: 1,500 meters

Day 2

• Distance: approximately 12 kilometers
• Duration: 6–10 hours
• Ascent: 1,700 meters
• Descent: 1,700 meters

Day 3

• Distance: approximately 9 kilometers
• Duration: 3–6 hours
• Descent: 2,000 meters

Book the 3-Day Tour to the Rinjani Volcano

Prices for the Mount Rinjani trek vary here as well. Budget around 3,200,000 – 4,000,000 IDR (190 to 240 euros) for a small group tour.

What's Included in the Tours?

The Rinjani tours normally include everything you need. What’s included and what isn’t varies a little depending on the operator, so it’s worth checking beforehand.

Here’s what was included for us:

• Camping equipment (tent, sleeping pad, pillow, camping chair and table)
• Meals, soft drinks, and snacks (more than enough)
• Water (3 liters per day)
• Guide and porters (the porters carry your equipment to the camp)
• Thick jacket, rain poncho, gloves, and headlamp (often not included)
• One night at a homestay before the hike
• Transfer to the start of the hike
• National park entrance ticket

What we had to pay extra for:

• Transfer to the homestay in Senaru
• Tips for the guide and porters

What We Brought Ourselves

You have to carry your personal items like clothes yourself. We only brought a small backpack — and we’d strongly recommend doing the same, because the less weight you’re carrying, the easier the hike.

Here’s what we had in our backpack on the two-day tour:

• 2x change of underwear + socks
• 2x change of shirts
• Long pants
• Shorts
• Thick jacket
• Thick sweater
• Rain poncho
• Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, sunscreen, deodorant)
• Sunglasses
• Headband
• Flip-flops

What we wore on Day 1:

• Shorts
• Hiking shirt
• Sneakers (hiking boots are better, but you can manage without them if needed)

Note: Water is included in the tours, but we always carried 1.5 liters ourselves so we’d have enough along the way. Make sure to leave room in your backpack for that.

Our Experience Hiking the Rinjani Volcano

We’ll walk you through our experience on the Mount Rinjani trek from start to finish. We booked the hike fairly spontaneously through the Ila Homestay in Senaru.

Since we were traveling during the off-season (early November), we were able to book last minute. There are a limited number of tickets for the Rinjani hike, so during peak season (June–September) you should book a few days in advance.

We went with the two-day hike — mainly because quite a bit of rain was forecast for early November and we didn’t want to spend that long in the mountains.

Our costs: 2,600,000 IDR (approximately 155 euros)

Getting to Senaru

On the day of the hike, we arranged a transfer to Senaru through our accommodation. It cost 400,000 IDR (approximately 25 euros).

Our tip: If you’re also staying in Senaru, head to the village early in the morning — there are two beautiful waterfalls nearby that are well worth a hike.

We can highly recommend the Ila Homestay — it’s super affordable, the rooms are large and clean, and the hosts are genuinely warm and welcoming. The food is delicious too — definitely try the Urap Urap.

Day 1: The Morning of the Rinjani Hike

At 6 AM we had breakfast at our homestay, and half an hour later we were driven to Sembalun. The drive took one hour.

In Sembalun we had to complete a quick health check (blood pressure and temperature measurements). We then registered at a nearby counter for Mount Rinjani National Park.

Once the formalities were done, we were driven ten minutes to the start of the trail and met our guide there.

At 8:30 AM we set off. The first part of the hike goes moderately uphill and is easy to manage.

At 10 AM we took a longer break at “Position 2.”

Here our porters served us a big, delicious lunch — though honestly, it was way too much food for that time of day.

We were also pretty shocked by the amount of trash strewn all over Position 2.

Day 1: The Ascent

From Position 2 onward, the hiking mount rinjani experience got noticeably harder. We still had over 1,000 meters of elevation to climb. The trail first went largely over rocks and boulders, passing two more stops — Position 3 and 4.

Other hikers and porters occasionally passed us going the other way, but most of the time we were alone on the trail — the various groups going up and down spread out well.

From Position 4 onward it got really steep and grueling. Unfortunately, it started to rain at this point. Wrapped up in our rain gear, we trudged up the final hour in the downpour.

By 1 PM we had already reached the base camp at the crater rim — but we had no view, as it was still raining. Since we’d moved at a pretty fast pace, we had to wait for our tents to be set up.

Luckily, we were allowed to wait in the dry tent of the only “shop” at the camp.

Day 1: The Afternoon at the Campsite

In the afternoon the rain stopped and our tents were ready. We got fried bananas as a snack and then just soaked in the views of the crater rim and relaxed.

We were a bit taken aback to find that the campsite was completely littered with trash. On top of that, it smelled unpleasant in many spots.

Every group at the campsite has toilet tents where the porters dig holes. Often these aren’t covered up afterward — which means you have to watch where you step.

At sunset — which was simply magical — we were served dinner. The porters had even carried camping chairs and tables all the way up the mountain!

When it got dark, we disappeared into our tent pretty quickly. After all, we had to be up at 2 AM the next morning.

Day 2: The Ascent to the Summit

At 2 AM we received hot coffee and a sandwich in our tent. It was still too cold to eat outside at that hour — but inside the tent we hadn’t frozen during the night.

Half an hour later, bundled up and with headlamps on our heads, we set off. Since all the groups head out at roughly the same time, the trail was quite busy.

After a few minutes on solid ground, the path turned almost entirely to sand and went steeply uphill. This section was seriously tough going.

After that, the trail gets a bit easier for a stretch — not quite as steep or sandy.

Along the way we took regular short drink and snack breaks — our guide had an endless supply of chocolate bars.

And then came the section we had been dreading most: the final stretch to the summit. It’s steep, sandy, and you slide back down a little with every step. Add to that the thin air at over 3,000 meters.

But we made it! About half an hour before sunrise — around 5 AM — we reached the summit.

Day 2: Sunrise and Descent to Base Camp

It was cold at the top, but without any icy wind we were able to comfortably wait the half hour until sunrise. The light is already beautiful beforehand, and we took loads of great photos.

For the actual sunrise we moved over to the small secondary summit right next to the main one, since it got really crowded on the main summit. Shortly after, we headed back down — or rather, mostly slid down through the sand.

The descent puts a lot of strain on your knees, but you make fast progress since you slide through the sand more than you actually take steps. It only took us just over an hour.

Around 7 AM we were back at base camp and had a big breakfast. Our knees were already really hurting from the steep descent, and we were dreading the trail down to Sembalun.

Day 2: Descent to Sembalun

After breakfast we took a short break, packed up our things, and then headed down. The first part of the descent was tough and took its toll — steep and covered in loose scree. We had to be very careful not to slip.

We were all the more relieved when Position 4 came into view, because from there the trail got easier — though no less tedious. By this point all we wanted was a hot shower.

But the trail dragged on, and when we stopped for a lunch break at Position 2 around 10 AM, our morale was at rock bottom. We weren’t even close to hungry and just wanted to be done.

So we quickly forced down the spaghetti and set off on the final stretch. By then the sun had started blazing again and it was seriously hot.

We couldn’t have been happier when we finally made it back to the parking lot and our driver was already waiting to take us back to the homestay.

Our Verdict on the Rinjani Hike

Overall, the Mount Rinjani trek was the absolute highlight of our time on Lombok. The views are incredible and the experience is truly one of a kind.

Even the combination of physical effort, sweating, rain, sand, and being dirty somehow felt like part of the deal.

Our guide, the food, and the equipment were all great, and we can wholeheartedly recommend booking through the Ila Homestay.

What we didn’t love were the meal times — there was usually too much food served too early. We would have appreciated more flexibility there, since we almost never managed to finish everything.

Honestly, we also would have preferred a little less luxury. At times we genuinely felt bad seeing the porters carry so much weight for things we didn’t even need (a full fruit platter after lunch, for example).

But those are just a few minor things we’d have done differently. Otherwise, every cent spent on the Rinjani hike was absolutely worth it!

Frequently Asked Questions About Mount Rinjani on Lombok