Bali's wilder sibling — Rinjani volcano, Gili Islands, and Sasak culture
Lombok is the island east of Bali in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province — a destination that has quietly outpaced its famous neighbour in raw natural drama. Mount Rinjani (3,726m), Indonesia's second tallest volcano with a caldera lake inside its rim, is one of the country's great trekking destinations. The three Gili Islands (Trawangan, Air, Meno) off the northwest coast offer the finest snorkelling and diving in Indonesian waters without Bali's crowds.
Lombok was historically divided between the Hindu Balinese kingdom in the west and the Islamic Sasak people in the east — the Sasak, whose distinct Waktu Telu belief system blends Islam with animist traditions, remain the island's indigenous majority. Lombok came under Dutch control in 1894 after the Lombok War ended Balinese dominance. Tourism arrived in the 1980s, but unlike Bali, the island retained its predominantly rural, conservative Sasak character outside the resort zones.