Mount Rinjani Volcano - Where to Buy a Tour, What to Bring, How to Reach the Summit

How and Why to Climb Rinjani

The main attraction of Lombok Island is Mount Rinjani, which is also a volcano and the location of a huge volcanic lake, Segara Anak. Trekking tours to its summit or around the crater are very popular, and in our opinion, this is the main reason to visit Lombok (the Gili Islands don't count, that's another story). We visited Rinjani and reached its very summit, and in this guide we will tell you everything in detail and reliably about how to do this trek and all you need to know.

We should immediately warn seasoned travelers eager to conquer the peak independently: it is categorically not advisable to do this on your own. Although the ascent of Rinjani is quite gentle and does not require special training, it is far from climbing a five-hundred-meter hill. The summit height is 3726 meters, with an elevation gain of over 2700 meters, which means you cannot climb without an overnight stay in an intermediate assault camp. This requires camping equipment, food, water, etc. Plus, you'll need to solve logistical issues (where to stay before/after the trek, how to get to the park office for a permit and to the starting point of the route), obtaining a permit to enter Mount Rinjani National Park, and many other questions.

This is why ready-made trekking tours with guides and porters lasting from one to four days with various programs are widely offered on Lombok, Bali, and the Gili Islands. The trek programs vary, from the simplest ones climbing to the crater rim at 2700 meters to enjoy the views, to ascending the 3726-meter summit and passing through the crater lake, waterfalls, hot springs, etc.

In a tour, besides a guide and porters, you'll get a tent, sleeping bags, food, and water; sometimes accommodation in a hotel before the tour and transfers from Lombok resorts are included. All you'll need to do is bring warm clothes, good footwear, trekking poles, and other personal items. But it's not all that simple with these programs, so read everything carefully below to avoid making a mistake.

Where to Buy Tours

• At Local Travel Agencies

  At travel agencies in Lombok resorts (Senggigi, Kuta) and on the Gilis, tours to Rinjani National Park are one of their signature offerings, practically the first thing offered to tourists. Usually, the tour cost includes transfer from your accommodation to a hotel in Senaru or Sembalun Lawang village, from where the guides will pick you up and return you to the same place or another agreed location.

  Another option is to independently arrive in Senaru or Sembalun Lawang village, check into a hotel or guesthouse, and then walk/drive around the streets – you'll find plenty of offers. There are many signs offering trekking, and it's even offered in hotels, so this is a viable option. However, the downside is that there's a chance spots won't be available, including for entry into the National Park. At least, as local guides say, entry permits to the National Park are limited, and it's better to arrange them at least a few days before the tour. Also, it's difficult to compare prices and choose, unlike on online websites.

  You can also buy tours on Bali, but they are not available in all street agencies; you'll have to look around. If you buy a tour on Bali, options with transfers are possible, and all this is discussed individually:

  • Buy with a full transfer from your hotel on Bali and back.
  • It will be cheaper if you get to the village hotel yourself by ferry, plane, taxi, or rented transport, or get to the port or airport on Lombok, and the tour's transfer will pick you up from there and take you to the village hotel.

• Online and Through Websites

  Rinjani tours are widely offered on excursion aggregator websites, and there are also many official websites and contacts of local travel agencies that organize everything. Prices there are quite competitive; we checked and compared them with on-site prices (in Senggigi) and found that you can even buy cheaper on websites.

  Unfortunately, there is a problem with paying for bookings with Russian cards not being possible everywhere. Here's where you can look for tours:

  • Trip.com - many excursions, accepts Russian cards, including Mir.
  • Tripster - excursions with Russian-speaking guides, but at the time of our trek there were no Rinjani options; check additionally.
  • Sputnik8 excursions with Russian-speaking guides, but at the time of our trek there were no Rinjani options; check additionally.
  • Travala.com - an advanced tourism site with direct cryptocurrency payment, suitable for advanced users, but works in Russia only via VPN or FakeGeoPosition.
  • Getyourguide.ru - an old reliable site, has low prices for Rinjani and even Russian language interface, but does not accept Russian cards.
  • Klook.com - also a good aggregator, has low prices for Rinjani and even Russian language interface, but does not accept Russian cards.

  Finally, you can find websites of local agencies directly through Google/Yandex searches for queries like "Rinjani trekking tour," and you'll get many agency sites with prices and contacts. You can also search for agencies on Google Maps, where you can also read reviews. Then you contact the agency, agree on booking and payment methods individually. That's roughly what we did; we'll tell you more about it below.

• Through Telegram Chats

  On Telegram, there are many Bali-related chats where, in addition to tourist discussions, excursions in Russian are offered and advertised. But since Rinjani is a specific and not mass-market destination, groups here are formed individually. Initially, we tried to find out the price for joining a group tour and get any information but only received promises that everything would be arranged, with no further progress. Moreover, no one even gave us an approximate participation price.

  You might have a different experience, but for now, we cannot recommend this method of booking tours. If we had relied only on promises from Russian-speaking guides from a chat, we simply wouldn't have made it to Rinjani or would have had to urgently change travel dates and sort everything out on the spot. Also, understand a simple thing: trust in users from an anonymous Telegram messenger should be minimal when it comes to asking for a prepayment for a service via bank transfer and the like, so be careful!!!

• How We Bought the Tour

  Before buying, we did a lot of work comparing prices on different agency websites, aggregators, searching through Telegram chats, and so on. As a result, the lowest prices were found on foreign aggregator sites, even cheaper than on official sites. But booking without a foreign card was impossible. So we took a different path: found agency names in tour descriptions on reliable aggregator sites, found their direct contacts, and requested prices.

  In the end, we chose Leo Trekking Rinjani, as they offered the best prices – a group tour, including entry to the national park, a night in a hotel before the start, and transfer from anywhere on Lombok for $205 USD per person. We communicated via WhatsApp for booking and coordination.

  After correspondence, agreeing on dates, and declining the transfer (we didn't need a transfer, we travel by motorbike), the price was reduced to $190 per person, totaling $380 for two. For booking, we needed to send passport scans to arrange the National Park entry permit.

  They also asked for a 25% prepayment. The prepayment can be made via Papayl, a foreign card, bank transfer, or a local e-wallet like GoPay, OVO, etc. We paid via bank transfer from a GoPay wallet; it's all commission-free and very convenient. We explained how to set up, use, and top up GoPay here; read it and you'll be able to do it too. Finally, theoretically, there is also the possibility of transferring to Indonesian bank cards via card number with some Russian banks, like Sber, but we haven't tested this option in practice. And, ultimately, you can try to explain the situation about not being able to make a prepayment and agree to pay everything on the spot.

  We paid the remaining tour cost on the spot at the hotel when meeting the organizer, again via bank transfer from GoPay, but local currency was also possible. They did not accept cash dollars from us.

What Tour Programs Are Available and Which Option to Choose

The tour routes are fairly standard among all agencies; at least, we didn't find significant differences among several agencies we compared. But what's included in the cost may vary (hotel, transfer, etc.).

Here are the main programs:

• 2-Day 1-Night Trekking to the Crater Without Ascending Rinjani.

  The simplest trekking tour, during which you'll see the lake and summit from a distance.

  • Day 1. Start from Senaru village, 10 km trek with 2000 m elevation gain. Overnight.
  • Day 2. Start early in the morning, sunrise at the crater rim, 10 km return trek and 2000 m descent.

  Total: in a day you must walk 20 km with a 2000 m ascent and the same descent.

  

• 2-Day 1-Night Ascent of Rinjani

  This is the cheapest and shortest tour, but still a serious challenge.

  • Day 1. Depart from Sembalun Lawang village and trek 12 km with 1600 m elevation gain to the assault camp. Overnight for a few hours.
  • Day 2. Start at 1-3 AM for the 4 km assault and 1100 m ascent. After the summit, return through the camp 16 km and descend 2700 m.

  Total: in a day you must walk 32 km with a 2700 m ascent and the same descent.

  

• 3-Day 2-Night Ascent of Rinjani

  We chose this option. There are two options for ending this route: exiting at Senaru village or Torean village. Torean is considered easier but less interesting.

  • Day 1. Depart from Sembalun Lawang village and trek 12 km with 1600 m elevation gain to the assault camp. Overnight for a few hours.
  • Day 2. Start at 1-3 AM for the 4 km assault and 1100 m ascent. After the summit, return to camp 4 km and descend 1100 m. Short rest at camp (we had 1 hour). Then descend to the lake inside the crater 4 km and descend 700 m, swim in the lake and hot springs, and then climb again for overnight at a camp 3 km with 700 m elevation gain.
  • Day 3. Start early in the morning, exit to Senaru village 8 km and descend 1800 m.

  Total: in less than 3 days, you need to walk about 35 km, with 3700 m elevation gain and 3600 m descent.

  

• 4-Day 3-Night Ascent of Rinjani

  This is essentially the same as the 3-day/2-night option but stretched out in time and less strenuous.

  • Day 1. Depart from Sembalun Lawang village and trek 12 km with 1600 m elevation gain to the assault camp. Overnight for a few hours.
  • Day 2. Start at 1-3 AM for the 4 km assault and 1100 m ascent. After the summit, return to camp 4 km and descend 1100 m. Short rest at camp (we had 1 hour). Then descend to the lake inside the crater 4 km and descend 700 m, swim in the lake and hot springs. Overnight.
  • Day 3. Start in the morning and climb to the crater rim 3 km with 700 m elevation gain. Overnight.
  • Day 4. Start early in the morning, exit to Senaru village 8 km and descend 1800 m.

  Total: in 4 days you need to walk about 35 km, with 3700 m elevation gain and 3600 m descent.

  

We are intentionally not providing timings for these routes, as it all depends on the group members. But you need to understand that everything organizers, excursion sellers, and guides on the route tell you may have little to do with reality. The time they indicate for each section can safely be multiplied by almost two. For example, in our group, guides said the Rinjani assault would take 3 hours, so to see the sunrise at the summit, we started climbing at 2 AM. But we arrived only after 8 AM, when the sun was already high.

From personal experience, we can now say that the 3-day 2-night tour is completely pointless. In the end, we were walking non-stop, exhausted, and the guides simply didn't give us time to see anything interesting. We really didn't get any pleasure from such a tour. Watch the video at the beginning of the article; I explain everything in detail there.

So if you want to do the trek leisurely and enjoyably and see as much as possible, take at least 4 days 3 nights.

If you don't have that much time, then choose based on your capabilities and desire one of the 2-day 1-night options: climb the Rinjani summit and crater, or just see the volcano and lake from the crater rim.

Trek Geography and Logistics

Mount Rinjani is part of the large National Park on Lombok Island (Rinjani summit on the map). Visiting requires a paid permit. If you buy a trekking tour, the organizer does all this, but you need to clarify whether it's included in the cost or you'll have to pay an additional 200,000 IDR for each day of stay (approximately 11.11 USD / 11.11 USD).

Several ready-made tourist routes run through the National Park; these are used for the ascent to the summit, visiting the crater, lake, etc. We'll talk about the routes further.

The entrance to the National Park and the routes is located on the northern slope in Senaru (Senaru on the map) or Sembalun Lawang (Sembalun Lawang on the map) villages, and these villages are the starting points for trekking tours. They have fairly developed tourist infrastructure for trekking, especially Senaru, although the reserve office is in Sembalun Lawang. There are many hotels and guesthouses, many travel agencies, equipment and clothing rentals for trekking, warungs and restaurants, even a tourist market with souvenirs. In short, don't think it's a godforsaken wild place and tourists are a rarity here. Quite the opposite.

If you buy a ready-made tour with transfer and hotel, this geography shouldn't concern you. You'll be picked up from Lombok airport, from the ferry piers in Lembar or Bangsal, or from any of Lombok's resorts, taken to a hotel in Senaru for rest before the tour, and after the tour, taken to any point on Lombok as desired. But, of course, these points need to be agreed upon when booking.

If you buy a tour without transfer and hotel, the general scheme is as follows:

• At least a day before the tour start, you need to arrive in Senaru or Sembalun Lawang and check into one of the hotels for overnight and rest before the tour. You can book hotels here online; they are available on booking sites.

  Booking and Agoda no longer accept Russian cards; you can only book accommodation there with payment on the spot, but such options are very few. As an alternative, you can use other search systems.

  We prefer to do all bookings on the site Trip.com, which accepts Russian cards. But there are other alternatives, for example Yandex.Travel or Ostrovok. A full list of hotel booking systems worldwide that accept Russian cards can be found here.

  There's no need to arrive too early; there's simply nothing to do here. But if you do arrive a day or two before the start, you can walk around the area, go to a waterfall, and just relax in a calm village setting. There are even hotels with pools, SPAs, and stunning views of rice fields.

• Upon arrival in the village, you need to meet the tour organizer (a representative or owner of the travel agency) at your hotel or office, where you finalize payment for the tour and receive final necessary instructions.

• Tours start early in the morning. You'll have to wake up at 6-7 AM, eat breakfast. You'll be picked up at the appointed time, and then just follow the guides' instructions: they will guide you through all organizational stages, from medical check to permit verification at the national park entrance.

  

  

• At the end of the walking part of the tour, you are also met by transport at the national park exit and taken to the hotel or travel agency office, from where you need to travel further on your own. The tours are designed to end in the afternoon, roughly from 12 to 3 PM, so you can have time to get to another place to stay on Lombok, or you can stay here for another night.

How to Get There

As we mentioned above, the main starting point for trekking tours to Rinjani is Senaru or Sembalun Lawang villages. Unfortunately, getting there independently and cheaply by public transport is not possible. At least, we don't know of such an option. So you have these options:

• Buy a tour with included transfer from Senggigi, Kuta, Mataram, from the airport or one of Lombok's ports.
• Get there by taxi via Grab, Maxim, Indrive apps or with private drivers.
• Get there by rented transport, you can even come from Bali island on a cargo ferry from Padang Bai port. That's exactly what we did, and it's very convenient and inexpensive compared to taxi and transfer. You can leave the transport at the hotel or travel agency office during the tour for free.

If you haven't read our guide on how and by what means to get to Lombok and where the ports and airports are located, be sure to read it; it will become clearer.

What to Bring, Equipment and Clothing

On the organizers' websites, there are checklists of what personal items to bring and what is not provided in the program. Here it is:

• 1 pair of trekking shoes or sports sneakers.
• Toiletries.
• First aid kit with personal medicines.
• Sunscreen/lotion, hat/cap, sunglasses.
• Muscle spray/balm.
• Insect repellent.
• Camera.
• Small towel.
• 2-4 cotton T-shirts.
• Long trekking pants/windproof layer.
• Windproof jacket and warm jacket.
• Shorts.
• Sandals (optional).
• Binoculars (optional).
• Trekking poles (optional).
• Additional snacks for the trek.

In our opinion, this list is incomplete and unprofessional, as is the overall work of guides and organizers on this topic. They do not conduct additional briefing or equipment checks before the tour start and at the beginning of each route, they don't give recommendations; i.e., everything is left up to you. At least, that's how it was in our group, and we observed the same in neighboring groups. Therefore, in addition to this list, we advise considering our recommendations from personal experience:

• Trekking Poles. Although organizers suggest taking trekking poles optionally, we believe they are absolutely essential, especially if you're going to the summit. There's a passage along a very narrow ridge, and at night. The wind there is strong, almost knocking you off your feet, so you need to brace yourself with poles. And on the rest of the trails, poles are much more convenient and safer.
• Elastic knee braces or elastic bandage. We advise everyone to take them, even if your knees are fine. You'll be overcoming huge elevation changes, so on the descent, your knees will experience crazy strain, and it's better to support them with the pressure from knee braces.
• Headlamp and spare batteries. For some reason, not all agencies include it in the list, and then guides offer to rent one.
• Inflatable pillow. Pillows are not included with the sleeping bag, so if you can't sleep without a pillow, bring an inflatable one.
• Warm clothing. You need really warm clothing, as it's very cold at the top at night; they say it can even drop to 0. And if there's rain plus strong wind... It's especially cold at night while sleeping. At least, the sleeping bags and camping mats provided in our tour were very poor. Plus, there's a large temperature fluctuation during the day: feels like from 0 degrees to 30. So take clothing very seriously. Use good synthetic trekking clothing, membrane jackets, fleece sweaters or down jackets, fleece gloves and hats, a set of thermal underwear. Follow the layering principle. Watch our video at the beginning of the article: I show our clothing set there, but even in it we were very cold at night and during the ascent.
• Foil survival blanket. A survival blanket weighs almost nothing, but if it turns out you're not well-equipped with clothing, it will help keep you warm at night and already during the ascent.
• Trekking gaiters. If you're going to the summit, this is an indispensable item that will protect against stones, soil, and water getting into your shoes.
• Rain poncho. Definitely bring a good, sturdy rain poncho that will cover your backpack.
• Adhesive bandages. Blisters are 100% guaranteed.
• Earplugs. It can be very noisy at campsites; they'll help you sleep.
• Swimsuits (if the route includes hot springs or lake swimming).
• Several plastic bags and/or a dry bag. To protect items from getting wet in the rain.
• Power bank. Needed for 3-4 day treks, as there will be no electricity throughout.
• Passport or at least a photo of it. Needed for checking the National Park entry permit, as permits are nominal and they even compare the photo from the passport.

Don't take anything extra, minimize weight. Try to fit all items into light 30-40 liter trekking backpacks, no more. A rain cover for the backpack is desirable.

A separate story about water bottles. Official National Park rules and company websites state that you cannot bring single-use plastic water bottles or any plastic to avoid polluting the area. In practice, there are no problems with this; you can bring everything, guides and porters collect trash and carry everything out. In principle, you don't need to bring a water bottle at all; guides provide everything.

Also, on organizers' websites, it's suggested to bring cash as tips for guides and porters. This is not mandatory, but at the end of the tour, guides remind you that if you liked them, you can leave a tip.

Where to Rent Equipment and Clothing

In Senaru village, there are a couple of equipment and clothing rentals, but you have to look for them. We rented trekking poles here on the map, but we also saw a couple of other rentals further down this street in trading stalls. You can rent flashlights, trekking poles, flasks, rain ponchos, camping equipment, trekking jackets, pants, and even shoes.

In our opinion, rental prices are high, so it's better to bring your own if possible. For example, trekking poles 100,000 IDR per pair (5.56 USD). This is considering that poles of similar cheap quality can be bought in sports stores for only twice or three times as much. Moreover, rental staff don't know how to use their own equipment, and they gave us poles with glued-on rubber tips and snow baskets, making them practically useless and even dangerous.

As for renting shoes and clothing, in our opinion, there are no good options - bring all your own proven, reliable, and properly sized gear.

When to Go to Rinjani, Best Season

You can visit Rinjani only from April to December, as Rinjani National Park is closed from January 1 to March 31 due to heavy rain and extreme weather conditions. The best time with minimal precipitation is from May to July.

Is Altitude Acclimatization Needed to Climb Rinjani

No, acclimatization is not required for a healthy person.

Can Children or Elderly People Climb

We haven't encountered information about age restrictions in the official national park rules, but in reality, you need to understand that this is a very difficult route that not even some young and physically strong people can handle. In a neighboring group during our trek, tourists refused to go to the summit after the first day and stayed at the camp. We saw people turning back already on the way to the summit. So weigh your physical capabilities and those of children realistically.

Summary and Personal Review, Is It Worth Visiting Rinjani

In summary, we'd like to say that, in our opinion, Mount Rinjani is definitely worth visiting, whether it's climbing the summit or just trekking to the crater. It's worth the tour money and the time spent.

However, don't treat this route too lightly or overconfidently. Even the simplest of the trekking tour options may be beyond the ability of people not in good physical shape, and the ascent to the summit, in our opinion, generally requires prior physical preparation.

So objectively assess your strength, study the guide, prepare for this route in advance, and then everything will work out.

And finally, here are many more photos from our trek: