Trekking to Tetebatu Crater Rim

The small village Tetebatu is located entirely in the middle of Lombok, about 15 kilometres in linear distance south of the summit of Mount Rinjani. Here the world is still in order. There are slowly coming more visitors to Tetebatu, but compared to other places on Lombok still very few tourists.

Tetebatu and the surrounding areas are mainly known for their many rice terraces and paddies. These will most probably remind you of Ubud on Bali, and they can almost keep up. Almost. However, the bonus is the view at the Rinjani, the second-highest volcano in Indonesia.

Mount Rinjani is an active volcano on the Indonesian island of Lombok. With an elevation of 3,726m / 12,224ft, Mt Rinjani is one of South East Asia’s highest peaks, attracting hikers and alpinists worldwide.

Mount Rinjani is a stratovolcano, a volcano built-up of alternate layers of lava and ash. Stratovolcanoes are typically found along subduction zones (areas where one tectonic plate is pushed beneath another tectonic plate into the Earth’s Mantle). Mount Rinjani is also classed as a Somma volcano, “a volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone” (in this case, the active Mt Barujari).

Ubud has been compared to Tetebatu, a destination for mass tourism. Sure, the rice terraces, the peaceful and green surrounding areas, and the friendly people remind Ubud. Because of that, Tetebatu is also known as “the Ubud of Lombok”, – but you can only partly agree.

However, it is quieter, and the towns are hard to compare. In contrast to Ubud, art, crafts, and traditional dances don’t play a role in Tetebatu but agriculture.

Even though Tetebatu is always green and looks lovely even in cloudy weather. The spectacular view of the mountain panorama makes it even more impressive in clear skies. That’s why it is better to visit Tetebatu early in the morning. Then it is more likely that it is not so cloudy and you can fully enjoy the view of Mount Rinjani.

Besides rice, the people of Tetebatu also grow tobacco, many exotic fruits, cocoa, coffee, nutmeg, chilli, macadamia nuts, vanilla and much more. If you want, you can buy those products directly from the locals. It is hardly possible to get it fresher and more natural.

Tetebatu waterfall is a dreamy place. You will see the sunlight passing through thick vegetation and falling on a waterfall in the mornings. You will walk through the rice field, a tunnel filled with water, cross the water through a manmade bamboo bridge and finally swim in a waterfall directly flowing from Mount Rinjani. A spectacular, shimmering sight to behold.