lombok
INTRODUCTION
Lombok it is a natural collection of contrasts and diversity, there are mountains, stunning coastline, traditional villages, charming people, and the incredible underwater world. As a tourist destination, Lombok is different from Bali, and is unique in itself. In Lombok one can find aspects of Balinese life but not vice-versa in the case of Bali. In the western part of Lombok, Hinduism and Islam co-exist. The natives of Lombok, the Sasaks, are Muslim, and their art and religious life are quite different from those of their Hindu neighbours. The name “Lombok” is said to come from a fiery red chilli pepper, used as condiment in Indonesia. The Sasaks call their island Bumi Gora, which means “The Dry Farmland”, or Selaparang, which is the name of an old East Lombok kingdom. The island measures about 80 km north to south and about 70 km east to west. There are several cluster of small islands off Lombok’s coast, all called “Gili” from the Sasak word for island. Some are inhabited by fisherman and stray cattle, and the best-known - Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan, off the northwest coast - host hordes of tourists. The Gilis have a lot of coral, that’s why they have so much fish, and their blue coral is famous in its own right. Lombok is dominated by 3,726-metre Gunung Rinjani, Indonesia’s highest volcano and one of the highest points in the archipelago. Rinjani crowns a group of mountains that dominate the north-central section of the island. Lombok has a large array of beautiful beaches. Kuta Beach ( also known as Putri Nyale Beach ), is on the south cost of Central Lombok, it is one of the most scenic and unspoilt beaches on the island, and the sea is safe for bathing and swimming. Each year, on the 19th day of the tenth month of the Sasak lunar calendar, when the Nyale fish come to the sea surface, Kuta Beach hosts the famous Nyale Festival. But Lombok’s chief resort is Senggigi beach, offering a range of accommodation, with the best hotels on the island situated here. Lombok is where the transition towards Eastern Indonesia begins, both naturally and culturally. The northern part of Lombok is mountainous and verdant with tall trees and shrubs covering the land. One finds none of large Asian mammals. The western part of the island is the greenest and most humid. As one moves east, the dry season becomes more pronounced, and in many areas corn and sogo, instead of rice, are the staple foods.

PLACES OF INTEREST
Ampenan - Cakranegara - Mataram
The population centre of Lombok is an urban sprawl in the west made up of three nearby cities spreading from the shore the old port town of Ampenan blends into the administrative city of Mataram, which blends into the trade town of Cakranegara. Each city has a very different character. Ampenan, with its network of small streets, aged buildings, Chinese and Arab lodgings and decaying port, has the most character and life. Mataram, the administrative capital, has modern government buildings and Nusa Tenggara Barat museum ( with cloth, kris knives, tools and craftwork displays ). Cakranegara has craft shops, weaving, and points of interest from the days of Balinese power, as for example Pura Meru, the central temple for Lombok’s Hindus, built in 1720 to unite the various existing groups; or Puri Mayura royal garden once served as court of justice and meeting hall for local nobles.

Sengkol - Pujut - Rambitan
Sengkol, Pujut, Rambitan are traditional Sasak villages located at the southern part of Lombok. The traditional houses enclose an centre raised area about a metre off the ground, and made of a mix of clay, dung and straw, that has been polished to a high gloss. The roof is thatch, and the walls are bamboo or palm leaf ribs. Traditional rice barns - called lumbungs become unofficial symbol of Lombok.

Taman Narmada
The structure and the pool supposedly built in 1805 as a replica of Gunung Rinjani and Segara Anak, the lake within Rinjani’s caldera. When the king Anak Gede Karangasem of Mataram after he became too old to trek to Rinjani to deposit offerings in the sacred crater lake, he built Pura Narmada. The annual pilgrimage and offering at Rinjani’s crater lake continues today.

Gunung Rinjani and Segara Anak Lake
Mount Rinjani at 3,726 above sea level forms the second highest volcanic peak in Indonesia. The view from the tip of caldera on Mount Rinjani is definitely the highlight of Lombok and perhaps of all Indonesia. Its huge crater contains the crescent-shaped Segara Anak Lake, 6 km across at its widest point. The lake is 600 metres below the crater rim, and in the centre of its curve is another cone, Gunung Baru, which is only 200 years old. For Sasak and Balinese the volcano is a sacred place and the adobe of deities. Segara Anak Lake is the destination of annual pilgrimage to place offerings in the water and bathe away disease in the hot springs. There are many routes up the mountain, but the main access is from Senaru in the north and Sembalun Lawang to the east.

Gili Air - Gili Meno - Gili Trawangan
All three islands, off the north-western coast of Lombok, offer white sand beaches and clear water for best in Lombok diving and snorkelling. The mixture and great quantity of marine life that finds its home in these waters is among the richest in the world.

sumbawa
INTRODUCTION
Sumabawa is divided into three administrative regencies that act in response roughly to the former sultanates: Sumbawa Besar in the west; Bima in the east and Dompu, the home of Gunung Tambora in the centre. It was Tambora that cut off the people of the west from the people in the east for centuries. The two parts of the island are separated in nature and by language, that spoken by Sumbawanese is like more Sasak; that spoken by the Bimanese being more like the languages of Flores and Sumba. Approximately 800,000 people are farmers and fisherman. Some 85 % of the land is jagged and mountainous, not applicable for agriculture, but the rich volcanic soil of the river valley yields plentiful crops. These valleys were the site of many states, the island’s first political states.

PLACES OF INTEREST
Mount Tambora
Tambora is a stratovolcano, forming the Sanggar peninsula of Sumbawa Island. The diameter of the volcano at sea-level is about 60 km. Prior to the 1815 eruption, the volcano may have been as tall as 4,000 m. The 1815 eruption formed a caldera about 6 km in diameter, the caldera is 1,110 m deep. The 1815 eruption of Tambora was the largest eruption in historic time. About 150 cubic kilometres of rock and ash were erupted; ash fell as far as 1,300 km from the volcano; the eruption column reached a height of about 44 km. An estimated 92,000 people were killed by the eruption. About 10,000 direct deaths were caused by bomb impacts, tephra fall, and pyroclastic flows. An estimated 82,000 were killed indirectly by the eruption by starvation, disease, and hunger. Mount Tambora, not active at present, rising 2,850 meters above sea level, attracts the climbers. Mount Tambora is heavily wooded, and surrounded by a thick belt of rain forest, a strange contrast to the aridity of the remainder of the peninsula. From the rim of the crater you may view the rest the island, the sea, Mount Rinjani, and the island of Lombok in the distance. Climbing Tambora is recommended to very experienced and physically well-prepared climbers.

Moyo Island
Moyo Island, on the north east of Sumbawa Besar, is the right place for lovers of nature and the underwater world. Moyo Island, has a nature reserve with wild oxen, deer, wild boars and a great variety bird species that occupy almost two-thirds of the island. Land animals are easy to see and attractive enough, the main attraction lies beneath the sea surface. Moyo offers some of the very best snorkelling in Indonesia.

Bima Town
The main attraction of Bima is the former palace the Bima sultanate. The building is now being turned into a museum. Dara s village two kilometres from the town of Bima in eastern Sumbawa, is believed to be the former seat of the ancient Bima kingdom.

flores & komodo
INTRODUCTION
Flores, the biggest island in the East Nusa Tenggara, is a long narrow rocky island with spectacular volcanoes, stunning mountain lakes and lush savannah. Island, 360 kilometres long and 12 to 70 kilometres wide, is inhabited by approximately 1.4 million people, of which almost 85% are Roman Catholic. The church has put serious stress on recovering the living conditions through its range of programs. The clergy in Flores is aware of many traditional believes but they do not trying to abolish them; the survived ancient traditions make up much of the island’s attractions. Flores is very diverse ethnographically, the mixed population comprise of Bimanese, Bugis, Makassarese, Solorese, Savunese and ethnic Florinese: Lio, Ngadham Sikka, Soa and other.

PLACES OF INTEREST
Komodo National Park
Komodo National Park is located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores at the border of the Nusa Tenggara Timur and Nusa Tenggara Barat provinces. It includes three major islands, Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and numerous smaller islands together totalling 603 km2 of land. The total size of Komodo National Park is presently 1,817 km2. Proposed extensions of 25 km2 of land ( Banta Island ) and 479 km2 of marine waters would bring the total surface area up to 2,321 km2. Most of its land area is hilly with the highest peak Satabilo rising 735 metres above sea level. Komodo National Park was established on March 6th 1980 and designated as a Biosphere Reserve on 1986 and later in 1991 declared a World Heritage Site. The park was initially established to conserve the unique Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), the world’s largest reptiles and can reach 3 meters or more in length and weigh over 70kg. Komodo National Park and western Flores is the only place where “ora”, as it is called in the local language, still exist. Conservation goals have been expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial. The Park provides refuge for many other notable terrestrial species such as the orange-footed scrub fowl, an endemic rat, and the Timor deer. Moreover, the Park includes one of the richest marine environments including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, seamounts, and semi-enclosed bays. These habitats harbour more than 1,000 species of fish, some 260 species of reef-building coral, and 70 species of sponges. Dugong, sharks, manta rays, at least 14 species of whales, dolphins, and sea turtles also make Komodo National Park their home.

Labuan Bajo
Labuan Bajo is a quiet fishing village that sit on s beautiful harbour filled with the outriggers, canoes for various sizes. Its main significance from a tourist viewpoint is its nearness to the Komodo National Park.

Batu Cermin
Batu Cermin is a natural cave located at Wae Kesambi village. Attraction of this cave are fossils of marine life such as fish, coral reefs, turtles and many types and shapes of stalactites and stalagmites.

Bidadari Island
It is a small and attractive island with white sandy beach, clean water and coral reefs. The island is located at northwest of Labuan Bajo.

Ruteng
Ruteng, the capital of the Manggarai district, lies at the foot of mountain range and at the head of complex of valleys that forms the island’s main rice-producing region.

Bajawa
Bajawa, the capital of Ngada district, has preserved its traditional ways more that any other area of Flores. Langa and Bena are two ancient villages, with ngadhu and bhaga shrines. Ngadhu, representing a clan’s male ancestors, looks like thatched umbrellas, some 3 metres high, topped with a human figure. Bhaga, the female partner to the ngadhu, is a small thatched hut. There are also interesting megalithic stones at Bena and nearby village Wogo Tua.

Seventeen Islands Nature Reserve
There are in fact more that 20 islands that offer excellent snorkelling. The reefs off the islands are very healthy, in good variety and with a lots of colourful fish.

Ende
Ende, set amidst several volcanoes, is the largest town on Flores with about 60,000 inhabitants.

Keli Mutu
Volcanic crater lakes on Gunung Keli Mutu are the island’s main tourist attraction. The lakes, at an elevation of 1,640 metres above sea level, are split only by low ridges and, unusually are of different colours: blue, turquoise, and almost black. The scenery nearby the lakes is bald and grey, and in this background the colours are really surprising. The lakes got their colour because of the mineral deposits, which resolve in the water. Because of the changing amounts of minerals the colours of the lakes changes over time; the last decades the lakes used to be dark-red, light green and light blue.

Maumere

In the direct environment of the city you will find great places for snorkelling and diving, traditional weaving villages of Watublapi, Sikka and Nita, beautiful nature and old relics from the Portuguese time and the only museum of the island.

solor & alor
INTRODUCTION
East of Flores lies the archipelagos of Solor ( containing of Solor, Adonara and Lembata ) and Alor ( with Pantar and Alor ). Inhabitants have remained relatively cut off from the rest of the world, the present urban world has little respect here, and the islanders spend their days fishing, growing manioc and corn, weaving and time to time celebrating the rituals of their traditional religions.

PLACES OF INTEREST
Lembata Island
Lembata Island ( 1,200 km2 ) is noted for its primitive whaling industry centred in the village of Lamalera on the south coast. Hunting whales from small boat is still the main economic activity in this area. The only town of note on Lembata is Lewoleba which is popular for its weekly market, where buyers and sellers from all over the region come down to the town on that day.

Ile Ape volcano
Towering over the Lembata island, Gunung Ile Ape, is reverted by local citizens who retain animistic beliefs. Those living on the slopes of volcano are considered as the most ethnically traditional on Lembata Islands. Small shrines bearing simple offerings are prevalent the slopes of the volcano.

Solor
Solor has an old Portuguese fort, constructed in 1566 and still in good shape; massive stone walls encircle a rectangular interior.

Alor
Alor offers white sand beaches, good snorkelling and outstanding diving. There are scattered traditional villages still practising old lifestyle with their spiritual beliefs, bride prices and bronze drums. Bronze kettledrums are replicas of those from the 2,000-years old Dong Son era of northern Vietnam. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of these drums are still kept as heirlooms and are an essential part of the bride price. Although drums found on Alor were cast in either Java or China, haw they ended up on this island, which was not part of usual trade routes, remains unknown.

sumba
INTRODUCTION
Sumba was identified for centuries as a source of sandalwood, slaves, and horses as well as a land of cannibal tribes, today is renowned for its sculptured megalithic tombs, war game rituals and intricate textiles. Sumba is approximately 300 km long and 80 wide, the island is divided politically and climatically into two parts. West Sumba is more wealthy half, higher and so lush and green during the rainy season. It is also more culturally varied, with separate linguistic groups. People of West Sumba live in huts with picked roofs. Agricultural communities thrive and ancestral and land worship are still strong. East Sumba is dry and rocky and mountainous, with the highest peak, Wangga Meti, t 1,225 metres. Most of people live in close proximity to or on the coastline, and extensive hand-loom industry has flourished for several centuries, producing characteristic woven ikat. In spite of modernization, the old traditions remain and the social organization in Sumba is ordered according to customary law, the main aim of traditional Sumbanese religion is to maintain a undisturbed relationship with ancestral spirits. The most impressive ceremony on Sumba is the Pasola, a ritual battle with spears featuring hundred of horsemen.

PLACES OF INTEREST
Waingapu
Waingapu is the biggest town in Sumba, the island’s seaport and administrative capital of East Sumba district. Near Waingapu, at the villages Prailiu and Kwangu, is produced the finest Sumbanese ikat cloth.

Waikabubak
Waikabubak, a little district town in West Sumba, is full of old graves carved in motifs of buffalo- horns, man-heads, horses, nude men or women symbolising social status or the wealth of the people. There are following tombs: Kadung Tana, Watu Karagata, and Bulu Peka Mila.

Tarung
Tarung village, an important ceremonial centre, is located on top of a hill, near Waikabubak. There are several megalithic tombs. Fronts of many traditional houses are decorated with huge water buffalo horns from the animals sacrificed during rituals.

Anakalang
Anakalang village has a large graveyard and, the largest in Sumba, megalithic tombs with unusual carvings.

The Pasola
The Pasola is the most exciting ceremony on Sumba, it is a ritual fight with spears featuring hundreds of horsemen. It is a wild and warlike event. The Pasola takes place a few days after the second and third full moons of the solar year - February in Lamboya and Kodi, March in Gaura and Wanukaka - and culminates in the spring ritual cycle; coincide with the yearly arrival to shore of strange, multihued sea-worms.

roti & savu
INTRODUCTION
Small isolated islands of Roti, Savu, Raijua and Ndao offer much for those interested in traditional culture. These islands are unusual for their people’s extensive use of the lontar palm tree. With little rainwater, people depend on a drought-resistant lontar, for nutrition when there was no other food available. Lontar is also used for building materials and for clothing. On Savu, the customary faith and customs are maintained despite professed Christianity. Cultural and religious life, based on the lunar calendar, is rich and varied, including rites of passage, sea-worm festivals, harvest festivals and violent battles with stones. Adherence to the old customs is even stronger on Raijua Island, which is considered the source of animist beliefs of the Savu island. The island Roti is stunning, with transparent water, rock formations and offshore islands with white beaches. The majority of inhabitants are farmers, cultivating rice, corn, sorghum and mung beans. The island offers a diversity of landscapes, even though it is only 1,280 km2 of land. The soil varies from black to rust to pale white, the islands has also several, not deep lakes. The island of Ndao is famed for its travelling jewellers. During the dry season they travel to Roti, Savu, Sumba or Flores, there they make jewellery for which they exchange in rice and small animals.

timor
INTRODUCTION
Small isolated islands of Roti, Savu, Raijua and Ndao offer much for those interested in traditional culture. These islands are unusual for their people’s extensive use of the lontar palm tree. With little rainwater, people depend on a drought-resistant lontar, for nutrition when there was no other food available. Lontar is also used for building materials and for clothing. On Savu, the customary faith and customs are maintained despite professed Christianity. Cultural and religious life, based on the lunar calendar, is rich and varied, including rites of passage, sea-worm festivals, harvest festivals and violent battles with stones. Adherence to the old customs is even stronger on Raijua Island, which is considered the source of animist beliefs of the Savu island. The island Roti is stunning, with transparent water, rock formations and offshore islands with white beaches. The majority of inhabitants are farmers, cultivating rice, corn, sorghum and mung beans. The island offers a diversity of landscapes, even though it is only 1,280 km2 of land. The soil varies from black to rust to pale white, the islands has also several, not deep lakes. The island of Ndao is famed for its travelling jewellers. During the dry season they travel to Roti, Savu, Sumba or Flores, there they make jewellery for which they exchange in rice and small animals.