Where is Lombok?

Lombok lies around 35 kilometers east of Bali, at the start of the Nusa Tenggara-Timor island chain that stretches hundreds of kilometers across the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Sumbawa, Flores and Sumba. Lombok is the westernmost island of this chain, which becomes arid and dry after the Wallace Line.

The Wallace Line is a deep undersea trench separating Bali and the islands of West and East Nusa Tenggara. The trench was discovered by Alfred Russell Wallace in 1859, during the zoologist’s 10-year travels across the Indonesian archipelago when he noticed a distinct change in the zoology, climate and flora between Bali and the southeastern islands.

The flora and fauna east of the Wallace Line are classified as Australasian, and the western species are classified as Asiatic.

Lombok is a mountainous island, and its capital is Mataram. Indonesia’s second highest mountain, Mount Rinjani, is located on Lombok and can be seen from most parts of the island, towering high above it at 3,726 meters.

The indigenous people of Lombok are the Sasak, who are famous around the world for their beautiful handwoven textiles, called songket and ikat. The dominant religion of Lombok is Islam.

– Trisha Sertori