Mount Rinjani is the highlight of Lombok. Lombok’s 3,726-meter-high volcano can be spotted from far away and is climbed daily by hundreds of people. Don’t be mistaken, it is a very tough trek to get to the summit. You can opt for the 2- or 3-day Rinjani trek, where you clime and descend a lot. Prepare well with the tips from this blog about the Mount Rinjani trek.
Content of this blog:
Packing list Mount Rinjani trekking: what to bring?
The first rule when climbing Mount Rinjani is: don’t take too much with you. After all, you have to carry everything up the volcano yourself, and you don’t want to carry unnecessary gear. What you do need to bring is:
Clothing for the Rinjani volcano
- 2 / 3 pairs of underpants
- 2 / 3 tops / t-shirts
- short sports shorts
- pants
- a cardigan or a sweater. If you can put 2 pairs on top of each other it is wise to bring 2
- a coat and/or raincoat. If you do not have a (warm) coat with you, you can rent one from the guide
- a hat, should you have one with you
- good shoes
- For the 3 days: swimwear and a small towel
Which you can rent from the guide if you don’t have it yourself:
- jacket
- headlight
- walking sticks
- gloves (you can buy these for IDR 20K (€1.25))
Toiletries
- toothbrush and toothpaste
- lens solution and extra lenses
- sunscreen
- blister plasters
- toilet paper
- sunglasses
- mosquito spray
Other
- cash to buy some along the way and tip for guides and porters. Take at least 1 million Rupiah with you.
- granola bars or other types of snacks
- cap or hat to protect you from the sun
- camera
- powerbank
- refillable drinking bottle (tip: the Lifestraw has a filter in the bottle that automatically filters all the water. This allows you to drink safely from streams, among other things).
- possibly a set of playing cards or another game
Where should you book the Mount Rinjani hike? Which organization or guide is best?
There are so many guides and organizations that offer trekking to Mount Rinjani. Most are very similar in terms of program and facilities, but there is one organization that stands out head and shoulders above the rest. This is Green Rinjani. This is the only organization that has made it its mission to leave the Rinjani cleaner. They clean up their own mess as well as that of others. Unfortunately, you can say this of few other organizations, who just throw their garbage away in nature, bury toilet paper and simply treat the beautiful nature on the Rinjani terribly. Green Rinjani is quickly fully booked (1 to 2 weeks) so be sure to book well in advance through the official website.
Other organizations often mentioned as recommendations are:
- Dhyns Rinjani https://dhynsrinjani.com/ or [email protected]
- Ali Topan: +62 878 8184 6325 or www.alitopanrinjani.com
- Aoneza +62 878 9993 8630
- Rinjani Natural +62 877 8065 2972
- Nemoetrekker +62 818 0516 9611 or www.nemoetrekker.com
How much does it cost to climb Mount Rinjani?
This varies per provider, but with most organizations / guides you pay for the 2-day Mount Rinjani hike approximately €120 – €170. This includes everything except possible rental of jackets, walking poles etc. For the 3-day Mount Rinjani hike you will spend an average of €150 – €220.
Should I choose the 2- or 3-day Mount Rinjani tour? What is the difference?
If you ask the guides, they all say that the 3-day Mount Rinjani hike is a lot harder than the 2-day hike. You cover a longer distance through Rinjani National Park and you have to climb and descend even more than on the 2-day hike. In return, you get to enjoy the beautiful views for longer, visit the hot springs and even descend into the crater. You just have to be sure that you can handle this physically.
We (unfortunately) had to choose the 2-day Mount Rinjani tour because Noelle had contracted dengue 2.5 weeks before and spent a week in the hospital. 10 days after she got out of the hospital we were going to climb Mount Rinjani and 3 days of hiking was really too hard for her at that time. Nonetheless, we thought the 2-day was a wonderful experience that also requires a tremendous amount of perseverance.
Daily schedule for the Mount Rinjani hike
The day before you start climbing Mount Rinjani you already travel to Sembalun or Senaru on Lombok, Indonesia. All organizations offer pickup from Kuta Lombok, Tetebatu or Bangsal (port where you arrive from the Gili’s or Bali). You will then sleep the first night in a homestay, arranged by the organization, in Senaru or Sembalun, before starting the trek the next day.
Day 1: from the starting point Rinjani National Park hike to Rinjani base camp
The first day of the Rinjani trek starts early. Most organizations choose to start in Sembalun. If you have spent the night in Senaru, you will have to travel another hour in the back of a jeep to Sembalun. Here you must first do a health check with the doctor, who checks your blood pressure and oxygen levels. For this you will pay 20K (€1.25).
After the medical check, you must register at the Rinjani National Park office. Your name will be called and then you must come forward with your passport. Your guide will also explain all this to you. After everyone is successfully registered, you will drive the jeep a little further, to the official starting point of the Rinjani National Park. Apply sunscreen here one more time before you start hiking.
Let’s go!
The first hour you walk up to POS 1. This goes up slowly, but is still fairly flat. Most of the time you walk in the burning sun which makes you sweat. At POS 1 you take a break, before continuing to POS 2. This route is already a lot nicer and you start to feel the coolness of the clouds and the mountains. After another 1 to 1.5 hours you will arrive at POS 2. Here the porters will prepare lunch for you and you will take an extensive break.
The meal you are served is truly fantastic. It is so special what they manage to make with limited resources! Now your energy level is completely refilled and you can walk for another hour to POS 3. This is the last stretch where you can maintain a good walking pace, because after POS 3 it gets extremely steep and you start climbing.
From POS 3 to POS 4 you are also about an hour. Here you take another good break and then you climb in one piece (with occasional short breaks) to base camp. This will take 2 to 3 hours. This is quite heavy and you will occasionally wonder why you are doing this. You also get very dirty because of all the dust and sometimes you will slip, because the combination of dust, sand and small stones becomes very slippery.
Rinjani Base camp on the crater rim of the volcano
Once you arrive at Rinjani base camp you will soon forget the tough climb: what a view of the crater lake of the ancient super volcano! The temperature is very pleasant and you completely relax. Slowly the clouds drift by and you stare at the mountains. The sun sets behind the mountain turning the sky yellow, orange and pink. Enjoy this beautiful moment to the fullest! After this, it soon becomes cold and very dark. Quickly put on all your warm clothes. Eat another delicious meal prepared by the porters and then dive into your tent early, because tomorrow you will be woken up at 02:00!
Day 2: to the Rinjani summit at 3,726 meters, descend to the crater lake and continue to the hot springs
Wakey wakey, sunshine! After a short and not so comfortable night in the tent, it’s time to climb to the summit of Rinani volcano at 3,726 meters above sea level. After a small breakfast you will set out again. At first you will still be very cold but soon you have to climb steeply up. The annoying thing here is that you walk on lava rock, where you sink tremendously. This means that you take 2 steps up and at the same time sink 1 down again. This can be very discouraging.
It takes you an hour to climb the very steep wall with lava rock. After this you walk 1.5 – 2 hours on the crater rim, which is a little less steep but where you can still only take small steps. Then you arrive at the most intense part: even more lava rock and even steeper. For 1 hour you still have to do everything you can until you reach the summit. Here you wait for the sun to rise and feel overwhelmed: BAM! You just did it! This feels like a victory. After the sun rises you hike back to base camp. Here you will enjoy a delicious breakfast and relax for a while before continuing on.
2 days / 1 night Mount Rinjani? Then you are now going down the same way
If you booked the 2 days / 1 night then you will be going down the same road. To be honest, we found this really tough because it is so slippery everywhere. Noelle slipped after only 5 minutes resulting in an ugly abrasion on her leg. We have seen many people going down and getting up less smoothly. Really good hiking shoes with a lot of grip are not a luxury, but not everyone has them on vacation… It takes about 6 hours to get to the bottom after which you can finally rest. You just did it!
Continuing with the 3 days / 2 nights tour
If you do the 3 days / 2 nights tour then after breakfast you will continue descending to the crater lake. This will take about 3 hours. Relax in the hotsprings and rest your muscles here. Often the hot springs are not so hot in spring (April and May) because it is just after the rainy season. Still, it is nice to swim here for a while.
Then you get ready for the final steep climb, which takes a whopping 3 hours. This is so tough and you really have to cross a mental boundary. When you finally arrive at the new base camp you will be relieved and enjoy the sunset and the stars.
Day 3: descending to Senaru
After quietly waking up at base camp it is time to descend to Senaru. This takes about 6 hours and is quite tough on your knees, which have already had a lot to endure the past 2 days. Eventually you will arrive in Senaru in the afternoon, where you can rest for a while before you travel on to your next destination. Relax on the Gili islands or in the lovely town of Kuta Lombok.
The exact daily schedule may look slightly different for each organization. This is the schedule maintained by most organizations, but of course there can always be some deviation from this.
Frequently asked questions about the Mount Rinjani hike
Following our Rinjani trek, we have received many questions. Below we answer the frequently asked questions about the Mount Rinjani trek.
What is the best season to climb the Rinjani?
Between January and March, the Rinjani National Park is closed and therefore you cannot climb Mount Rinjani. It is rainy season here and it is too dangerous to go out then. Usually the National Park reopens on April 1, but this can vary from year to year. You can check with the organizations.
How much do the porters and guides get paid? Should I tip them?
The porters and guides really get paid very little, when you compare it to the (physical) work they have to do every day. They basically live on tips alone, so you should definitely tip. A “normal” amount is around 75K IDR per guide/porter per day, but of course more is always welcome and a token of thanks. We ourselves tipped everyone 300K IDR, because they really deserved that.
Is it really that cold on Mount Rinjani?
The first day you will think you don’t need the sweater and jacket, but when the sun goes down in the evening you will be happy with your warm clothes. Even if you get up in the middle of the night to climb to the summit you really need all the warm clothing you can find. With a wind chill of 0 to 5 degrees it is chattering.
Do I necessarily need hiking boots to climb the Rinjani?
No, you don’t necessarily need hiking boots to climb the Rinjani. However, it can be very convenient to have hiking boots on because you will have much more grip. With sports shoes or sneakers you slip much faster and that is a big problem, especially downhill. It is possible to do the Rinjani on sneakers or sports shoes, but it will be a lot harder. We did it on sneakers, but afterwards we would have preferred to wear hiking shoes.
From where will you climb Mount Rinjani?
Most organizations start in Sembalun, but there is also the possibility of starting from Senaru. This depends on your organization. Always ask about this.
Is the 2- or the 3-day tour tougher?
The 3-day Mount Rinjani hike is a lot tougher, because you spend an extra day climbing and descending. This day is not a rest day, as many people think beforehand. You have to have a lot of perseverance to do this hike, but it is well worth it.
What about the marathon at Mount Rinjani?
Once a year a marathon is organized on Mount Rinjani. Trailrunners from all over the world travel here to run 27, 42, 60 or even 160(!!) kilometers in 1, 2 or 3 days in the Rinjani National Park and to the summit. The marathon was held exactly when we climbed the Rinjani and you have to be careful not to block the runners. The marathon is usually held in late May.
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