Pura Lingsar (Lingsar Temple), sacred to Lombok’s Hindus, Moslems and Buddhists, symbolises the amazing ethnic and cultural mix and harmony that is West Lombok. The temple was built around 1714 in keeping with animist beliefs of the time and still contains some original animist statues. It has two holy shrines and is the only place on Lombok where all major religions come together to pray for prosperity fertility, rain, health and general success. The temple is traditionally associated with fertility and the irrigation of rice fields.
Perang Topat (rice cake war) is an annual festival at Lingsar featuring offerings to the Gods and a ritualised confrontation in which Moslem and Hindu men bearing shields made from animal skins war throw rice cakes at each other. Within the temple grounds are spring-fed pools which are home to large freshwater eels. Visitors are welcome to accompany a temple priest who will feed them hardboiled eggs purchased at nearby stands. Taman Narmada (Narmada Park) takes its name from a holy river in India and is locally known as the Fountain of Youth for its sacred water. The park includes a replica of the summit of majestic Mount Rinjani including the spectacular Segara Anak crater lake.
Taman Narmada was built in 1805 by the King of Mataram who was no longer able to climb sacred Mount Rinjani to make his offerings to the Gods. The Hindu Pujawali festival celebration is held every year in the Taman Narmada temple of Pura Kalasa. Pujawali features a very entertaining ritual in which a large number of ducks are released into the man-made lake and, when given the signal, boys plunge into the lake to chase the ducks. Whoever catches a duck may keep it. Pura Suranadi (Suranadi Temple) is one of the most sacred temples on Lombok. Large and holy eels thrive in the temple’s lake and, when a hard-boiled egg is dropped into the water, the eels will leave their hiding places to feed. Set in lush tropical gardens, Pura Suranadi is known for its cool spring water and restorative baths adorned with delicate Hindu carvings. banyumulek village, easily reached on the road south to Lembar Harbour, is an important centre for the distinctive terracotta Lombok pottery that is exported worldwide. The village is packed with shops selling local pottery and the products of other dedicated pottery-making villages such as Penujak and Masbagik.
At Banyumulek, you can wander the streets to see villagers using traditional methods to craft and fire their pots. At the back of some shops you will find small workshops at which the pots are being decorated and finished by hand. Sekotong is a picturesque area on Lombok’s south-west coast, where the waters are turquoise and the sand blindingly white. The large calm bay just south of Tawun is one of the most beautiful on Lombok, reminding visitors of the Caribbean. Tawun is an ideal base from which to explore Sekotong and offers quick and easy access to three small, idyllic islands – Gili Nanggu, Gili Sudat and Gili Tangkong. Gili Nanggu, with its soft white sand and sparkling clear waters, has a small hotel with basic accommodation and is a perfect castaway escape. There’s reasonable snorkelling from the beach. Sekotong, a favoured destination for diving enthusiasts and underwater photographers, offers a good representation of Indonesia’s 3,500 species of underwater creatures.
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