Beatiful Senaru village at the most northern tip of North Lombok is an important gateway to Mount Rinjani for international and domestic trekkers and other tourists.At the foot of the majestic volcano and surrounded by tropical forest, Senaru charms visitors with its distant ocean panoramas, atmospheric inns and restaurants and cool temperatures.
Every day, Senaru welcomes visitors who come to rest and prepare for the trek to Rinjani’s summit or visit nearby attractions including the Sindang Gile and Tui Kelep waterfalls and the village’s traditional and indigenous Sasak community. Others want to soak up scenes of lush green rice fields and shady coffee plantations, against the backdrop of Rinjani’s towering peak.
Homes in the traditional sector of Senaru have walls of woven bamboo (bedek), thatched roofing and clay floors. They face each other in neat rows and often, at the front of a home, you’ll find a traditional berugak, an open-air structure for welcoming guests, socialising and relaxing.
Guests exploring the streets of Senaru may find themselves invited into a berugak to enjoy a cup of coffee, whose beans have come directly from a community garden, and some fine local hospitality.
“This is the typical hospitality of the people of North Lombok,” said Abdul Aziz, head of the regency’s Tourism, Transport, Communication and Information department. “For us, guests are a blessing that must be respected.”
Many visitors move on to Sindang Gile waterfall whose 30-metre cascade of cold and clear water originating from Mount Rinjani’s forest is believed to invigorate the body and bring relief from rheumatic disease.
Above the falls, a path follows a small, crystal clear river for about a kilometre, through forest and across rocky streams, to the beautiful Tiu Kelep waterfall which is known as “hidden paradise below the foot of Mount Rinjani.” Any fatigue from the trek is dispelled by the absolute charm of the falls whose two cascades form a natural pool whose waters are said to preserve youth and soon unite the bather with his soul mate.
Leaving the falls, where nearby stream water provides for the needs of people and their crops in Senaru and other villages below, visitors look down on an amazing vista of terraced rice fields.
Most guests choose to visit the ancient Bayan Mosque, built on a hill by religious teachers who bought Islam to Bayan hundreds of years ago. The old mosque is similar in structure to the area’s traditional houses, with bamboo walls and a clay floor.
Near the mosque are traditional homes known as Karang Bajo custom houses. They are occupied by community elders, religious heads and traditional leaders.
Source:enchanting-lomboksumbawa.com
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