Heri Sisworo
Mandalika is a paradox in a sense that it has been there for three decades and yet not many people know or understand what it actually is. It begins with the many beautiful places in Lombok, especially the beaches and the lush green landscapes. All of that are Mandalika, a special region in Lombok Island that is set as a special tourism economic zone. Mandalika is being developed extensively with several luxury hotels being built. This 1,250 hectare resort will also have a world class racing circuit.
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Beautiful beaches in the southern part of Lombok will be integrated within this resort. It is a work in progress but when the development finish, this resort will be one of the most comprehensive one in Indonesia. Here are some unbelievably beautiful places that you can visit in Mandalika.
Kuta Beach
Just like the ultra-popular its namesake Kuta Beach in Bali, Lombok’s Kuta is also a heaven for surfers but with much less people. The landscape is much more diverse, though, with cliffs and hills. Admittedly, the infrastructure is not fully there yet. As of now, the area in Kuta Beach is literally unspoiled with little to no improvement. If you love untouched natural beach with excellent waves for surfing, this is the most ideal place for you. If you love beaches with luxurious hotels, you need to wait several years to enjoy that in Kuta Lombok.
Seger Beach
Only 2km away from Kuta, Seger Beach is a rustic seaside with an exotic landscape. With its white sand beach and some green hills plus rocky landscape, Seger has an idyllic view. Apart from enjoying the view from the beach itself, you can also hike the hill to get an even a better view of the whole place.
Putri Nyale and Serenting Beach
The next beach in the vicinity is Serenting Beach. This is an ideal place for family picnic and also a great spot for sunbathing since there are not many people around yet. It has longer coastline than Seger Beach. Serenting is also the place where Sasak People hold their Bau Nyale Festival. This ritual is held every 20th day in the 10th moth os Sasak calendar. Thousands of people flocking the beach to catch the delicious and colorful sea worm.
Gerupuk Beach
This is the best place to surf in Mandalika. Gerupuk beach offers the most challenging waves, which might reach up to 3 meters in height. There are five zones for surfing in this lovely bay; Prigi, batu Teong, Batulawang, Giligoleng, and Terasag. Apart from its tempting waves, Gerupuk also produce a natural seaweed. In the Gerupuk Village, you can see local peoplepack seaweed and send them to big cities in Bali and Java.
How to Get There
Mandalika is not too far from Lombok International Airport, where you can easily book a flight from any big cities in Indonesia. Mandalika is only 17km from the Airport or less than 30 minutes on land vehicles. You can rent a car or motorcycle to explore all Mandalika has to offer. As of now you don’t need to pay entrance fee to the beaches there, you only need to pay parking fees of IDR10,000 for a car and IDR5000 for motorcycle. Next
