At 3 a.m. WITA our group left Sumbawa Besar and headed for West Sumbawa Regency, or more precisely, to a village sitting on top of a hill 630 metres above sea level. Its name is Mantar Village.
Part of the Poto Tano sub-district in West Sumbawa Regency, this mountain village holds plenty of charm and beauty.
Mantar Village was once a filming location for Serdadu Kumbang, directed by Ari Sihasale, a film about three boys who grow up with very little yet never give up on their dreams.
When we reached Senayan Village, a village at the foot of Mantar Hill, we stopped for a while to watch the sunrise and enjoy a cup of hot coffee. The morning felt wonderfully peaceful, with only the occasional motorbike passing by and a few villagers smelting gold.
Before heading up Mantar Hill, we left our motorbikes at a villager’s house and switched to a four-wheeled vehicle. The climb turned out to be quite a challenge. The road is loose rock, steep, with a ravine on the right-hand side, and that only made us more excited. Every jolt along the way felt like part of the adventure. After all, what is the point of travelling if you don’t enjoy the ride?
As soon as we arrived in Mantar Village, the cool mountain air greeted us, along with rows of stilt houses (rumah panggung) lining both sides of the road.
Walk a little beyond the settlement, towards the village farmland to the north, and you can clearly see the island of Lombok with the peak of Mount Rinjani and the Alas Strait that links Sumbawa and Lombok.
From the same ridge you can also spot the small islands scattered around Poto Tano, such as Kenawa Island, a beautiful marine destination in its own right. Senayan Village, Tapir Village and Seteluk are all visible from the top of the hill as well.
