White sand, uniquely shaped rock formations and lush green mountains, all within one area: that is the kind of beauty that is hard to forget. Not many places pack so much scenery into a single adventure trail that is also a real challenge.
You will find exactly that around Mawi Beach in Central Lombok. The area holds several beaches, namely Semeti, Telawas, Munah, Tunting-unting and Mare Gejeq, each one separated from the next by a hill. Some of these rocky beaches are part of our Lombok daily tour routes.
Getting here takes about an hour and a half from Mataram. The road is lined with green hills on both sides, so the drive never feels tiring. If you have been to Selong Belanak Beach or Mawun Beach, the Mawi area is only a few kilometres away.
Once you turn off the main road, the track is still unpaved and rough, so a motorbike or a vehicle suited to the terrain is the better choice.
That demanding track through the green hills ends at Semeti Beach. Semeti has a fairly long shoreline of clean white sand, and it has become quite popular over the past year because of its distinctive rock formations.
Cross one hill and you arrive at Telawas Beach, a beach with a short but very clean shoreline. The rocks here are unusual and beautiful, and several rock pinnacles make excellent backdrops for photos. Shooting from the top of the hill is another option worth trying while you are here.
The beach is very quiet, with almost no visitors, mostly because few people want to make the climb over the hill. The beauty of the place, though, is more than enough to make up for the effort. Once you have had your fill of Telawas, you can walk across the rocks and over another hill to find Munah Beach.
On this beach there is one rock shaped like a chair, and you can sit on it while the waves crash against the rocks. Behind the next hill lies Tunting-unting Beach, and behind the last hill is Mare Gejeq Beach.
Apart from Semeti, this stretch of coast is still largely unexplored. Because it is so quiet, it is best to come with friends or with a travel group. The beaches face the Indian Ocean directly, which makes the waves here very big, so swimming is not recommended.
The area suits beach trekking perfectly, and it suits any traveller who enjoys adventure and a bit of a challenge. So what are you waiting for? Come to Lombok and go exploring with us!
