Lombok - Bali and Lombok - page 147

Organised Treks
The best and most inexpensive way to or-
ganise a trip is to head to either the Rinjani
Trek Centre ( p313 ) in Senaru or the Rinjani
Information Centre (p313) in Sembalun La-
wang. Anyone passing through Senggigi can

cloud, but be prepared as it can still get very
cold at the summit.
Senaru has the best services for trekkers so
most start their treks there. Those who want
the fastest summit climb, however, should start
from Sembalun Lawang on the eastern side.

first contact the Rinjani Trek Centre's office
there (p294). Funded by the New Zealand
government, the centres use a rotation system
so that all of the local trekking organisers get
a slice of the hiking pie.
Whether you book through your losmen,
or directly at the RTC or RIC, the same trek
packages (at the same prices) are offered. The
most popular is the three-day, two-night trek
from Senaru to Sembalun Lawang via the
summit and includes food, equipment, guide,
porters, park fee and transport back to Senaru.
This costs 1.6million rupiah for one, drop-
ping to 966,000Rp per person for two hikers
and 821,000Rp for three. An overnight trek
to the crater rim from Senaru costs 1.19mil-
lion rupiah for one, 714,000Rp for two and
606,900Rp for three. The deals are cheaper
the more of you there are.
A number of agencies in Mataram, Senggigi
and the Gili Islands can organise all-inclu-
sive treks. Prices usually include everything
outlined above, plus return transport from
the point of origin. For example, Perama (www
.peramatour.com) , with offices in all of these loca-
tions, has a trekking package that leaves from
any of the places above, via Senaru using
official RTC guides for 1.6million rupiah per
person (minimum two people).
Guides & Porters
Hiking independently is not recommended
due to security and safety concerns (see the
boxed text, opposite).
If you don't want to do an all-inclusive
trekking package with RTC or RIC you can
hire guides (100,000Rp per day) and por-
ters (80,000Rp) from them independently,
but make sure you take a radio (10,000Rp
per day). Contract your guides and porters
directly from the centres in Senaru and Sem-
balun Lawang, as they are licensed for your
security. Guides are knowledgeable and in-
formative, but won't carry anything for you,
so take at least one porter. You also have to
provide them with food, water and transport,
and probably cigarettes as well.
Entrance Fee & Equipment
The entrance fee for the Rinjani National Park
is 27,000Rp - register and pay at the RTC in

need solid footwear, layers of warm clothing,
wet-weather gear, cooking equipment and a
torch (flashlight), but these can also be hired
from the RTC. Expect to pay about 50,000Rp
a head per day for all your equipment.
Take a stove so you don't need to deplete
the limited supply of firewood. Carry all rub-
bish out with you and make sure others in
your party do the same.
Backpacks can be left at most losmen in Se-
naru or the RTC for around 5000Rp per day.
Food & Supplies
Trek organisers at RTC and RIC can arrange
trekking food, or you can take your own. It's
better to buy most supplies in Mataram or
Senggigi, where it's cheaper and there's more
choice, but some provisions are available in
Senaru. Take plenty of water and a lighter.
Getting There & Away
For transport options from Sembalun Lawang
to Senaru, see p314. If you've purchased a
trekking package, transport back to the point
of origin is usually included.

WEKTU TELU
Believed to have originated in the northern village of Bayan, Wektu Telu is an indigenous religion
unique to Lombok, though it does bear many similarities with Agami Jawi, the Javanese Islamic
syncretism. In the Sasak language, wektu means 'result' and telu means 'three'. The name prob-
ably denotes the complex mixture of Hindu, Islamic and animist influences that make up this
religion; and the concept of a trinity is embodied in many Wektu Telu beliefs, such as the sun,
the moon and the stars (representing heaven, earth and water); the head, body and limbs (rep-
resenting creativity, sensitivity and control). Wektu laws are also based around three principles:
religion, custom and governance.
The number of Wektu adherents is quite small (fewer than 30,000), although this is almost
certainly understated as it is not a state recognised religion, and Wektu traditions and rituals
continue under the unifying code of Islam. Nevertheless, numbers have been steadily declining
as more and more young people now worship at orthodox Islamic mosques. You can recognise
Wektu Telu believers by their sapu puteq (white headbands), tied in a knot at the front like Bal-
inese Hindus, and their flowing white robes.
As recently as 1965 the vast majority of Sasaks in northern Lombok were Wektu Telu, but fol-
lowing the 1965 coup, Soeharto's New Order government decreed that all Indonesians must have
an agama , an officially recognised religion - either Islam, Hinduism, Christianity or Buddhism -
and indigenous religious beliefs were discouraged and decreed backward. In tense times, when
'godless' Communists were being slaughtered by the thousands, virtually all Lombok's Wektu
Telu declared themselves to be Muslims on their state identity cards - many fearing that if they
did not practise an official religion, they could be construed as being atheists. By 1967, as far as
state records were concerned, virtually all Wektu Telu had become Wektu Lima - lima (five) refers
to the five pillars of Islam that all orthodox Muslims strive to adhere to. (About 5000 villagers in
Bentek, with strong Wektu Telu traditions, originally opted to be categorized as Buddhists, but
later became Muslims).
The Wektu Telu observe only three days of fasting during Ramadan. They do not pray five
times a day as dictated by Islamic law and some have no objection to eating pork. Their dead
are buried with their heads facing Mecca, but Wektu Telu do not make pilgrimages there. In fact,
the only fundamental tenets of Islam to which the Wektu Telu seem to hold firmly are the belief
in Allah, and that Muhammad is Allah's prophet.
For the Wektu, death does not signify the end of a person's soul, and they believe that the
departed return on important days in the calendar to provide ritual blessings. For this reason,
much respect is paid to Wektu ancestors. Three rituals - the reading of sacred mantras, the
offering of betel nut, and the placement of a bowl of spring water - are performed when the
Wektu wish to invite their ancestors to a ceremony.
The Wektu also believe strongly that the spiritual world is firmly linked with the natural world -
particularly springs, hilltops and mountains (of which Rinjani is most revered). Shaman called
pemangku provide the contact between the two worlds, and act as guardians of pre-Islamic
monuments called gedeng lauq and gedeng daya, sanctuaries of linga-shaped stones protected
by bamboo roofs.
Most of the Wektu Telu religious festivals take place at the beginning of the rainy season
(from October to December), or at harvest time (April to May), with celebrations in villages all

TETEBATU
% 0376
Nestling in the lower slopes of Gunung Rinjani,
Tetebatu is an attractive rural retreat sitting at
a high enough altitude (400m) to make the
climate a tad more refreshing than down on
the sticky coast. There are magnificent views
across tobacco fields and rice paddies towards
southern Lombok, east to the sea and north to
Rinjani. The open (brick towers) that dot the
landscape are used for drying tobacco, the
major crop here. Tetebatu makes a fine setting
for a few days hiking to nearby waterfalls or
visiting the surrounding handicraft villages.
Tetebatu is quite spread out, with facilities
on roads north and east (nicknamed 'waterfall
road') of the ojek stop in the centre of the
village. There's a wartel ( h 9am-9pm) next to
Salabuse Café.
Sights & Activities
TAMAN WISATA TETEBATU
A shady 4km track leading from the main
road, just north of the mosque, heads into
the Taman Wisata Tetebatu (Monkey Forest)