Bikes, Buses, Boats, Beaches and Beer, on a Budget - Noddy's (mis)Adventures in Asia

DAY2 ON THE BIKE - SENARU AND SENDANG GILA
(SLIGHTLY CRAZY WATERFALL)

Day 2 on the road took us past some amazing coastline, some of the best in Asia, a very chilled vibe about the place and awesome winding coast roads to lean the bike into, seriously the only way to see a place like this.

By pure chance we stopped for Bakso (a local meatball and noodle soupl) and a cold drink at a little beachside warung, I think it was called Ketapang Beach, somewhere around the town of Amor Amor.

The food was good and so was the sunset, but it wasn’t until we took off again on the bike and looked back that we realized the sun was setting right behind the peak of Mt Agung, Bali. It was magnificent but had we noticed only 15 minutes earlier we would have seen even more of this fantastic display of nature. It was still great and I urge you to try to coincide a stop there on sunset if possible.

We finally made it to the town of Senaru, perched at the base of Mt Rinjani and the gateway town for only the very serious hikers, after dark and found a place to crash. Pondok Indah served it’s purpose and early the next morning we made the trek to the famous Sendang Gila Waterfall (slightly crazy waterfall). The guys at our guesthouse recommended an alternative route which we found easily.

It was an awesome walk along a little dirt track that followed the irrigation channels that feed the farms and overlooked a huge valley of rice fields and palm trees. Monkeys met us along the way and we didn’t see a soul all the way to the first waterfall which was fairly easy. The other way in is apparently just stairs most of the way, I definitely prefer something more natural.

The second fall took us on another great trek through beautiful jungle and is well worth the visit to Senaru, I had read and heard stories of locals wanting to guide you there and actually becoming a little aggressive about it, but there really is no need unless you are absolutely new to the outdoors and jungle hiking.

There is one section where the path stops, you simply cross the river, keep walking another 50 metres, then cross back into the middle of the river bed where you will see a little dry island. Continue up the middle of the river until you see the path again on your left hand side, the same bank it finished on. A path leads you all the way from there, very easy.

The guides I believe try to charge anywhere from 50k to 300k rp or more and it is a total scam. If it’s your first time outside the house, then maybe consider a guide, otherwise save your money. The waterfall itself was brilliant, it comes down with such force it actually creates waves and you can swim into a cave almost behind the falL.

local legend says that anybody who swims into the cave becomes a year younger or gains an extra year of life (something like that?!). We had the place to ourselves for over an hour before some locals turned up, just as we were considering a skinny dip, lucky they didn’t come along 5 minutes later!

This was one of the most enjoyable walks I think I have done and the waterfall’s themselves were fantastic also, don’t miss out when visiting Lombok, the town of Senaru alone has a unique feeling about it and is surrounded by lush scenery.

Sunset over Bali