I hiked a 12,000+ foot tall volcano in Indonesia. It was difficult, but the views were amazing.

When I went to Indonesia, I was picturing sandy beaches, warm water, and tropical fruit cocktails. I was not expecting a gigantic volcano that would simultaneously become the bane of my existence and the most incredible experience of my one-year trip abroad. 

I spent 3 weeks in Indonesia in March and April 2024. My partner and I decided to spend most of our time on the island of Lombok — the island next to Bali. It’s much less touristy, and it’s easily accessible by boat from Bali. 

Mt Rinjani is a 12,224 ft volcano in the northern part of Lombok. It’s the second-tallest volcano in Indonesia. It’s active, too, and last erupted in 2010. 

When I first got to Lombok, I was not planning on doing much hiking. I was planning on exploring the beaches and going surfing. But as soon as I saw pictures of Mt. Rinjani, I knew I wanted to summit it. 

It takes 2 days to hike to the summit, and you must do a guided tour. You can only hike Mt. Rinjani during the dry season, which is April to November. 

I hike regularly and have climbed mountains this tall before, but I’ll be honest — this was incredibly difficult for me. There’s over 9,000 ft of elevation gain, and I got altitude sickness near the top. 

I almost didn’t make it to the summit.

But I pushed through and was rewarded with some of the most incredible views of my entire life. 

Even though it was hard, I’m so glad I hiked Mt. Rinjani. It showed me a completely different side of Indonesia — the jungle, the mountains, the small villages — that many people don’t see from just visiting the popular tourist spots on the coast. 

Plus, the views at the top were unmatched. It ended up being one of my favorite things I did in Indonesia. 

My Mt. Rinjani Tour

Going with a tour group is the best way to hike Mt. Rinjani. 

The volcanic terrain is tricky to follow, there are tons of different paths on the mountain, and there are no real signs giving directions. I’m always skeptical of paying money to hike, but this was one instance where it was necessary. 

Luckily, there are plenty of tours available.

I booked this Mt. Rinjani Summit Tour through a local company based in Lombok. I had a great time and can definitely recommend them. It was $225 USD for the 2-day, 1-night trek. 

The tour included a professional local guide, all meals, all transportation, gear like sleeping bags and tents, and a free night at their homestay before the hike. It also includes porters that carried our gear all the way up the mountain. It was definitely worth the money! 

Day 1: Arrival in Senaru

The first step to hiking Mt. Rinjani is getting to the small mountain village of Senaru, in the north of Lombok. 

We were staying in the south, and Senaru was about a 3-hour drive away. But our tour included transportation, so we were picked up by a private car and driven directly to Senaru! It was so easy. 

Senaru has a lot of homestays, so most hikers spend one night in the village before beginning the Rinjani trek early the next morning. Our homestay here was super comfortable — we got a private room, with friendly hosts and good food. 

After we settled in, we headed out on a short afternoon hike to the nearby Tiu Kelep waterfall.

And wow — this waterfall was one of the best I’ve ever seen. I would come to Senaru just to hike to this waterfall, even if I didn’t do the Rinjani hike!

The walk was fairly wet and slippery, and there were a few sections where we had to wade through a river. But it only took about an hour, and we passed by several other amazing waterfalls on the way. 

After returning from the waterfalls, we ate dinner at our homestay and packed our backpacks for our trek. We had a small orientation where we met our local guide and the 3 other hikers who would be in our group. Then we went to bed, ready to get up bright and early the next morning to begin hiking.  

Day 2: Travel to Mt. Rinjani & hike to the crater rim

Our day began around 7 am. We drove in the bed of a flatbed truck with all of our backpacks and gear, bouncing around the dirt roads of Senaru with the wind in our hair. 

We stopped at various points along the way to pick up our porters. These are local men who carry your gear, food, and water up the mountain and set up camp. Our team of porters was amazing and made our hike so much more manageable. 

After an hour-long drive, we made it to the trailhead in the small village of Sembalun. 

The hike starts off relatively easy — the first section mostly involves trekking around low hills, jungle, and tranquil cattle. 

It was beautiful scenery, but I quickly noticed how many other people were hiking with us. Even though our group was only 11 people, there were a number of other groups who had started around the same time. 

Hiking Mt. Rinjani is popular, and it only gets more crowded further into the tourist season. 

Luckily, our trek was in the early part of the season, so we only saw about 100 others while we were there. It made for a fun vibe, with lots of other hikers and porters around. Everyone was spread out around the mountain, so it never felt too crowded. 

We took a lunch break after about 3 hours, where our porters cooked us some mie goreng (stir-fried noodles). Having hot, fresh-cooked food in the middle of a hike was new for me, and it absolutely rocked. 

After lunch, the hike got considerably more difficult. The trail was steep, muddy, and humid. I specifically remember taking a break, breathless and sweaty, while a team of porters cruised by me carrying 50 pounds of gear and booking it up the mountain.

After 4 more hours of switchbacks and considerable elevation gain, we finally reached our base camp. 

We were camping at the crater rim, which overlooked a caldera — a volcanic crater — with a big lake. High above us, we could see the peak of Rinjani. I was so out of breath, but the views were beautiful.

Our porters cooked us dinner (a nice curry), and then we went right to bed. We had to be up at 2 am the next morning to hike to the summit for sunrise. 

Day 3: Summit at sunrise, then hike back down

I’m going to be honest, I did not enjoy the hike up to the summit. To this day, it is the worst I’ve ever felt on a hike.  

We began at 2:30 am, and we hiked almost the entire way in the dark. It was cold, dark, and super steep. There was a small string of lights from all the other hikers’ headlamps, so we could kind of see how much further we had to go. But it felt like we were barely making progress towards the top. 

The worst part of hiking a volcano is that the slope is incredibly slippery. For every step forward I took, I would slide back a little bit in the gravel. Our guide was very kind, and we took a lot of breaks with snacks and water, but we were all struggling. 

Around 3 hours in and 75% of the way up, I began to feel extremely light-headed. I couldn’t catch my breath, I felt dizzy, and my hands kept tingling. I was worried I had altitude sickness. 

Altitude sickness wouldn’t be out of the question. We had gained about 9,000 ft of elevation in the span of 24 hours, with no time to adjust. 

My guide was extremely patient and kind, and I’m so grateful to him. He gave me tons of snacks, stayed with me whenever I felt dizzy, and encouraged me to keep going unless I felt unsafe or nauseous. 

At one point, he even offered to find me a spot to sit down if I didn’t want to continue hiking to the top. But I was stubborn. If I had made it that far, I was going to make it to the top. 

And when I finally made it — it was spectacular. 

We made it to the summit around 7 am, right after the sun had risen. The clouds were pink, and the morning light flooded across the mountain. Below me, I could see the caldera, the lake, and the active center of the volcano. Beyond that, I could see all the way to the ocean. 

Standing on top of Mt. Rinjani, all the work it took to get there suddenly became worth it. I kept crying because it was so beautiful and awe-inspiring. We took many pictures, admired the 360-degree views of Lombok, and gazed at the vibrant colors of the rocks, trees, and water. 

I’ve never seen anything like it, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see anything like it again. Rinjani is sacred to the local Sasak people. Standing up there, I could understand why. 

After about 30 minutes on top of the summit, we began our long descent. 

Going down the summit section was much easier, and I began to feel less lightheaded the more I descended. After about 2 hours, we reached our tents at the crater rim, where our porters had prepared breakfast and coffee for us. 

By this point, I felt much better and could fully relax. We ate breakfast overlooking the beautiful lake, other hikers laughing and joking around us, and I felt extremely fulfilled. 

After breakfast, our porters packed up our tents and gear, and we set off to finish hiking down. I was starting to crash — I was exhausted, my feet hurt, and I was ready for a nice big nap. 

It took about 6 hours to hike from the crater rim all the way back to the trailhead, where the truck was waiting to pick us up. We tipped our porters (more on that later), thanked our guide, and then headed back to our homestay for a long, long night’s sleep. 

Why was the summit hike so hard?

I’ve hiked other mountains taller than this one before — why was summiting Mt. Rinjani so hard for me?

I’m still trying to figure that out. Did I not eat enough? Had I been at sea level for too long before the trek? Was I just in worse shape than I thought? 

Overall, I think it was a combination of the massive elevation gain and the lack of nutrients. 

Before our hike, we were staying on the coast. We had been at sea level for several weeks at that point. I was actually living on a sailboat the whole week before hiking Rinjani. 

Basically, I went from sea level to 12,224 ft in about 36 hours. There was no time to acclimatize. 

I also didn’t love the snacks that our guide brought. They were helpful at the moment, but they were very sugary and not nutrient-dense. I missed the Clif bars I usually bring on big hikes back home. 

If I could go back and hike Mt. Rinjani again, I would spend a few days at a higher altitude to acclimatize. And I would bring more nutrient-dense snacks. 

Here’s what to know before you go

Go earlier in the season

Our trip was already crowded, and it was only the first week of the season. Our guide told us that it only gets worse further into the dry season (April to November). Anywhere from 500-2000 people could be on the mountain on a given day.

Mt. Rinjani is not an easy hike

Make sure you’re in good shape. Climb an 8,000+ ft mountain (if possible) to prepare. 

Bring appropriate footwear

I saw so many people hiking in Converse or Nike tennis shoes. I don’t know how they did it, but I was very glad to have packed my hiking boots. 

There are no toilets on the mountain

Get comfortable digging a hole. 

If you’re headed to Indonesia, climb Mt. Rinjani at the beginning of your trip

Then, lounge on the beach and drink mai tais for the rest of the time. 

Tipping the porters is expected and not included in the overall cost of the trip

The porters definitely do not make enough money for all the work they do. Giving a small tip is customary. Make sure you have some cash on hand at the end of your hike.

🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: If you liked this article, you’ll love Episode 5 of the Travel Lemming Podcast on YouTube. Betty & I chat about my hike and the island of Lombok (that segment starts at 41:52). You can also listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

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After hiking Mt. Rinjani, I was exhausted and sore but so incredibly amazed. 

Would I do it again? Honestly, no. Once is enough. 

But am I glad I did it? 100%. It was some of the most incredible scenery I’ve ever seen. 

I’d love to go back to Indonesia and hike some of the other mountains there. But now I know a little more about what to expect — it will be hard, but it’s so worth it.

If you’re on the hunt for travel adventures yourself, read Taylor’s article on why adventure travel is her favorite way to see the world.