The same crossing as the three-day route, spread over four days, with a whole day to live at the lake instead of walking past it.
Same summit, same lake, same hot springs as the three-day crossing. What changes is the rhythm. The summit morning is still the summit morning, but after it you stay two nights at the water, with a full day in between that belongs to nobody but you. You climb out of the caldera on rested legs instead of the morning after the top. It runs private only, so the days bend around your group.
No alarm, no packing up, no walking out. Breakfast when you wake, the hot springs for as long as you like, and the water at its stillest before anyone else is on it.
On the three-day route the climb to the Senaru rim comes the morning after the summit. Here a rest day sits in between, and your legs know the difference.
Summit at 3,726 m, crater rim, Segara Anak, the hot springs and the forest descent to Senaru. The full crossing, just without the grind.
Private only. The shape of the rest day is not fixed: your guide plans it with you, around your pace and what you want most from the lake.
Four days across the mountain, with two nights at the lake. Times are typical: your guide sets the pace on the day.
We pick you up wherever you are on Lombok: the airport, Bangsal harbour, Senggigi, Mataram, Kuta or your hotel, at a time we agree with you. From there it is a drive to our guesthouse in Senaru, included in the price. You check in, meet your guide, get the briefing and sleep. Shoes, poles, jacket and headlamp can be rented here that evening.
Breakfast at the guesthouse, then a 45 to 60 minute drive to the Sembalun gate for registration at 8:00. The walk begins across open savannah with the volcano ahead of you. Lunch at Pos 2 around midday, where grassland gives way to loose rock. The last stretch to the rim is the steep part, and camp is waiting on the edge by mid-afternoon, with the caldera and the small cone of Barujari below.
Up at 2:00, on the trail by 2:30, three hours of steep volcanic scree in the dark. The summit at around 5:30, as the sun breaks the horizon and the shadow of the mountain runs west across the sea. Back down to camp for breakfast, pack up at 9:00, then the switchbacks into the caldera to the lake shore. Lunch at the water, hot springs in the afternoon, and unlike the three-day route you are not walking out tomorrow.
No alarm. Breakfast when you wake, and the light comes over the crater walls slowly. Photographers get the lake at its stillest, swimmers get water nobody else is in yet. The hot springs again in the afternoon, as long as you like this time, then a second night at the water. The exact shape of the day is not fixed: your guide plans it with your group.
Breakfast by the lake at 7:00 and a last look at the water. The climb out of the caldera to the Senaru rim takes about two hours, on rested legs this time. From the rim it is a long descent through tropical forest, roots and vines and filtered light, nothing like the savannah you came up. Senaru gate at around 14:00, transfer included.
The summit morning is the summit morning: 2 am start, steep scree, 3,726 metres. That does not change. What changes is everything around it. The days are shorter, day three is pure rest, and you climb out of the caldera on recovered legs instead of the day after the summit. If the three-day crossing sounds too heavy, this is the same mountain without the grind. No technical climbing anywhere on the route.
Every trek is all-inclusive: one price covers your guide and porters, transport, all meals on the mountain, camping gear and the national park fee.
4 days · 3 nights
This route runs private only. A rest day at the lake only works if the group decides together how to spend it.
Your own guide and porters, on the date you choose, for a group of 1 to 10. Prices are per person and all-inclusive: the more of you go, the less each person pays.
The price is all-inclusive: guide, porters, all meals, camping gear and the national park fee. You book with a USD 30 deposit per person, which comes off the price, and pay the balance in cash to your guide on Lombok.
It depends on why you are coming. If you want the summit and a good story, three days does it. If you want to actually be at the lake rather than pass through it, the fourth day is the whole point.
Whatever you want. Swimming, the hot springs, photographing Barujari across the water, or lying still. Your guide plans it with your group the evening before, so it fits your pace rather than a schedule.
Some people feel it above 3,000 m. Sleeping on the crater rim first helps you acclimatise, and your guide keeps an eye on everyone during the summit push. You can always turn back: the mountain is not going anywhere.
Your porters cook fresh on the mountain: rice, noodles, vegetables, eggs, fruit, and plenty of it. Tell us about allergies or a vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free diet when you book and we cook around it. Because this trek is private, the team shops and cooks only for your group.
This is real camping, three nights of it. The tent, sleeping bag and mat are provided and carried for you, and the toilet is a simple toilet tent. The lake camp is warmer and more sheltered than the rim.