Gunung Rinjani - Trek in the cloud
Rinjani had been lingering in our minds since quite a while, ever since we came back from Merbabu in Java. We booked the trip three months in advance and we put honest effort in training for this trip. (Running 5 km, 3 times a week and 100 km cycling on Saturdays ). Situated in the center of Lombok in Indonesia, Gunung Rinjani is an active volcano. It is considered as one of the challenging treks in South East Asia. A 3 day 2 night trek is quite popular and gives just enough time to explore the crater rim and summit. A relatively comfortable trek would be 4 day 3 night one. For the ones interested in summit attempt, Sembalun route is the way to go. We found Sembalun route as more comfortable and scenic also. Sembalun itself is 2 and half hour from Lombok Airport. The other route starts at Semaru (3.5 hrs from airport) but it ends at crater rim. One will have to do an additional day trek to reach Sembalun side for summit a