We will describe our experience in this excellent place in central Lombok: why visit Tetebatu, how to get there, what to do, where to stay, where to eat and what to do next.
Why visit Tetebatu?
If you are looking for a traditional village life in Lombok, Tetebatu is your place. It reminds a bit of Ubud 10 years ago (or 20 as some say). Stunning rice fields pretty much in any direction you look, sometimes from your window. Serenity and tranquility. As a tourist you still stand out, but still as an object of interest and not a source of overcharged prices. Children still yell “Hello” ten times at you, the adults return the greetings with a natural smile. Feels normal, unpressured and without stress.
As there are no bigger commercial hotels, you will stay in a homestay. And this is excellent news because most likely you enjoy a modern, comfortable and clean room or bungalow with the local artistic elements. Secondly, you will meet the local family, who are predominantly polite and helpful. And let’s not forget the amazing local food, which they will prepare for you.
Beware, few tourists with no open partying. This is a conservative Islamic area with daily calls to prayer. Feels galaxies away from Kuta in Bali.
How to get there?
From the Lombok airport, there is basically only one option: a taxi. There are two options here. (1) You can pre-order one from your accommodation in Tetebatu, this is standard and all of them do it. (2) Negotiate with a taxi driver at the airport. As always, this is an invitation to spend some time haggling as it is guaranteed that the initial prices will be unreasonably high.
At the end of the day, my experience has been that the homestay pre-ordered price is usually better even after some serious negotiating. In other words, the end cost is similar without all the mental energy lost in the haggling process.
The current prices to Tetebatu (whole car one way):
Lombok airport-Tetebatu: IDR250,000 – 300,000 (1.25 hours)
Senaru (north of Mt Rinjani) – Tetebatu: IDR500,000-600,000 (3 hours)
Bayan (traditional/animist village north of Mt Rinjani) – Tetebatu: IDR500,000-600,000 (3 hours)
Sambulan (east of Mr Rinjani) – Tetebatu: IDR300,000 (1.5 hours)
Kuta (Lombok) – Tetebatu: IDR300,000 – 450,000 (1.25 hours)
Mataran – Tetebatu: IDR 300,000 – 450,000 (1.25 hours)
What to do in Tetebatu?
This is one of those places to leave your busy life behind and immerse yourself in something totally different. You are guaranteed to remember those moments when you are back in your daily life running to the next deadline. And they will provide a consolation that the current crisis will be over soon and that another world actually really exists.
In Tetebatu you will sample the elements of the local life. There will be no distractions of cool bars or restaurants, or another earth-shattering disco. You will walk through the rice fields. Search for and feel the elation of spotting the monkeys. Do a long walk around the village, which takes at least 2 hours as it is so spread out. Stand under the waterfall in a cave for a few minutes. And then, with a feeling of mission accomplished, you will enjoy a meal in a local restaurant (“warung”). It might include the rice growing in the adjacent field and fish, which just has been picked from the restaurant’s own fishery (please visit Lesehan to verify this with your own eyes).
Specifically, these are the bucket list options, which are offered by every homestay:
(1) Go on a walk organized by your homestay
It will take 4-5 hours and include lunch. Initially, you will walk through the rice fields and your guide will explain different grains, their growth cycle and impact of water, sun, pesticides, and harvest changes.
Afterwards, you will go to the Tetebatu waterfall for a welcome break. After changing into your beach gear in a dress room, you will walk through the cave to the small waterfall. A pure bliss to stand there after the relentless sun in the rice fields before. The cold water will rejuvenate you within a few minutes and you will return full of energy.
With this positive attitude you will go to the Monkey Forest. Most likely you will find at least one large family, which will be feeding, playing or sleeping in the tall trees. Quite a spectacle to see them jumping among fragile branches 10-15 meters above.
You will then walk to a local warung, where the local curries, chicken and fish will be waiting for you.
All homestays offer a similar itinerary with the approximate IDR50,000 – 100,000 cost per person.
(2) Local events in Tetebatu
You will have a chance to see a stick fighting game. It is a local tradition, the fight is energetic but without major injuries. Definitely for tourists but there are locals as well.
Visiting the pottery or weaving workshops and coffee roasting are additional activities offered by all homestays. You might also like cooking a local Lombok meal with the other tourists and your host family, highly recommended.
(3) Own walk
Equipped with GPS-guided map walking around in this stunning neighborhood by yourself is excellent. The views are excellent, everybody is nice, you can stop for the flavorful Indonesian coffee or some fresh local food every few minutes.
Overall, in comparison with the touristy Bali and Kuta in Lombok, fewer tourists visit Tetebatu. But I am yet to meet one who came and was disappointed.
Where to stay?
I stayed at the outstanding Al Sasaki homestay. The bungalows are modern, comfortable, clean and designed with elegant local elements. The owner and his family speak fluent English, are polite and helpful, and will meet your requests. In addition, their home-made food is excellent. Highly recommended.
Where to eat?
Your homestay. It will probably serve some incredible home-made food. Try the local sasak food.
Warung Lesehan next to the waterfall serves its own rice and fish. Oktavia warung is good as well.
Is Tetebatu the next Ubud?
This is the question which you will hear in Tetebatu a few times. Firstly, Ubud has been phenomenally successful over the last 5 years. The town has changed massively, even in spite of the pandemic. It continues to draw ever larger visitor numbers and has become one of the cornerstones on the Indonesia tourist trail. However, the noisy traffic jams form from 5am to 10pm. The construction seems to be a 24/7 operation (please verify the big sites along the main road when you arrive). The arrival of Starbucks and the Ralph Lauren shops.
On the other hand, Tetebatu is in early stages of its development. Yes, it has similar rice fields, a monkey forest and a cool waterfall. But it still does not have a clearly-defined center, where tourists get together to eat, shop and swap stories. It will surely come but, for now, Tetebatu remains a quiet and traditional place for the pioneers.
What to do next?
It depends if you (1) want more less touristy things or (2) return to the tourist areas.
(1) go north for the off-beaten-track places such as Mt Rinjani (Lombok) Hike and the traditional Bayan village with a mix of the Islamic and animist culture. The volcano views are excellent and you can do several hikes ranging from day (“Panorama Walk”), to climb to the crater rim or lake (3 days / 2 nights) or reach the summit (more strenuous 3 days / 2 nights).
(2) travel to Kuta, Sengiggi or How to get to Gili islands for beaches, surfing, diving and easy life.
Beyond Lombok, consider Flores. A Komodo tour, an authentic settlement (for example, Bena Traditional Village (Flores)) or a mini-Komodo boat tour on deserted islands in Riung (Flores) are great options.
