Tetebatu - a beautiful village in Lombok, Indonesia
Mu, from my homestay in Tetebatu, could not believe that I have come to explore a small village in Lombok, the lesser known island of Indonesia. He asked me why I did not go to Bali, and I smiled!
Spending a day in Tetebatu was no less than a dream. We saw the peak of Mount Rinjani shining like gold with the first light of the day and explored the vast rice fields. Took a dip in the hidden waterfall in a cave, and then ate in Sasak style. Tetebatu surprised me in many ways!
People often call Tetebatu as ‘Ubud of Lombok’ due to the vast terraced farmed rice fields and waterfalls. But unlike Ubud, I did not find any crowded cafes, fancy villas, or rendezvous of travelers in Tetebatu. It is a quiet, serene village which took me back in the time and taught a lot about a simple way of living a self-sustainable life.
If you want to experience the countryside of Indonesia and the real traditional way of living Sasak life, visit Tetebatu.
Basis my mystical experience, here is a detailed travel guide covering everything you need to know while planning a trip to Tetebatu. You will need at least two days to explore the village properly.
Things to do in Tetebatu
1. Explore the rice fields surrounded by Mount Rinjani
Take out your scooter and hit the Tetebatu roads at sunrise. You will see the morning sunlight beaming the misty green paddy field and pearl-like drops of water on each paddy grass with Mount Rinjani in the backdrop.
Stop your scooter in any field and meet the locals who start working at sunrise. Even though you won’t be speaking the same language, you will experience warmth, love, and happiness in their smile.
2. Swim in heavenly beautiful Sarang Waltet Waterfall / Tetebatu waterfall
Tetebatu waterfall is a dreamy place. You will walk through the rice field, a tunnel filled with water, cross the water through a manmade bamboo bridge and finally swim in a waterfall directly flowing from Mount Rinjani. If you arrive here in the late morning (around 10), you will see the sunlight passing through thick vegetation and falling on waterfall – a spectacular, shimmering sight to behold.
The entry charges for Tetebatu waterfall is INR 75 (USD 1). Pin “Sarang Walet waterfall” on google map if you are exploring without a guide.
3. Visit Benang Stokel and Benang Kelambu waterfalls
Lombok is a heaven of waterfalls, there are so many of them and each one is so beautiful and unique in itself. Benang Stokel and Benang Kelambu are two such beautiful waterfalls in Air Berik village which is around an hour away from Tetebatu. These waterfalls are part of a national park which has many other waterfalls. There are entry charges for these waterfalls depending on how many you want to visit.
4. Tetebatu Monkey forest
Tetebatu Monkey Forest is a thick forest and home for grey macaques and black langur. Well, if you wanna say hello to monkeys (without touching), go to the monkey forest!
Take care of all your belongings, these monkeys are mischievous. Be careful while feeding, since they are wild, they might get aggressive. Don’t take out your phone/ camera/ key etc while they are close (these monkeys love shiny stuff, once they take it, you will not get it back)!
5. Trek to Mount Rinjani through Air Berik route
From Tetebatu you can also trek to Mount Rinjani (the second highest volcano in Indonesia) via Air Berik Trail. Air Berik trail goes through the dense forest which makes it different from other trails (Senaru and Sembalun).
This trail is not that explored because you can only trek till the crater rim of the Mountain Rinjani and cannot go to the summit (unlike the Senaru or Sembalun route). Since post-earthquake in 2018, trekking till summit is officially closed from all the routes, you can trek to Rinjani through Tetebatu route.
6. Try your hands on braided bamboo handicrafts
If you want to explore the cultural side of Lombok, go for a handicraft tour in Tetebatu and other nearby villages. These villages are known for an authentic Sasak cultural experience and are also a hub of traditional handicraft artisans.
Loyok village, only 30 minutes away from Tetebatu, is a hub for bamboo handicrafts. You can learn the entire process of bamboo braiding from the locals here.
7. Make your Sarong at Pringgasela village
In Pringgasela village, they say a girl must know to weave and she should weave at least a piece of fabric for her future husband as a symbol of love. If you want to know more about weaving the beautiful sarongs with traditional bamboo tools, head to the Pringgasela village.
There are many other things to do in Tetebatu like – Sasak stick fighting in Kotaraja village, coffee making, pottery, etc. Choose the activities depending upon your interest and time.
Also, if possible make some purchases from these traditional artists or give some tips out of courtesy because this is one way of earning their livelihood.
Tetebatu Tour Guide
Tetebatu has many hidden waterfalls, rice fields and it is a place to be seen from the local’s eye. I will recommend you to hire a guide for a day and he will take you to all the secret places, explain about vegetation, Sasak culture, etc.
You can contact Edi through WhatsApp on +62 823 39 168 368 or Mu on +62 85288943498. These guys are amazing! The guides mostly do not discuss per day charges upfront. Will be good to discuss that beforehand. The usual charges are INR 750 (USD 10) for a day.
Hiring a guide is not a must, you can explore Tetebatu on your own as well.
Tetebatu Lombok Accommodation
Tetebatu is far away from mass tourism and hence, most of the places are homes turned into homestays and small bamboo bungalows. You can find accommodation starting from INR 500 (USD 7) for a twin sharing room with breakfast and a good view. I had stayed in Mu Homestay. The moment we entered the house, he made us feel so homely and also became our guide for a day to show us around Tetebatu. We had our lunch at his house. He was understanding and friendly.Other recommended places to stay -
- Tetebatu Sama Bungalows – A beautiful bamboo bungalow. Per night charges for a room will be around
INR 700 (USD 10).
- Tetebatu mountain resort – one cozy place amidst the rice fields. You can check the prices on their website here.
- Dream Catcher Camp Tetebatu – A simple hippie camp in the middle of the jungle. Prices are INR 608 (USD 9) per night. Not a bad price to for two people.
How to get to Tetebatu
The local transport in Lombok is not yet that developed and hence, there are not many options for buses in Lombok. A taxi will be the best alternate for hopping between the cities/ villages in Lombok.
If you are reaching Lombok through flight, you can get a Grab Taxi (book through the app) at the airport. We found Grab taxi only at the airport and not at any other part of Lombok. We had to connect with the local tour/ taxi operators for booking taxis.
Lombok Airport to Tetebat — Airport to Tetebatu is around 45 km and the charges will be around INR 1000 (USD 15), if you book through Grab.
Kuta (South Lombok) to Tetebatu — Kuta to Tetebatu is around 56 km and we had paid INR 1700 (USD 25) for a drop from Kuta to Tetebatu.
Senaru/ Sembalun (North Lombok) to Tetebatu — Senaru/ Sembalun to Tetebatu is around 90 km. The route is through hills and it will take around 3 hours to reach Tetebatu. Expect to pay around INR 2000 for the taxi.
Tetebatu Restaurants
Tetebatu is a small village and you will not find many cafes/ restaurant/ hotels etc. Mostly the homestays you chose will provide you breakfast and on request can also arrange for lunch/ dinner.
If you want, here are a few restaurants which you can try (I did not visit any of them since we had all our meals with Mu at our homestay).
Tips for Vegetarian/ vegan
Most of the people in Lombok are non-vegetarian and if you are a vegetarian/vegan, do inform them that you do no eat meat/ fish/ sea food etc.
Tetebatu Weather
December to March is the wet season in Tetebatu. June to September is a dry season with an average temperature around 25 degrees Celsius. During the beginning of the dry season, you will see greener forests, beautiful waterfalls and cozy evenings making it a pleasant time to visit Tetebatu. We had visited Tetebatu is June and the weather was so good. It was slightly colder in the night and thank god we were carrying a warm layer with us.
What should be the budget for Tetebatu
As I have mentioned before, Tetebatu is inexpensive. The daily cost can be managed in less than INR 1500 (USD 21).
Homestay including breakfast– INR 500-700 (USD 7-10)
Onetime meal – INR 300 (USD 4)
You will need to spend around INR 4000 (USD 60) for a two days’ trip. You can find enough number of money exchange centers/ ATMs in and around Tetebatu.
Is Tetebatu be safe for Solo female travelers
Yes, Tetebatu is safe for solo female travelers. People in Tetebatu are friendly, nice and helpful.
Few tips - Will be good to have a local guide to show you the places around. Dress modestly and respect the local culture (irrespective if you are solo or with someone as Lombok is a Muslim dominated Island).
I hope the blog answers all the questions you had for Tetebatu and reading this blog helped plan your next awesome trip to Indonesia! Drop a comment if you have other questions on Tetebatu or need any help in planning your Lombok itinerary. Will be happy to help!
You can check out my other blogs for Lombok, Indonesia here-
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Happy traveling!
Love,
Tanned Travel Girl