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Hiking Pergasingan Hill in Sembalun, Lombok

Hiking Pergasingan Hill in Sembalun, Lombok

Olly Gaspar

By Olly Gaspar, full-time traveler for 6 years. I visit every place I write about & share real tips, photos, & advice from my trips.

Guide to hiking Pergasingan Hill in Northern Lombok with a local guide or independently.

Pergasingan Hill, or Bukit Pergasingan is a magnificent hiking trail located in the small mountain village of Sembalun in Northern Lombok.

This is considered a great warm-up hike before tackling the Mount Rinjani trek, or as an easier alternative for great views of the rice fields and offers one of the best sunrise vantage points of Rinjani volcano.

It is possible to complete the Pergasingan Hill in one day or as an overnight hike with a guide or without a guide if you’re fairly confident on steep trails. However, keep in mind that many local people depend on tourism income. So, if you’d prefer to be shown the way to the top by a local, I’d recommend booking a guide.

Otherwise, if you’re adamant about an unguided adventure, keep reading and I will break down both options.

Pergasingan hill and view of sembalun, lombok
View of Sembalun

Do I Need a Guide to Hike Pergasingan Hill?

It is possible to hike to Pergasingan Hill summit without a guide. However, if you want to enjoy the view at the top for sunrise and support locals, then I recommend booking the overnight camping trip, which includes a guide.

Also, if you are not staying in Sembalun, then booking a guided trip online will cover the transport, making things much easier.

I chose to hike Pergasingan Hill without a guide because I had just finished the Rinjani Crater hike the day before and I wanted an unguided hike. Also, since I was already staying in Sembalun, it was easy for me to wake up and walk to the trailhead before sunrise.

However, if you're not staying in Sembalun, then it's possible to ride here yourself from Senaru or Senggigi. Although, the road in is a little bumpy to say the least.

Rinjani volcano from pergasingan hill sunrise view
Rinjani Sunrise from Pergasinghan Hill

Booking a Pergasingan Hill Guided Tour

If you prefer a guided trek, or an overnight adventure camping at the summit, then you can book this guided hiking tour online. This is the top-rated option in terms of reviews and price since it includes all entrance fees and transport (return) with an experienced local mountain guide.

This tour is available to book as a sunrise hike, or as an overnight camping trip, which you can select on the availability screen.

If you choose the overnight option, you'll also get all camping equipment and food included in the price.

Sunrise from pergasingan hill lombok
Drone view from pergasingan hill senaru, lombok hike

Hiking Pergasingan Hill Without A Guide

  • Hiking time: 2-4 hours return
  • Difficulty: Moderate (quite steep)
  • Elevation gain: 670 meters (1,750m altitude at the summit ridge)

The Pergasingan Hill trek is a fairly steep hike reaching an altitude of roughly 1,750 meters above sea level. Although the trail is poorly marked, it is quite easy to follow without a guide as it is regularly used by tourists.

The trek will take roughly 1.5-2.5 hours to reach the summit of Pergasingan Hill, and about 1 hour to 1.5 hours on the way down. This will of course depend on your hiking speed. After a quick morning Lombok Coffee, we set off at 6:00 am and took roughly 2 hours to get to the top with photo stops on the way.

The exact starting point for the trek is conveniently pinned on Google Maps as: "PERGASINGAN HILL - Start point Hiking". You'll reach a small village hut where a tourism official will ask for your entry payment. You can park your scooter there. The hut to pay is located near the pin “Camping Ground 1000 Meter”.

The entrance fee for Pergasingan Hill is 50,000 Indonesian rupiah per person.

From here, there's a narrow dirt road that follows around some strawberry fields and eventually comes to a rackety bamboo bridge near a sign that clearly marks the way up.

Once you brave the bridge crossing, the trail immediately steepens as you begin climbing Pergasingan Hill.

In my opinion, the hardest part of this hike is finding the start of the trail. When I first did this hike, there was no Google Maps Pin. However, if you follow my directions above, it should be easy for you. Once you've found the trail, it's also difficult to get lost as the trail is very worn and easy to follow.

Just be prepared for a fairly steep hike. This isn't a pushover but shouldn't be too challenging for anyone who's climbed Rinjani.

Rinjani volcano from pergasingan hill sunrise
Hiking pergasingan hill without a guide across the bamboo bridge

The first section is steep and sandy. If you come for sunrise on a good day like we did, you'll get to watch the Rinjani's summit slowly light up orange as the fog begins to dissipate over the carpet of rice fields below.

After the first climb, the trail levels and walks through an area of thick trees and bushes before finally steepening again on the last push to the top. This last section has a steep incline crossing many boulders and loose rocks, so be careful.

It's hard to tell where the actual top of Pergasingan Hill is since the ridge seems to stretch for miles. However, you'll quickly know you're at the top when you find the campsites below a small hill of trees.

We kept walking as the sun rose along the ridge where we found some extra viewing points to the east. Surprisingly to me, we also found some cows that seem to live up there!

Drone view from pergasingan hill sembulan

Pergasingan Hill GPX Map

For your convenience, I've included a GPX file that you can follow or download to your phone or GPS watch below. I've also got a link to my Strava activity which you can follow on your phone.

GPX File: Download

My Strava: Visit

Motorbike on lombok

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View From the Summit of Pergasingan Hill

From the top of Pergasingan Hill ridge you'll have sweeping views across the ricefield landscapes of Sembalun. For sunrise, you'll hear the echoing rumble of morning prayers as they bounce around the mountain valleys.

This hilltop viewpoint is also one of the best places to see the Rinjani Summit. In fact, Sembalun is where all trekking activities to the summit depart from.

Girl at summit of pergasingan hill
Sunrise rice fields in north lombok
Sembulan village near rinjani

Camping at Pergasingan Hill

I've spoken to other hikers after publishing this guide back in 2019 and they have told me that it is quite common for travelers to bring a tent and stay up here for the night without a guide. From what I can tell, there is no fee to camp here. However, if you don't have your own overnight equipment, you can easily book the overnight camping experience I've linked above.

Drone view from pergasingan hill senaru

Pergasingan Hill Hike After the Earthquake

I originally published this hiking guide in 2019 after the terrible earthquakes. Even then, the path up to Pergasingan Hill was undamaged and was still open for hiking following the earthquakes.

It seems that now the tracks haven't changed or been damaged since, which is a good sign.

Tourism is recovering in Sembalun. If you're really set on hiking Pergasingan Hill without a guide, I'd suggest staying in Sembalun and supporting the community in the way of homestays and food.

Do I Need to Stay in Sembalun to do the Hike?

Travelers who book a tour will get transport to Sembalun included in the price, which is an attractive option if you just want to do the trek.

However, there’s so much opportunity for adventure in Sembalun that I’d definitely recommend staying here for at least a couple of nights.

I stayed here for three days as we climbed Pergasingan Hill, explored rice and strawberry fields, found viewpoints like Bukit Selong and even located some nearby waterfalls like the super underrated Mangku Sakti Falls.

Below you'll find a quick list of the best accommodation options close to Pergasingan Hill.

Where to Stay in Sembalun

Sembalun village isn’t exactly the most touristy location on Lombok. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any great guest houses or hotels available.

Bukit tiga lima outdoor view of rooms

1. Bukit Tiga Lima Luxury

Great location with impeccable views over the surrounding rice fields. This 3-star hotel features triangular rooms with BBQ facilities & included breakfast.

Radiya guest house bungalows in sembalun, lombok

2. Radiya Guesthouse Guesthouse

One of the best-value accommodation options in Sembalun. The rooms are small but very clean and have everything you need. There’s unlimited free coffee and tea, as well as a free breakfast included.

Sembalun kita cottage outdoor view

3. Sembalun Kita Cottage Cottage

Set among the mountains the Sembulan Kita Cottage offers its guests incredible views from its rooms, hot water, free breakfasts, and the option of sleeping in a 100-year-old traditional Indonesian house.

More Indonesia Travel & Adventure Guides

I hope that you've enjoyed this updated travel guide to hiking Pergasingan Hill in Sembalun, North Lombok.

Before you head off, check out some of my other guides below for more adventure travel inspiration. If you're traveling in Lombok, don't miss the epic beaches of Sengiggi and Kuta Lombok.

Also, don't miss the epic secret Gili Islands and other hidden gems in Sekotong!

Pergasingan hill hike

More Photos from My Trek

Sembulan rice fields
Drone view from pergasingan hill senaru, lombok hike
Senaru rice fields and pergasingan hill, lombok
Thanks for Reading

I’m Olly Gaspar, Australian adventure traveler and founder of We Seek Travel. Six years ago, I left home to travel full-time and started this website to share my journey. Today, it’s grown into one of the world’s largest free adventure travel resources, now supported by a team of passionate travelers writing travel guides to the places we visit.

We only make genuine, worthwhile recommendations based on our experience, expertise, & research. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, supporting this website and keeping us on the road. Read Olly's Publishing Ethics Statement.

THENNARASU

Sunday 28th of January 2024

Your review on Lombok has been fascinating and insightful. All the pictures are simply out of this world. Planning my first trip in early April 2024. Keep on inspiring with more articles. Thank you.

Margaret

Friday 27th of January 2023

/thank you. I may not make it but your photos are so very special. I've been surfing the web on this region for 3 days and never seen any thing like your photos. Wonderful and inspiring.