West Nusa Tenggara is a province with many islands apart from the largest islands, namely Lombok and Sumbawa. These small islands can be reached by small boat or speedboat and it only takes a short time and the fun is that the waves are not big, making it comfortable for tourists who will visit there.
In the local language, the small island is called “Gili”. The 3 most famous Gili in NTB are Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. However, the other dyke are no less exotic than the previous 3 dyke.
Some of the Gilis have provided accommodation in them, so that tourists can stay and enjoy the natural beauty and feel the sensation of living in the middle of the ocean at night, enjoying the morning with pure and cool air. If this activity is done with a group, it will be more fun. Can hold grilled fish activities, small parties, diving together.
So, here is a brief info about Gili tourism or a small island in West Nusa Tenggara that you can enjoy together.
Small Island Tourism in West Nusa Tenggara
Gili Trawangan
Of the three Gilis, Trawangan is the most extensive. Its position is in the northwest of Lombok.
This island has 800 inhabitants with a length of 2 kilometers and a width of 2 kilometers. Although small, the facilities on the island are so famous that the Tir Na Nog shop mentions that there are Irish bars you can find on the island.
On Gili Trawangan people hold parties all night long. However, local regulations do not allow motorbikes to enter this area.
The transportation you’ll find here is a bicycle and a cidomo, a simple type of horse-drawn carriage.
Visitors do scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, horse riding and other activities. This beach on Gili Trawangan is the most beautiful location to enjoy the sunset.
Gili Air
Gili Air is located closest to the island of Lombok and is famous for its beautiful beaches.
This beach on Gili represents the real beauty of the beaches in Lombok. The location is in Gili Indah Village, Pemenang, North Lombok area.
There are several interesting spots that you can enjoy on Gili Air, including watching various colorful fish, turtle spots, sea horses, and various other marine biota.
The indigenous people on Gili are the Bugis and Sasak tribes. They work as fishermen, tour guides, and traders.
Generally, tourists who visit this area are foreign tourists. The months of July to August are the time for foreign tourists to visit which is quite busy.
Gili Meno
You can visit Gili Meno by traveling overland for about 45 minutes from Mataram City. On the island there is a bird park which has a collection of rare birds in Indonesia.
The sand on the beach of this island is also very famous, the color is white and still looks very natural.
Similar to Gili Trawangan, motorized vehicles are very limited. There are only bicycles and horse-drawn carriages. Including the use of electricity which is also limited.
On this island you can swim on a beautiful beach with a chorus of entertaining birds chirping.
If you are interested in getting to know and holding these beautiful birds directly, you can visit Bird Park, which is located at Bird Park Homestay.
Gili Nanggu
Gili Nanggu is located in the Lombok Strait, Sekotong District, West Lombok. This Gili beach has calm waves, clear blue water and white sand. The sea water of this beach has very beautiful color gradations. No wonder this Gili is a favorite honeymoon destination for tourists.
On this island you can dive and snorkel, visit small islands and hunt for cool photo spots. The island which has an area of 8 hectares is also the best Lombok tourist spot to enjoy the sunset.
Facilities such as resorts are available on this island. It is an ideal place for you to enjoy a variety of marine life such as fish that look very tame.
Gili Gede
Gili Gede is one of the small islands in Lombok with a length of only 4 kilometers. The location is about 500 meters to the northwest of the island of Lombok.
Besides being famous for its beautiful beaches and sea, this island is also an ideal Lombok tourist spot to witness various coral reefs. The weather on this island is quite good so it becomes a quite beautiful place to watch the sunrise and sunset.
In this island area there are also many inns, hotels, and resorts. On this island already stands Elementary School and Junior High School. This island has around 550 families whose livelihoods are fishermen.
You can access this island by sea, which is about 30 minutes by ferry. If you choose the land route, it is about 1.5 hours drive from Lombok International Airport.
Gili Kedis
Gili Kedis is located in the Sekotong Tengah area, West Lombok area. This island is a very beautiful location not only to enjoy the beauty of its land, but also its stunning underwater natural charm.
In the waters of this island, visitors can see colorful coral reefs, tame-looking fish and anemones swaying in clear waters.
The shoreline is quite shallow and is an ideal snorkeling location. Enjoying the sunrise and sunset is also done by many beach visitors.
In addition, the visitors who come also usually do camping. Visitors can rent a boat to visit the small islands that exist. You can enjoy the beauty of this island for 24 hours
Gili Sudak
Gili Sudak is one of the new unspoiled dyke that you can visit while in Lombok. Located in West and Central Sekotong, West Lombok.
The distance is about 2 hours from Mataram City. Gili Sudak and Gili Kedis are two islands with a beauty that is often considered identical.
The beach sand on this island is very white with transparent water color. The visitors do a lot of swimming, diving, snorkeling to just playing beach volleyball.
On this island, there are good places to eat, hotel-class accommodations that you can use for sightseeing. The crossing to the island will cost quite expensive, ranging from 250 thousand to 300 thousand.
Gili Asahan
Gili Asahan is located in Batu Putih Village, Sekotong area, West Lombok. The unique beauty of this dyke is the beautiful underwater scenery.
In this dyke area, visitors can see soft and hard coral with unspoiled conditions.
You can dive or snorkel to see it up close. The sea water is very clear and the sea waves are small, making it an ideal location for diving.
The coastline with white sand looks increasingly making the atmosphere on Gili Asahan a perfect portrait of nature.
You can do the trip to the dyke for about 2 hours by land and then proceed with a trip by speedboat for about 20 minutes to the island.
Just when you cross you can already see the beauty of the waters that are so charming. Visiting this dyke will be more comfortable if you use tour services.
Gili Layar
Not only Gili Trawangan, Gili Layar also offers an unforgettable beautiful view of the island. Not only the beautiful beach atmosphere, the underwater scenery on this island is also the main treat that you must enjoy.
This island has an area of 53 hectares with an atmosphere that seems more private. Conditions on this island are still quite calm because it has not been visited by many tourists. This visit to Gili Layar also allows you to visit other small islands that are located around Gili Layar.
The atmosphere of the water on this dyke is very calm. Ideal conditions for those of you who like to dive and swim to see the beauty of the underwater charm that is still beautiful and natural.
Gili Tangkong
Gili Tangkong is a virgin dyke in the Lombok area. Not many tourists have visited the island, so it is very rare for visitors to find plastic and other inorganic waste.
This pristine island is ideal for you to use as a place for snorkeling, diving, swimming, and more.
You can see beautiful coral reefs with colorful marine fish in the dyke waters.
For those of you who want to visit Gili Tangkong, you can go through Mawun Harbor by renting a motor boat.