Over 20 villages surround Mt. Rinjani and there are many routes up the mountain, but the main access is from Senaru in the north and Sembalun Lawang to the east.
Gunung Rinjani national park lies within the major transition zone (Wallace) where the flora and fauna of South East Asia make a dramatic transition into that which is typical of Australia. The park has a rich variety of plants and animals, although they can be hard to spot due to the terrain and rainforest cover.
Sometimes seen early in the morning is the rare black Ebony leaf monkey, know locally as lutung. The long-tailed gray macaque of Kera is common in Lombok and order males are seen on the crater rim. Rusa deer are forest dwellers and are occasionally seen along the Rinjani trek train.
The smaller barking deer or Kijang has an alarm call with a distinct dog-like bark. Look for the disturbed ground where the wild pig or Babi hutan has been foraging. Also found in the forest is the leopard cat or bodok alas, palm civet or Ujat, and porcupine or Landak.
A variety of colorful birds live in the forest of the park. Perhaps the best – know icon of the park is the crested cockatoo that is not found any further west of Lombok. Many of the forest-dwelling animals, insects, birds, civets, and monkeys owe their survival to the wild fig tree or Beringin as a provider of food and shelter.
The pine-like casuarinas species, Cemara, are a feature of the grassy higher slopes. Orchids or anggrek are also a feature of the grassland areas, as is edelweiss or Bunga Abadi growing above the tree line, it is a beautiful icon of the park and one of the parks and one of our best-know sub-alvine plants.
The following stories are a selection taken from a booklet for village guides containing a collection of traditional stories that have been related for generations by the people of Dusun Senaru.
Andongan Tambing
The first place to rest, located where the paths from Senaru and Semokan meet. Andongan Tambing is one of the forest entry gates and the First Camp on the Rinjani Trek. At this point, the trekkers are warned to be careful of the steep slopes.
Half Way Point (Pos II Campsite)
At the second resting place (Camp II) is a stone which is called Batu Penyesalan. This marks the place where the trekkers feel a conflict about whether to continue or to turn back because we still have as far to go to our destination as we have already walked.
Usually, it takes about two hours to walk here from Bunut Ngengkang.
Caves
One of the three famous caves (Goa Susu, Goa Payung, dan Goa Manik), Susu Cave is a good place for self-reflection and is often used as a place to meditate. The people with unclean and envious minds will have difficulty entering Susu cave which has a narrow entrance, but people with noble and pure minds will easily enter the cave.
Inside the cave, water drips from the tip of a stone which looks like a nipple, so people say the water in Goa Susu tastes different. Inside Goa Susu is hot and there is a lot of smoke which looks like cooking steam so people call this Mengukus (hothouse) and sometimes people call it Rontgen (X-Ray).
Healing Hot Springs
Aiq Kalak means hot water and it is used to cure various diseases. One of the hot springs is named Pangkereman Jembangan which is meant a place for dipping. The water which spurts out of the spring is very hot. Weapons such as keris, swords, big knives, and lances are dipped in the spring to test their magic power. If the weapon becomes sticky it means that the weapon is bad and has no magical power. However, if the weapon remains unchanged it means that the weapon has supernatural power and the power and the strength will be increased.
People also use the hot spring to make medicine from coconut cream. After dipping a bottle of coconut cream in the hot spring if the liquid becomes clear oily it can be used as medicinal oil. Then the medicinal oil is used for good things and is called Siu Satus Tunggal or in the Bayan language Siu Satunggal which means that it can be used to cure a thousand kinds of diseases.
Segara Anak Crater Lake
Segara Anak Lake is so wide it appears like the sea with its blue water. The name Segara Anak means child of the sea.
Segara Anak Lake holds various mysteries and invisible power.
People feel content to stay a long time in this place because of the large community of mysterious spirits which live around the lake. The local people believe that if the lake looks wide when seen at a distance it is a sign they will live to old age, or if the lake seems narrow it is a sign of a shortage. So in order not to be pessimistic, people quickly purify themselves by lifting up their spirits and calm soul and look at the lake contentedly.
In the area of the lake, it is forbidden to have sexual intercourse, complaint, or say dirty things. We must be patient when facing problems.
Local Strawberry
This plant grows along the route to Mt. Rinjani. It has thorns like the rose and the fruit is red like strawberry. It has a sweet and slightly sour taste and is good to eat when trekkers are hungry and thirsty.
Eternal Flower or Edelweis
The plant or the flowers should not be taken because it grows in the park and in the mysterious world of the spirit kingdom. In the past, someone who wanted this flower must be brave enough to fight and gamble his soul. That is why the flower is called Sandar Nyawa. The flower has never wilted and is as old as the mysterious spirits.
Summit Rinjani
The people of Lombok believe that the peak of Mt. Rinjani is where Dewi Anjani, the queen spirit and ruler of Mt. Rinjani lives. To the southeast from the peak in a sea of dust called Segara Muncar is the invisible palace of the queen Dewi Anjani and her followers. They are in good spirits. According to a story about Queen Spirit Dewi Anjani, she was the daughter of a King who would not allow her to marry her boyfriend. At a spring called Mandala, she disappeared and changed from the real world to the spirit world.
Gunung Baru Jari
Gunung Baru is the name of the new volcano which emerged in the center of Segara Anak Lake. People believe that Gunung Baru is the navel of Mt. Rinjani. That is why if Gunung Baru erupted it will not harm the people of Lombok unless the eruption is from the peak of Mt. Rinjani. Some people said that the 1994 Gunung Baru eruption was caused by spirits who were building something because the stones that erupted were arranged in an orderly and attractive way at the foot of Gunung Baru.