Traditional Villages

About two kilometers past Pemenang, an unpaved road runs from the northwestern Lombok beach to Sira beach, where you can find hotels. It's a good place for diving. From Sira until past Tanjung (where there is a Sunday market) the beach is made from black volcanic sand.

Anyar (which also has a Sunday market), capital of Bayan sub district, is located 35 km north of Tanjung. On a number of other locations along the road, puma stone is collected. The road runs through a coconut-palm forest, interchanged with fields and vegetable gardens, which locally are over one km long. Inland the Islamic cemeteries are passed marked by old, West Indian red jasmine trees.

Three traditional villages between Pemenang and Anjar - Jambianon, Krakas and Gondang - are located of the tourist locations and have managed to stay out of the tourist influence for a long time. The residents are friendly and have a quiet, traditional existence.

The water around Gili Air is crystal clear, but there is not much to see for snorkels. The coral has been blown away with dynamite and there is not much fish as well; sometimes there are dangerous jellyfish, which force visitors out of the sea. The best place for snorkeling is the edge of the cliff, which surrounds the island; the coral descends about 14 to 20 meters.