Tanjung Ringgit

Tanjung Ringgit is the peninsular that sticks out of the southeast corner of Lombok overlooking Sumbawa Island across the Alas Strait. It has a rather convoluted coastline of high limestone cliffs and sandy beaches with clear, warm water, stunning scenery, quiet rural villages and an understated appeal. It’s a perfect place to poke around either on foot and by scooter.

The limestone cliffs are dotted with small caves and make interesting exploring. During World War II, Japanese soldiers set up a defensive outpost above the cliffs and bunkered down in caves, enlarging some whilst they waited for the enemy attack that never came. The cave and a cannon they left behind can be found on headland marking the southern approach to Teluk Temeak (Temeak Bay). On the same south side of headland, a man-made well has been constructed on the rocks at the base of the cliffs. How anyone ever got to it to make use of it is a bit of a mystery but it’s an interesting feature nonetheless.

Down in Temeak Bay, is a pink beach (Pantai Tangsi). Like Komodo Island’s famous pink beach, this one also gets its colour from millions of tiny red Foraminifera, a type of hard shell amoeboid, that mix with the white sand. The best place to get a photo of the beach is from the top of the adjacent headland before mid-morning or after mid-afternoon when sand is less reflective.

Further around on the far side of the bay you’ll find Pantai Segui, a lovely white sandy beach with good snorkelling and off the tip of the next bay north (Teluk Teanginangin), lies the tiny isle of Gili Sunut. At low tide walk across the sand bar and have a look around the small fishing village located there. Just be sure to get back to the mainland before the tide comes back in or you’ll have to rely on one of the fisherman to bring you back in his boat.

As Tanjung Ringgit is about a 2.5hr drive from Mataram and travelling around on the degraded local roads is quite slow so ideally you should allow a couple of days to cover the main attractions. But by then you may be feeling quite imbued by the quiet rhythm of the place and not feel so inclined to rush off. For those with plenty of money, there’s an upmarket beach camp located by the beach on the eastern side of the peninsular which is an ideal place to base yourself if you want to spend a couple of days or more exploring this quiet corner of Lombok. For the more budget conscious traveller there is accommodation within easy reach of the cape at the nearby surfing hotspot of Ekas Bay.