Tetebatu Lombok: Rice Terrace Walk, Waterfall & Monkey Forest

4.97

(452 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest—my shoes were soaked before we even made it out of the first rice paddy in Tetebatu. I’d tried to step where our guide, Pak Joko, pointed (he just grinned and said “slowly, slowly!”), but the mud had other ideas. The air smelled like wet earth and something sweet from the nearby clove trees. I could hear distant laughter from kids chasing each other between the paddies—felt like everyone here knew each other. Maybe they do.

We stopped at a family house for coffee that tasted way stronger than anything I’d had in Senggigi. Pak Joko showed us how his aunt dries spices on woven mats—she let me try turning the cinnamon sticks myself (I definitely broke one). The morning was already warm, but inside their kitchen it felt cozy, with that smoky smell from wood fire. After that we walked through more terraces—some so bright green it almost hurt my eyes—and watched people bent over planting rice. A woman waved and called out “makan dulu!” which I think means “eat first.” I probably butchered my reply but she laughed anyway.

The waterfall was louder than I expected—like you have to shout to talk. Cold water, slippery rocks, and somehow Pak Joko managed not to get wet at all (I did not). Lunch was simple nasi campur at a warung overlooking the fields; honestly, I still think about those spicy sambal peanuts. Then came the monkey forest—black monkeys swinging overhead, gray ones watching us from the trees. They’re quick and curious but didn’t come too close. There was this moment when everything went quiet except for the wind in the bamboo—I don’t know why but it stuck with me.