Nearby Island > Gili Islands

Gili Islands
Strikingly beautiful, with glorious white-sand beaches lapped by warm, brilliant blue waters, the trio of Gili Islands just off the northwest coast of Lombok has developed rapidly in recent years to cope with the crowds of visitors. Of the three, Gili Trawangan best fits the image of "party island", with heaps of accommotion, restaurants and nightlife. The smallest of the islands, Gili Meno, has absolutely no nightlife and not much accommodation and, closest to the mainland, Gili Air offers a choice, with plenty of facilities in the south, and more peace elsewhere.

Gili Trawangan
Furthest from the mainland, the largest of the islands, with a local population of 700, GILI TRAWANGAN attracts the greatest number of visitors and has moved up market at meteoric speed. The southeast of the island is virtually wall-to-wall bungalows, restaurants and dive shops; even the road has been paved along here. For quieter and less prettified surroundings head to the northeast, northwest or southwest coasts. Island transport is by cidomo, or you can rent bicycles, though the tracks around the island are very sandy in parts.
A walk around the island, less than 3km long by 2km at the widest part, takes four hours or less. Inland, the hundred-meters hill is the compulsory expedition at sunset - follow any of the tracks from the southern end of the island, for views of Agung, Abang and Batur on Bali. The area towards the northern end of the east coast of the island is very popular for snorkeling, and most people hang out here during the day; you can rent masks and flippers easily.

Gili Meno
A similar oval shape to Gili Trawangan, GILI NMNO is much smaller, about 2km long and just over 1 km wide. This is definitely the most tranquil island of the three, with a local population of just 350 and no nightlife, although some solo women travelers have found a few of the young men that hang around particularly persistent. The snorkeling is good all along the east coast. It takes a couple of hours to stroll around the island which has a picturesque salt lake in the centre, surrounded by salt-making paraphernalia. The only sight is the rather incongruously grand Gili Meno Bird Park (daily 9am-5pm; Rp30,000) in the middle of the island, containing hornbills, parakeets, cockatoos, parrots, pelicans, flamingos and ibis as well as tame deer and kangaroos to feed. AII boats arrive at the harbor on the east coast. The exception to this is the daily Bounty cruise (see p.422) from Bali which docks at the jetty on the west side of the island.

Gili Air
Closest to the mainland, with the largest local population (1000) of the three islands, GILI AIR stretches about 1.5km in each direction and takes a couple of hours to walk round. It sits somewhere between lively, social Gift Trawangan and very peaceful Gili Meno. There is a good range of accommodation available, from beach huts to luxurious bungalows. The conglomeration of restaurants and losmen behind the waste ground on the southeast corner is where you'll find most of the action, and the beach here is the most popular, with good snorkeling. Reef seekers diving operation is a well-established, highly regarded local company. There's a good range of restaurants, many of them attached to the accommodation. Most offer a range of Indonesian and Western food at cheap to moderate

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