Kuta Lombok is the most popular destination on the island of Lombok. It’s full of hip cafe’s, modern accommodation and is the hub for surfing and beach adventures. When you are by the beach your major concern as the afternoon begins to fade is where you should head for sunset. The best sunset viewpoint is Bukit Merese Hill in Kuta Lombok. However, it’s also an awesome place to explore during the day. For some reason, no other tourists decided to hit the hill during the day while it was quite crowded at the sunset point.

Bukit Merese Hill, Lombok

We had heard about Bukit Merese Hill and decided to jump on the moped from town and make the 15-minute journey out to the hill. When we arrived we had to pay $1 to bring the moped inside and then parked at the bottom of the hill. You can grab a water, a coconut or a beer in the parking lot before beginning the climb. If you just want to reach the first viewpoint it is only about a 5-10 min walk up the hill. If you decide to head all the way to the furthest headland it may take you a bit more than 20 minutes.

Keep walking all the way to the headland and sit out on the edge with views down the coast in both directions. We laid out here, took some photos and marveled at the endless ocean as the sky turned a fiery red.

The next day we decided we had to see the sunset hill point in the daylight. The beaches had looked insane during the sunset the night before. Our predictions were correct and Bukit Merese Hill was even more impressive in the morning sunlight.

Each time we topped another hill a whole new cove would appear. There was not a single tourist around and we explored the hills and the coves as if it were in the middle of nowhere, despite being only 15 minutes drive from Kuta Lombok town.

Tanjun Aan Beach

Some of the reef formations looked incredible from atop the hill and we even dropped down into one of the coves to cool off in the beaming sun. The hills look east towards Tanjung Aan beach, which is an awesome place to grab lunch and have a refreshing swim. It was also another beach that was entirely empty as we enjoyed our $2 nasi goreng at our private beach.

Behind Tanjun Aan is a little coconut plantation where we decided it would be a good idea to mess about on our mopeds for a while in the striking midday sun. Boys will be boys.