Floating in the sparkling turquoise waters just off the southwest coast are twelve small islands called the Southwest Gilis. Unlike the famous Gili islands in the northwest of Lombok, the Southwest Gilis are largely uninhabited and have yet to be discovered by most travellers, thus they are often called "The Secret Islands".The Sekotong region starts just south of Lembar Harbour and features stunning beaches and bays set against a backdrop of rolling hills. The drive itself is a worthwhile trip, meandering through villages where life is largely untouched by tourism and where the people are involved in their day-to-day activities of farming, fish cultivation, boating and fishing, brick-making and other traditional pastimes.
Along the roadsides you will see people building and repairing boats, laying out hand-made bricks to dry in the sun, working in the fields, and sometimes guiding primitive wooden ploughs harnessed to huge water buffalo, as they prepare the fields for planting.
The peaceful village of Taun (or Tawun), is situated on a wide, placid bay in Sekotong. The ocean is sparkling turquoise and the dazzling white sand stretches in a wide sweep around the bay, while the hills behind form a perfect backdrop to this idyllic setting.
Just out in the calm bay are the three lovely islands of Gili Nanggu, Gili Tangkong and Gili Sudat – all easily accessible by local outrigger boats. A small sign in the nearby village will direct you to the local boat hire area, where you can arrange boat trips out to Gili Nanggu and the other small islands offshore.
Of the three, only Gili Nanggu has accommodation for visitors, with Gili Nanggu Cottages providing simple cottages on the beach and a restaurant, as well as some more up-market rooms further back from the beach. The island is small and the beach here has soft white sand and a good reef just off the beach for snorkelling.
Travelling a little further south, before the local marine culture complex (Balai Budaya Laut), there is a small dirt road leading out onto a white peninsular of sand that juts into beautiful clear waters. Drive to the end for superb views and a close up look at Gili Genting.Gili Genting sits just off the tip of the peninsular and at low tide you can walk across the sandbar and explore this uninhabited island. Old volcanic rocks and stone carved from centuries of tides create small caves and alcoves, providing shelter for picnics and interesting nooks and crannies to explore.
Back on the main road and slightly further south is Sundancer Resort, with its distinctive blue roofs dotted on the hillside overlooking another white sand beach. The hotel development is still under construction.
Across the road from Sundancer, on the beachfront, is Dive Zone – currently the only diving facility in this part of Lombok and the experts on diving around the southwest islands, having pioneered development of previously unknown dive sites in this area.
Dive Zone offer dive trips around Sekotong and the islands, as well as in three locations in South Lombok – including challenging world-class diving off southeast Lombok. Past Dive Zone another few kilometres is the Cocotinos Boutique Beach Resort, on the secluded beach at Tanjung Empat. With 28 rooms, including beachfront villas with private swimming pools, Cocotinos brings the first luxury accommodation option to the area.
At the next intersection there is a signpost to the right for Labuhan Poh and Pelangan, the site of Bola Bola Paradis. This is a small hotel, situated right on the beachfront with comfortable and clean rooms at reasonable prices. The hotel also organises snorkelling tours and boat trips for exploring the islands just offshore.
The largest of these islands is Gili Gede, appropriately meaning "Big Island". The island lays just offshore and is so large, visitors often mistake it for part of the mainland.
Gili Gede is easily reached by boat from the village of Tembowong and it takes only minutes to cross the water to the island.
Gili Gede is one of the few islands in the area that has accommodation, at Secret Island Resort on the south, Via Vaccare on the northwest and Madak Belo on the east. The people living on the island are very friendly and, as yet, unspoilt by tourism.
Secret Island has comfortable budget accommodation, including a unique bungalow perched on a pier over the reef – the only one in either Lombok or Bali. The Resort offers a host of activities that all the family will enjoy, while also being a place where you can get away from it all.
Secret Island can also organise fishing trips and island hopping excursions to the other beautiful islands in the area, most of which are deserted, about their comfortable 9m custom-built boat "Scorpio".
To the south of Gili Gede, the islands of Gili Ringgit, Layar and Asahan are lined up like secret treasures in the calm sea.
Bounty Cruises, a Bali based company, own a large parcel of land on Gili Ringgit and have constructed a boat mooring and pier on the island. There is good snorkelling on the west side of Gili Ringgit, accessed by boat. Large gardens of hard and soft corals lay just beneath the surface and the reef extends along most of the island's coast.
On the other side of the island is where the pier is located, with a fantastic white sand beach. Dive Zone often brings divers to the island to relax in between dives, and it is a favourite for guests from Secret Island Resort, as the scenery and beach here are so lovely.
It's easy to snorkel offshore, just north of the pier and, although the reef isn't as large as on the other side of the island, there is still plenty to see. Bright blue starfish drape themselves across patches of coral, and bright yellow and black Moorish Idols dart through the water. Schools of hundreds of small iridescent fish swim past and weirdly shaped squid drift by in the deeper areas.
We met a boat load of happy tourists on Gili Ringgit, out for the day with Dive Zone, who described the diving as some of the best they've ever experienced. Most couldn't stop gushing about the huge school of turtles they had just seen near Gili Layar!
All around these Southwest Gilis, abundant coral reefs lay just below the surface waiting to be explored, filled with thousands of brightly coloured tropical fish, huge sprawling blue starfish and magical turtles gently gliding through the water.
Out in the ocean, slightly further south, beautiful Gili Asahan attracts visitors with deserted white sand beaches and swaying palm trees.
Pearl Beach Resort opened in 2010 and is a lovely boutique hotel with charming and well-designed bungalows here looking out over a breath-taking beach. Of a much higher standard than most of the southwest accommodation, each bungalow has a private terrace, and western standard bathrooms with hot water.
There is also a beachfront bar and restaurant serving western and Indonesian meals, and good snorkelling directly from the beach in front. Deserted white sand beaches call visitors from the sea to picnic on the beach and swim in the clear turquoise waters. Pearl Beach is perfect for romantic escapes and for those seeking the tranquillity of a private island resort.
Leaving Gili Asahan and back on the mainland, the surfing Mecca of Bangko Bangko is located on the far southwest tip of Lombok. The wide white sand bay is lined with fisherman's huts and draws hundreds of surfers every year from as far away as Hawaii and Brazil to challenge the huge waves of Desert Point, just offshore.
Although the road deteriorates after Labuhan Poh, it is still passable for most vehicles in the dry season.
During the surfing season, from mid-May to September and again in December, the beach is buzzing with surfers, but otherwise it is a remote and peaceful area. Bali is clearly visible, with the island of Nusa Penida only about an hour's sail away.
The drive to the point is dotted with bucolic scenery and tiny villages, making it a worthwhile trip even for non-surfers. There is basic surfer accommodation in the area and plans for development in the near future.
Those who wish to explore the underwater world further can join dive adventures with Dive Zone, located on the beach at Sundancer Resort in Sekotong.
The western dive master, George, is only too happy to show visitors these exciting and totally unspoiled dive sites.
The dive sites reflect a good cross-section of what Indonesian diving has to offer. Dive in and be fascinated by turtles, white tip reef sharks, cuttlefish, moray eels and many other varieties of marine life.
The reefs are full of bright soft corals and colourful stone and fan corals, which harbor an amazing variety of rare marine life, including ghost pipe fish, leaf fish, pygmy seahorses and much more.
The southwest is attracting a lot of attention from developers and its easy to imagine hotels and resorts on all these beaches and islands in the future, as well as yachts, fishing boats, windsurfers, dive boats and the like.
But for now, the Southwest is unspoilt and the Gilis remain the secret islands… stunningly beautiful, pristine and unique; and known only to the lucky few.
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