Famed for its great beauty and eerie isolation, Gunung Rinjani (3,726 m) Is the third-highest volcano mountain in Indonesia, towering over every corner of Lombok. Shrouded in clouds throughout the afternoon, the best time to catch an unimpeded view of Gunung Rinjani is the calm early morning hours.
Physical Features
The enormous crater of this semi-active volcano is about four km across at its widest, nearly filled with the bright emerald-green water of Lake Segara Anak. The lake lies nearly one km below the crater rim. Virtually this whole mountain complex, its steep slopes covered in dense forests, has been declared a National Reserve.
Puncak Rinjani is the highest and steepest point on the edge of its caldera. While the crescent-shaped Lake Segara Anak within the caldera lies at height of just over 2000 meters. About three km at its widest, its depth is 230 meters. Plentiful fish inhabit its waters and waterfowl can be seen.
The volcanic peak inside the caldera is considered quite young, Gunung Barujari (2,375 m) which is sat at the edge of the lake, rose only during the last century or two.
Flora and Fauna
There are buffalo, barking deer, wild pig, long-tailed macaques, civets and other wildlife and ducks frequent Lake Segara Anak with the tropical vegetation.
Legend
The mountain is sacred to both the Balinese and the Muslim Sasak on Lombok make a twice-yearly pilgrimage to the top to throw ritual rice and goldfish into the lake, a Hindu offering to the goddess of the mountain. The Sasak may tramp up the mountain several times a year, especially during the full moon.
Eruptions of Rinjani: 1994, 1966, 1965, 1953, 1949-50, 1944-45, 1941?, 1915, 1909, 1906, 1901, 1900, 1884, 1847
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