Will Lombok Bali imitate?

The road from Bansal in the northwest of the island of Lombok to Mataram leads through hilly foothills that extend down to the sea. Monkeys sit on the guardrails nibbling on something. After three nights in Mataram, I continue south on the island on July 17, 2026. The landscape is now becoming flatter; it goes through rice fields, villages, and past hills that lie dry and brown under the blazing sun.

The most important holiday resort on the southern coast is Kuta, and since there is a place of the same name in Bali, I almost booked my accommodation on the wrong island.

Strong contrasts

In southern Lombok, the contrast between traditional ways of life and tourist development is particularly striking. Before we arrive in Kuta, we visit Desa Adat Sade. Sade is a traditional Sasak village, and because it is located on the main road between the airport and the resort of Kuta, tourists often bump into each other here.

The Sasak are the indigenous majority population of Lombok and maintain a culture that combines the predominant Sunni Islam – a significant contrast to the Hindu-influenced neighboring island of Bali – with older Adat traditions.