Easily accessible from Bali, Lombok is an Indonesian island that has recently seen a steady increase in tourist footfall because of its wild and less crowded beaches. However, the most visited attraction of the island is further up (literally), a volcano called Mount Rinjani or Gunung Rinjani. It is a not-to-be-missed climb for most of the nature enthusiasts visiting Indonesia.Gunung Rinjani is the second tallest volcano in Indonesia out of the 150 spread across this huge archipelago, and probably the most picturesque of them all. It reaches 3,726 metres above the sea level and if its privileged point of view is not a good enough reason to go there, you should know that it features a beautiful lake called Segara Anak inside and a smaller volcanic cone named Gunung Baru Jari. The view of the crater lake from the top is a well-deserved incentive after hours of a steep climb!While it is possible to reach the summit in two very tight and tiring days for trained hikers, most of the people choose to spend 3-4 days to climb. We were guided on our four-day-three-night expedition by Adi Trekkers, a company based in the village of Senaru, not far from one of the access points to Mount Rinjani National Park.On day one, after an early wake up and a flavoursome breakfast, we were brought to Sembalun village, on the opposite side of the national park. Surprisingly, we found a large number of trekkers getting ready to start their adventure. We were happy to see nature attracting so many people, but at the same worried about the sustainability of the area. With our guide and two porters, we started hiking through orchards and a savannah-like region with low vegetation and almost no trees. After several breaks on the way it was time for our lunch! It was an experience in itself, seeing a multitude of hikers from different parts of the world waiting to be served their delicious meal. After lunch, the journey began on the road that was steep and the vegetation kept changing consequently; people started to struggle. Eventually, we reached the crater rim, where we spent our night. Right before sunset, the clouds below us started to clear, opening our first view of Lake Segara Anak, in front of us! We enjoyed this amazing show sitting in the first row with a warm cup of tea.Shortly after we had our dinner and settled in our tents for a deserved sleep. But in a few hours, at 1:30 am, it was already time to get up so as to be able to reach Rinjani summit before sunrise! Soon we were on the road, but there were so many people that a long line had formed between the rising curves, halting our climb to the top.As the congestion slowly decreased, we managed to go up a little faster, but the dusty road was also getting more difficult and steep; we were late. After almost four hours since the beginning, we managed to reach the summit, just seconds before the sun would show its first rays over the horizon. The small plateau on the top was busy like a bar on a Saturday night, but the view was nothing but stunning—the orange hue reflecting over a carpet of cloud and hikers creating black silhouettes against the sun. Not only did we have the perfect viewpoint of Lake Segara Anak and its child crater, but we could also see all of Lombok from here, including the three Gili Islands, and even Mount Agung in Bali.After a couple of hours, we started our way back, much faster than the climb. We had a quick breakfast at the camping site, packed our stuff and were ready to descend towards the lake. The path was steep and rocky at times, but not difficult. The environment around us and the vegetation changed quite quickly and in around two and a half hours, we were at the bottom. Our first thought was to reach the famous hot springs to relax in the warm water, heated directly from the volcano’s guts. But, of course, that was also the idea of many other climbers looking for relief after a tiring day! There were many pools at several levels offering amazing views all around, and the two main ones had an extra waterfall diving in its water. After the hot springs, we went exploring the surroundings of the lake and the waterfront; the camping site was again crowded, with many Indonesian visitors, some of them coming from the surrounding villages to fish in the lake.Unfortunately, the area was totally littered—it’s essential for you to ask your trekking company to collect your garbage and take it back to the base camp! Without artificial light, darkness settled in quite early, and it was already time for our dinner before trying to get some sleep. It was pleasant to hear the notes of happy Indonesian songs around a campfire.We chose the four-day-three-night tour to have a longer stay at the thermal baths, hence, while most of the people were hurrying up to leave as soon as possible, we had time to relax and spend around the lake. Our expectation to have the pools to ourselves the next morning wasn’t met as many local visitors came here for their morning shower, chemical soap in tow! We made ourselves comfortable as much as we could, and watched a spontaneous diving competition from surrounding cliffs. Soon it was time for us to leave, with our guide worried of being late, and so without wasting any time we dressed up, picked our backpacks and were ready to go.We started climbing the crater slope on the opposite direction, rising again towards the clouds. It was really motivating to see conservatively dressed Muslim female hikers going up on this steep route with agility, despite the annoyance of their long attire! In less than three hours we reached the crater rim, which is believed to be the second best viewpoint of the lake. Unfortunately, the sky was not clear and the clouds were thickening inside the lake partially obstructing our supposedly magical view. Many people stopped there for their third night, but given the non-ideal condition, our guide decided to proceed further. So after taking some rest, watching the macaques play and having a quick lunch, we started our journey towards the rainforest. What amazed us the most about Rinjani trek is the variety of environments you encounter while hiking! For the first time in the forest, we felt a unique connection with the surroundings and we could feel the silence of Mother Nature.We were walking through sandy soil and natural staircases made of tree roots, with the monkeys swinging in the branches not far away. We found a quiet place to camp, and after sunset when no more hikers would pass on their way to the village, we were totally alone, admiring the sound and energy of the jungle. Our last night in the tent was reinvigorating, and at sunrise, we were gently awakened by the light filtering through the dense forest. After breakfast, we walked the last few hours towards Senaru village, bringing our interesting journey to an end. All in all, it was an amazing experience and a challenging discovery, making its way to the top of our list of ‘things to do in Indonesia’.