Pelawangan Hiking Trail at Mount Rinjani Temporarily Closed
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The hiking trail from Pelawangan Sembalun to Segara Anak Lake on Mount Rinjani has been temporarily closed following the recent fall of foreign tourists.
The Head of the Mount Rinjani National Park, Yarman, stated that the decision was made after a number of accidents occurred on the hiking trail.
“We’ve seen several incidents occur on the Pelawangan Sembalun trail to Segara Anak Lake. We’ll see what happens soon, and we’ll probably start working tomorrow to prevent further accidents,” Yarman told the press on Thursday, the 17th of July.
He explained that the temporary closure of Mount Rinjani’s hiking trails is to facilitate repairs to the route from Pelawangan Sembalun to Segara Anak Lake by the Mount Rinjani National Park authority. The aim is to make the route safer for tourists.
“If people aren’t careful on this route, it’d be very dangerous because the path is quite extreme,” Yarman continued.
Yarman clarified that visitors who have already booked tickets may still be able to hike to the summit of Mount Rinjani. However, prospective climbers who have not yet secured a booking are currently unable to climb the mountain, as the eRinjani application has been closed indefinitely.
Over the past several weeks, several foreign tourists have reportedly fallen on the slopes of Mount Rinjani. Firstly, Brazilian climber Juliana Marins fell from the summit and was found dead in a 600-metre-deep ravine by the search and rescue team on Tuesday, the 24th of June. She was previously reported missing on the morning of Saturday, the 21st of June.
A couple of weeks later, two foreign nationals—one from Switzerland and another from the Netherlands—fell while climbing Mount Rinjani. The first incident involved Swiss climber Benedikt Emmenegger, who fell on Wednesday, the 16th of July. A day later (Thursday, the 17th of July), Dutch climber Sarah Tamar Van Hulten reportedly fell while climbing the mountain. Although the incidents occurred at different times, both individuals fell in the same location.
