Tiu Teja - The Rainbow Waterfall in the North of Lombok

On the Indonesian island Lombok there are many beautiful waterfalls to explore. One of the most interesting ones is certainly the “Tiu Teja” in the north of the island, not far away from the village Santong.

A trip to the Tiu Teja waterfall in Lombok

At a certain daytime, when the sun shines into the waterfall, you can even see a rainbow at the bottom of the waterfall. This makes the Tiu Teja even more worth visiting.

How to get to Lombok

To get to Lombok there are only two options, the airplane and the boat. Flights operate from many cities in Indonesia to Lombok. But the international airport already welcomes flights from abroad, e.g. from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. For the future even flights from the Emirates or Australia are planned.

To find the best and cheapest flights for your trip to Lombok, check out Skyscanner. There you can compare prices, departure times, flight duration and the different airlines.

You can also take a boat to Lombok from e.g. Bali, the Gili Islands or Sumbawa. There is a difference between speed boats and local boats, because not only prices, but the duration of travel can vary significantly. An overview of different boats can be found on 12go.asia.

Accommodation in Lombok – our hotel tips

Lombok is a relatively large island with almost endless options for accommodations. We personally recommend staying in Senggigi and the surrounding area. A fantastic hotel choice is the Qunci Villas Resort, located right on a secluded, peaceful beach. The resort is beautifully integrated into the tropical surroundings and offers spacious rooms and stunning villas, some of which come with private pools, garden views, or ocean views. Naturally, you’ll find all the amenities you need, including air conditioning, a minibar, a safe, a seating area, and more.

The Qunci Villas Resort also features a spa for wellness treatments, three infinity pools, and several restaurants. These restaurants offer a range of culinary delights, including international, Asian, and local cuisine, ensuring that all your dining needs are met. The resort’s prime location is another highlight, with Senggigi just a few minutes away by taxi or scooter, where you’ll find even more restaurants and shops to explore.

Of course, there are also a number of beautiful hotels and homestays in Kuta or other parts of the island that you can book at affordable rates.

How to get there?

The village Santong is located at the edge of the Rinjani National Park in the northeast of Senggigi. From there you can reach it approximately within one hour by car. We definitely recommend you to book a tour at a tourist office with a driver and guide – at least if you want to go there for the first time. Or kindly ask my friend Ojan, who is from Santong village and knows the area like nobody else.

From Santong there is a more or less steep path (partly even concreted) that directly leads into the jungle. From here you simply follow this very trail until you arrive after 20-25 minutes at a stairway that will lead you down to the waterfall. Some crazy locals also use their motorbikes to get here and they would even give you a ride for a small tip.

Along the way you can even find Cacao trees and many other exotic plants. Also you can sometimes encounter wild monkeys hanging around in the trees. By the way, Sekeper is another waterfall that you can visit when you follow the “jungle street” straight ahead.

The last part of the way to the waterfall might get quite exhausting because of the stairways that are partly very steep. But after 10 more minutes you’re almost there and from the far distance you can already hear the sound of the Tiu Teja.

At the waterfall

Finally, after the (little) torture of climbing the stairs, you’ll get rewarded with the following view…

As mentioned before, the waterfall is famous for its rainbow that occurs at the bottom because of the sunlight (by the way, in the language of Lombok’s inhabitants, Sasak, “Teja” actually means rainbow). If you want to see it by all means, you should go there in the early afternoon and just hope that there won’t be any clouds in the sky.

But even without the rainbow, the waterfall is a sight to see and absolutely a highlight, especially if you dare to go into the fresh and ice-cold water. Anyway, there are usually not many people around here, so you can be almost sure to have the waterfall only for yourself.

On the way back in Santong, we encountered one of the plenty Sasak wedding parades that you should absolutely see on Lombok. Unfortunately, without the traditional “Gendang Beleq” musicians, but more modern style with a mobile sound system. It was still interesting anyway. In the village they probably don’t see tourists that often, so suddenly we became the highlight in the crowd.

More waterfalls in the north of Lombok that you should see are by the way Tiu Kelep or Sindang Gila. These are a little bit more famous than the Tiu Teja because of their location near Senaru, which is a starting point for the Rinjani trekking.

Lombok: Tours and Tickets

Do you prefer to travel with a guide who knows the area very well? Then we recommend a guided tour with a local. This way you can get to know Lombok in a completely different way. GetYourGuide offers a wide selection of exciting tours for Lombok.