Orong Bukal & Pilling Beach in Lombok: Complete Guide

An epic hike to the little-known Orong Bukal cliff jumping spot and the scenic beach of Pentai Pilling in Southwest Lombok, Indonesia.

Located on the southern coast of Sekotong in Lombok is one of the most dramatic coastlines on the island.

This region is little-known, even by locals, but in my opinion boasts Lombok’s most dramatic and scenic coastline, reminiscent of Nusa Penida’s majestic limestone cliffs and azure waters.

In this guide, I’ll reveal to you two hidden gems in this region, the Orong Bukal cliff jump (about 10 meters), and the scenic pebbled-shore Pilling Beach. Be warned, you have to earn these spots with a hot hike through the jungle!

Key Points

You can visit both of these locations via a slightly steep and hot jungle loop hike, starting and finishing at the roadside beside a small village in Sekotong. Below are some key points to know before you go.

• A local guide is optional but only costs 150,000 IDR for the group and supports locals in this remote community with an income.
• The entrance ticket is IDR 5,000 and motorcycle parking s IDR 3,000, or IDR 5,000 for a car.
• We spent approximately 2.5 hours of moving time to complete this loop at a decent pace. We spent 5 hours in total including cliff jumping and exploring Pilling Beach.
• You can hike to Orong Bukal or Pilling Beach separately by returning on the same track. However, I recommend doing the hike in a loop as I did. This begins by first hiking to Orong Bukal, then climbing back up and dropping down to Pilling Beach, before finishing back at the starting point.
• This region is very hot and dry, especially in the dry season. The trail is also slippery.
• I didn't get any cell reception in this region with XL or Telksomsel. I recommend downloading maps before you go.
• The waves and currents in this region can get very rough. Don't jump or enter the water if you are not confident.

The Orong Bukal Hike

The hike to Orong Bukal and Pilling Beach features steep sections with ropes. This section of Lombok is very hot, so I suggest starting early. The simple dirt track is well-marked but can be slippery, especially on the way down to Pilling Beach.

Below I'll detail my experience on the hike with some tips and directions to help you plan your adventure.

After signing in and paying the parking fee and guide fee, we walked through the fence and continued on a dirt path through the village. In this village, I noticed some gold mining equipment and my guide told me that Sekotong is known to be rich in gold, with still plenty hidden in the soil.

The trail begins by undulating slightly in open terrain, passing grazing cattle before dropping into light jungle. The path is easy to follow as it is well-worn.

After roughly 40 minutes we arrived at a cleared section in the forest where there were a few swings in the tree. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of rubbish and trash here. This is essentially a fork with signs pointing left to Orong Bukal and right to Pilling Beach. It's also a great place to rest and enjoy the view out to sea.

We also spotted a few naughty monkeys here, so be careful with your belongings!

Next, we turned down on the steep left path just before the swings and followed it all the way down. I'd say we dropped at least 150 meters getting down to the shore, which took us around 15 minutes. There are some fixed ropes to guide you down but it is quite slippery. So, make sure to take your time.

The final descent down to "Orong Bukal", is very steep and slightly dangerous. We made it down with the aid of the fixed ropes to the cliff jumping spot right before the cave.

Inside the cave, there are large bats. Not small fruit bats like you'll find in the mountain regions, but really big, ugly bats. I climbed down into the cave but didn't want to spend too much time in there in fear of getting pooped on.

My Experience Cliff Jumping at Orong Bukal

Jump height: 10 meters

Now, for the real reason we hiked to Orong Bukal– to cliff jump! The jumping spot is right in front of the cave and is around 10 meters in height I'd say. The water below is very deep and I couldn't see the bottom at all with around 15 meters of visibility that day. Still, remember that conditions can change!

To get back up after the jump, we moved the rope over that we used to descent so that it dropped down the cliff near the water. We used the waves to help us get back onto the rocks and then used this rope to climb back up each time.

We spent about an hour jumping and enjoying this remote and very scenic location in Lombok that we had all to ourselves!

Hiking to Pilling Beach

Next, we wanted to find the famous pebbled beach of Pentai Pilling, so we climbed back up to the jungle swing area. This took us about 15 minutes but it was quite grueling in the heat.

From here, there are two options to get to Pilling Beach. You can either take the overgrown path leading just beside the swings or continue up about halfway to the village in hopes of finding the other path.

We chose the first option and made the long, slippery, and very steep descent through the jungle. The path was overgrown, but our guide helped us navigate. We used rocks and roots to help us descend some steep sections.

After about 35 minutes, we arrived at the back of Pilling Beach. This is technically a separate, unnamed beach, but is arguably more beautiful than Pentai Pilling in my opinion.

My Experience at Pilling Beach

When we visited, there was quite large swell. However, with a high tide and since we had quite a lot of experience in the surf, we decided to go for a swim. I wouldn't recommend this hear when there are really big waves, especially if you are not experienced.

After flying my drone, I found an awesome deep little rock pool situated on the small rocky island opposite the beach. We swam over there and found yet another fun little cliff jump, directly into the pool! Getting into the pool was a little tricky but we managed with the help of the waves pushing us up onto the rock.

Hike Back to the Trailhead

Now for the fun part. This next section was the hardest part of the hike to Orong Bukal and Pilling Beach. We walked around to the right side of the beach and followed a trail through the jungle to the official "Pentai Pilling". From here, we walked up from the beach and onto another worn trail.

This trail snakes through the jungle, following a creekbed. Eventually, this creekbed turned into a flowing creek, with several small pools of trapped water.

We followed the creek and with the aid of a couple of bamboo ladders, climbed the cliff all the way back up to the village near the starting point. The trail is easy to follow, but gets more steep and physically difficult the further you go.

After 50 minutes, we were back at the starting point, where we bought some snacks and plenty of water to help us cool down and rehydrate from the big mission!

More Adventures in Lombok

I hope you enjoyed this quick guide. For more inspiration and travel recommendations in Lombok, check out my guides below!

If you have any updates to this guide, please let me know in the comments below so that I can keep this information up to date!