Sumbawa Hotels

Sumbawa is one of the 13,000 plus islands in the Indonesian archipelago. It is a large island to the east of Bali and Lombok. Sumbawa, along with Lombok, is part of West Nusa Tenggara. There a hundreds of small islands in this area in addition to the two major islands. Sumbawa is known to some tourists for its great waves and sandy white beaches. Due to the somewhat trying process of getting there and the scarcity of cheap tourist facilities, the island is not visited much by non-surfing tourists which is unfortunate as parts of the island are quite beautiful. Sumbawa really belongs more to Eastern Indonesia than to to the West. The effects of Hindu and Buddhist cultures are minimal in Sumbawa; the majority of the population are Muslims. During the dry season (April to November) a lot of dust is blown up and around. Strong winds blow in off the ocean, and the lush green hills, mountains and valleys turn a dusty brown. When the rainy season begins an amazing transformation takes place and the island becomes a lush jungle once again. As most of the island is still developing, there is a very rural feel to just about everything, including Sumbawa Besar, the capital of the western side of the island. The mining company, Newmont, has a gold and copper mine down in the southwestern corner of the island around the villages of Sekongkang, Maluk and Benete. Their presence has speeded up the development process in this side of the island. Bahasa Indonesia is spoken widely in Sumbawa. Sumbawa is the vastest Goverment Regency in the West Nusa Tenggara Province. It's 8,493 Km2 and incorporates 38 small islands. The population is about half a million. The main island of Sumbawa is larger than Bali and Lombok combined. Its divided into three administrative districts or regencies that correspond roughly to the former sulatnates, Bima in the east, Sumbawa in the west and Dompu in the middle. The general topography is hilly and mountainous although low level plains are to be found near the northern beaches. The main sights beside the beaches are the towns of Sumbawa Besar City and Labuhan Sumbawa a sleepy old port, now only used by the ferries departing for Moyo island . They are about 1 Hour by boat from there and have a good wild reserve. The best beaches of the islands are found at Kencana Beach , Saliper Ate Beach and Saleh Bay , Poto Batu Beach and Maluk Beach Bungin Island is the most densely populated island in the world, it is built from coral and sand and there is almost no vacant land. The island in habited by the bajo people. And it's area is becoming larger as the inhabitans extend the island as the population increases. Kaung Island is a small island, with a community of sailors, is located close to Bungin island, about 70 Kms from Sumbawa Besar. Kaung island produces various artefacts from oyster shell which are of interest