Travel Guide Sumbawa

The wealth of this prosperous Muslim island was once bois and horses, but today, above all, agricultural products are exported. In the th century, Sumbawa depended on the Javanese madjapahit empire. Then in the th century, the Makassars of Sulawesi, who came to plunder the northern coast of the island, brought the Islamic religion together with them. In 1605, in this region, which they believed to be of great economic value, the Dutch never really envisagèrent it. It was only at the beginning of the twentieth century that they decided to lay their colonial coats on the island. The great historical fact of Sumbawa remains the explosion of the Tambora volcano in 1815, which, totally possibility, has been reduced by 4 000 m altitude to 2 821 m. Nearly 90 000 people perished in the disaster and the island was devastated by the ash and lava flows. Subsequently, populations of the neighbouring islands, Bugis, Javanese, Makassars and Sasaks, gradually restock Sumbawa. Although mostly Muslim, the island of Sumbawa still maintains fresh traces of external influences, particularly Hindu influences. In the past, the island had two distinct ethnicities by their dialect: to the west, the Sumbawais, closer to the Sasaks of Lombok, and to the east (to the Région region) the Bimanais, closer to the inhabitants of Flores.A fracture that can still be seen: moreover, the name of Sumbawa with which foreigners designate the island is used by the inhabitants only to designate the western part of the island.The island, along the very rugged terrain of the island, is experiencing the climatic influences of Australia. As in Java, the south coast of Sumbawa is mountainous, while the North is covered with fertile plains.Although the island is three times larger than Lombok, it is far from as fertile as its small sister, since 85% of its surface consists of mountains; therefore it is also much less populated.Many visitors will go directly from Lombok to Komodo or Flores, skipping the Sumbawa step; it is true that the island is far less rich in tourist infrastructure, making it more adventurous than in many other places in Indonesia. Surfers make up most of the visitors, the spots of Sumbawa West and surrounding Lakey are very popular.