Bukit Merese, Lombok: A Local’s Guide to Kuta’s Sunset Hill
Bukit Merese is the grassy headland at the east end of Tanjung Aan, about 10 km from Kuta Lombok, and it’s the most famous sunset spot on the south coast. Nobody charges you to walk up it. You pay a few thousand rupiah to park and you’re on top in ten minutes.
We’ve ridden out here more times than we can count, and we still do. It gets busy in high season, with drones overhead and a crowd on the first rise, but the hill’s wide enough to walk away from all of it. Below are the sunset times for every month, the side of the hill we sit on, and what the Mandalika build has changed at the bottom of it, plus how it fits into a few days in Kuta Lombok.
Bukit Merese at a Glance
Merese is a sunset hill first and a beach stop second. There’s no shade on top and nothing to buy once you leave the car park. Carry water up with you.
- Location: The headland at the east end of Tanjung Aan beach, in Pujut district, Central Lombok, inside the Mandalika development zone
- Distance: About 10 km from Kuta Lombok, roughly 17 minutes by scooter. Lombok International Airport is 28 km away, about 40 minutes
- Road: Sealed the whole way on the wide Mandalika road. Any scooter or car can do it
- Parking: Paid at the Tanjung Aan gate. Recent reports put a scooter at 5,000 to 10,000 IDR. Carry small notes
- Entrance fee: None for the hill itself
- The walk: 5 to 10 minutes to the first viewpoint, 20 minutes or more out to the far headland
- Best time to visit: The last hour before sunset, or sunrise if you’d like it nearly to yourself
- Suitable for: Anyone who can manage a short, steep grass slope. Shoes with some grip help after rain
Why We Still Ride Out Here
Merese is busy, and we won’t pretend otherwise. In July and August you’ll share the top with a crowd and a few drones. One of us came back for three sunsets on a single trip south anyway.
We keep going because no other spot near Kuta shows you the coast in both directions from one place. Look west and you’ve got the two curves of Tanjung Aan and the coast back toward Kuta. Look east and the bay at Gerupuk opens up, with nothing but Indian Ocean in front of you.
On the Lombok Loop we don’t always stop here. Some weeks we take the group to our own sunset spots instead (sorry, those stay off the blog). If you’re riding the south coast on your own, start with Merese and work out from there.
Getting to Bukit Merese From Kuta
Head east out of Kuta on the main Mandalika road and follow the signs for Pantai Tanjung Aan. When we first started riding groups down here, the road out to Tanjung Aan was a broken mess. These days it’s wide, sealed and the easiest ride in the area.
The car park for the hill is at the eastern end of Tanjung Aan, past the main beach. From the airport it’s about 28 km, which takes around 40 minutes.
You’ll need your own wheels or a driver from your guesthouse. Our scooter rental guide covers what a bike costs in Kuta and what to check before you ride off.
Local Tip: Race weekends at the Mandalika circuit clog the roads around Kuta. If you’re here for a race, ride out to Merese early or pick another evening.
Parking, and the Side Entrance
There’s no ticket for the hill. The only charge is parking, paid at the gate in the wall that now runs along Tanjung Aan. Recent reports put a scooter at 5,000 to 10,000 IDR and a car at about 10,000 IDR.
Other travellers have written about a quieter way in. Just before the main gate, a small wooden sign marked sunset points down a dirt track to a local family’s place. You pay them about the same to park and walk up the back of the hill. We like the money going straight to a family. Look for the sign, and ask a local if you can’t spot it.
The Walk Up and Where to Sit
From the car park it’s a 5 to 10 minute climb up a grassy path to the first viewpoint. Most people stop there. Keep walking for another five minutes and the crowd thins out fast.
The hill splits in two. We sit on the higher hills to the left as you walk up. They look straight back over Tanjung Aan. The lower hills on the right roll out toward the far headland, 20 minutes or more from the car park, with the coast falling away on both sides.
The left-hand hills also have monkeys. A few groups come out on the cliffs around sunset, and they’re used to people. Zip your bag and don’t feed them.
Below the western tip of the hill there’s a small cove called Tanjung Bongo. Getting down is a scramble on a loose slope, not a path. We’d only try it in daylight with decent shoes, and we’d check the swell before going in: this is open ocean coast.
There’s no shade anywhere on top. One traveller measured 28°C up there by 8:30 in the morning, and the hills are steeper than they look from the car park. Skip the middle of the day.
Sunset and Sunrise Times by Month
Sunset at Merese falls between about 6 pm and 6:40 pm all year. We leave Kuta an hour before sunset. An hour covers the 17 minute ride, parking, the walk and 20 minutes on top while the light goes gold.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|
| January | 6:05 am | 6:40 pm |
| February | 6:17 am | 6:40 pm |
| March | 6:19 am | 6:29 pm |
| April | 6:17 am | 6:12 pm |
| May | 6:19 am | 6:02 pm |
| June | 6:26 am | 6:02 pm |
| July | 6:31 am | 6:09 pm |
| August | 6:25 am | 6:13 pm |
| September | 6:08 am | 6:11 pm |
| October | 5:51 am | 6:08 pm |
| November | 5:44 am | 6:15 pm |
| December | 5:50 am | 6:28 pm |
We worked these out for the hill’s own position, Lombok time, on the 15th of each month. They move by a few minutes either side of that date, and cloud does the rest.
Sunrise is the quieter choice. The sun comes up behind you over the hills toward Gerupuk, and you’ll have most of the grass to yourself. Bring a light for the walk up in the dark.
Green Season or Brown Season
The hills change colour through the year. From the first heavy rains, usually in December, through to about April, the grass is green. By August it’s burnt brown and dusty, the way it looks in most of our photos.
We think the green months make the better photo and the dry months make the better evening. Wet season afternoons often bring storms in over the south coast, and some nights the sunset never shows. In the dry season, May to October, you’ll see the sun go into the sea most evenings. Our guide to the best time to visit Lombok has the full year month by month.
What Mandalika Has Changed Around the Hill
The hill hasn’t changed much, but the beach below has. In July 2025 the state developer ITDC cleared Tanjung Aan’s beachfront, and Mongabay Indonesia reported about 186 warungs, small businesses and hawkers were affected. A five-star hotel is planned for a lot at Tanjung Aan, announced in April 2025.
For your sunset, that means fewer cheap drinks and less shade on the sand before you walk up, plus a wall with a paid gate between the road and the beach. The vendors who are left tend to set up near the Merese end. We buy our coconut from them, and around 30,000 IDR is the going rate at Tanjung Aan now.
Beach access around Mandalika moves around. A track that was open last season can be fenced the next, so ask at your accommodation on the morning you’re going. Our Tanjung Aan guide has our full take on the changes and what’s still good about the beach.
Getting Down After Dark
Most people leave the moment the sun drops, and the path down is uneven grass with no lights. Use your phone torch and go slowly on the steep bits near the top.
Down at the car park, everyone tries to get out through the same gate at once. We sit for ten minutes, let the rush clear, then ride back to Kuta with the headlight on and an eye out for dogs, cattle and scooters riding without lights.
Nearby: Tanjung Aan, Gerupuk and Seger
Merese only fills an hour, and three places pair well with it.
Tanjung Aan
The beach right below the hill, with calm, swimmable water. We’d swim here in the afternoon, then walk up Merese for the last hour of light.
- Distance: Same car park as the hill, 10 km from Kuta
- More: our Tanjung Aan guide
Gerupuk
The next bay east is a working fishing village, with boats running surfers out to several breaks. We’d save it for your second or third surf session, once the whitewash at Selong Belanak feels easy.
- Distance: About 10 km from Kuta, roughly 16 minutes by scooter
- More: our Lombok surf hostels guide covers the breaks and where to base yourself
Seger
West toward town, Seger’s headland is our everyday sunset when we’re staying in Kuta. The view’s smaller than Merese and so is the crowd.
- Distance: About 3 km from Kuta, under ten minutes by scooter
With a full day, ride west first to Mawun and Selong Belanak for a swim, then come back east for sunset on Merese.
Bukit Merese and the Lombok Loop
If you’ve got one evening in Kuta, give it to Merese. With a week, do Merese once, then try Seger and the coast west of town. Our where to stay in Kuta Lombok guide covers beds within a short ride of both.
On the Lombok Loop, riders from Senggigi spend Thursday afternoon on the south coast beaches, and riders from Kuta join the group there on Friday morning. We won’t promise Merese on the itinerary, but if you get into Kuta a day early, we’ll tell you which side of the hill to sit on.
