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Overview

Elaborately contorted and sprawling into the sea, Sumbawa is all volcanic ridges, terraced rice fields, dry expanses and sheltered bays. Though well connected to Bali and Lombok, it's a very different sort of place – far less developed, mostly very dry, much poorer, extremely conservative and split between two distinct peoples. Those who speak Sumbawanese probably reached the west of the island from Lombok, while Bimanese speakers dominate the Tambora Peninsula and the east. Although Sumbawa is an overwhelmingly Islamic island, in remote parts underground adat (traditional law and lore) still thrives.