Bima is a city in East Sumbawa and is Sumbawa’s main port. Despite this it has little to entice tourists, apart from the fact that it has an airport which provides access to the rest of remote East Sumbawa.
Nearby Raba is the administrative center of the region and is slightly more appealing than Bima. It, too, is pretty boring though, yet is not as grubby and disheveled as Bima. The main sight in Bima is the Islamic Palace. The night market on Jalan Flores is also worth a look if you manage to get stuck here for any amount of time.
There are no reasons for visiting Bima itself, with most people arriving for a trip to Gunung Tambora (Mount Tambora), which is northwest of Bima. Tambora is one of the country’s largest volcanoes, rising to over 2,800m and featuring a massive six-kilometer wide crater measuring 700m deep. Sunrises viewed from up here are awesome. Those into surfing should head south for Hu’u.
Getting There & Away
Merpati Air fly to Bima from Denpasar (Bali) and Mataram (Lombok) several times a week. Flight time is under an hour and bemos provide transport to Bima center from the airport. For overland/boat travel, various bus companies provide coaches to Bima from Mataram in Lombok, with the journey including a ferry crossing to Port Tano near the Sumbawa capital, Sumbawa Besar.
Things to Do
Bima Attractions
- Islamic Palace
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This uninspiring building, formerly the sultan’s palace, is one of the only attractions in bima.
Side trips from Bima
- Mount Tambora
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A massive volcano 150kms northwest of bima which has fantastic trekking. it erupted in 1815 with the force of four krakatoa eruptions.
- Hu’u and Lakey Beach
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The best surfing spots in east sumbawa can be found at this beach, about 60kms to the southwest.