Sembalun Highlands Expedition

No. Every program is designed around your group’s ability, timeframe, and objectives. We work with you before departure to select the treks that best suit your students. Most schools complete between three and five objectives over a five to eight day program, mixing day treks with one or two overnight options.

We discuss your group with you before the program, covering year level, general fitness, prior outdoor experience, and any individual considerations. From there we recommend a route progression that builds confidence progressively.

No two programs are identical, and we adjust in the field if conditions or group performance require it.

Yes, and this is how most school programs are structured. A typical program might begin with one or two day treks to build confidence and acclimatise students to the terrain, before moving to an overnight objective such as Anak Dara or Bukit Gedong as the program centrepiece.

A guide will always accompany any student who needs to turn back or rest, so the rest of the group can continue safely. A teacher will also need to accompany any student who withdraws from a trek, which means teacher-to-student ratios and supervision planning should be considered carefully when designing your program.

This is one reason we recommend discussing staff allocation with us during the planning stage. We can help you structure the program so that contingencies like this are accounted for in advance.

Most treks in the Sembalun Highlands program are suitable for students with no prior trekking experience, provided they have a reasonable level of general fitness. Routes such as the Dandaun Trail, Bao Daya, and Pergasingan Hill involve straightforward walking on established trails with no technical difficulty.

More demanding options include the Sembalun Crater Rim, which requires significant elevation gain and is only recommended for groups who have completed at least one prior overnight trek, and Bukit Nanggi, the most advanced route in the program, which involves steep sections and is reserved for experienced groups. The Pergasingan Hill summit ridge also involves some hands-on scrambling.

We will always assess group suitability before confirming higher objectives.

The Sembalun Crater Rim at 2,659m is the highest point on the Venture Beyond school program. It offers views directly into the Rinjani caldera and across the crater lake, and is a significant achievement in its own right.

The full Rinjani summit at 3,726m involves an additional push from the crater rim in the early hours of the morning, gaining a further 1,000m on steep, loose volcanic trail. It is substantially more demanding and is offered as a separate program. Most school groups on their first visit to Lombok are better suited to the crater rim as their high point.

We accept school groups of 8 to 30 students. Larger groups can be accommodated with additional planning — the largest program we have run to date included 50 participants including teachers. Contact us to discuss requirements for larger groups.

The program fee covers all guiding and safety staff, porters to carry tents and group equipment, accommodation in Sembalun Village, all meals during the program, camping equipment including tents and sleeping mats, transport between trailheads, entrance fees to all hills and summits, and rescue cover for the duration of the program.

International and domestic flights, travel insurance, and personal equipment are not included. A detailed inclusions list is available on request.

We work with each school individually during the planning stage to design an itinerary that matches your students, curriculum goals, and available timeframe. We can incorporate IB CAS outcomes, Duke of Edinburgh requirements, or other outdoor education frameworks into the program structure.

Optional add-ons include community and service components through our partners in Senaru village. Full itinerary, risk assessment documentation, and pre-departure resources are available on request.

All programs are guided by Rinjani Dawn Adventures, our local partner based in Sembalun and Senaru. Our guides have extensive experience leading groups on Rinjani and across the Sembalun Highlands, and are trained in basic first aid and emergency response.

We maintain a guide-to-student ratio of 1:4, with a minimum of two guides on every program regardless of group size. Saefudin Zohri, co-founder of Rinjani Dawn Adventures, coordinates all school expeditions from our Senaru office and is available throughout the program.

Yes. Angus Lawrence, Venture Beyond’s Australian director, prepares comprehensive risk assessments and emergency rescue plans for every program. These are available on request and are suitable for submission to school risk committees and board presentations.

We can also provide route notes, emergency protocols, and guide profiles as part of a full pre-departure information pack.

Every program operates with a written emergency protocol provided to the lead teacher before departure. This covers evacuation routes, the contact chain, and the location of the nearest medical facilities.

All guides carry comprehensive first aid kits and are trained in wilderness first aid. For minor injuries, self-rescue and assisted walking evacuation is always the preferred approach. We carry a portable backboard stretcher on all school group expeditions for situations where a student cannot walk out independently.

In the event of a serious incident, evacuation is coordinated by Saefudin Zohri from our Senaru office, who liaises directly with guides on the mountain and with emergency services if required. Helicopter rescue is now available within Mount Rinjani National Park and can be activated when required. This is covered by travel insurance, which we strongly recommend for all participants. Rescue cover is included in the program fee for all participants.

Venture Beyond Expeditions is built specifically for schools. We are not a general trekking operator that occasionally takes school groups. Every program we run is designed around school group dynamics, duty of care requirements, and curriculum outcomes.

Our risk management framework is aligned with the Australian Adventure Activity Standards, and all documentation is prepared with school risk committees in mind. Angus Lawrence, our Australian director, is personally responsible for risk assessments and rescue planning on every program.

We work with a single trusted local partner, Rinjani Dawn Adventures, rather than contracting guides through third-party agencies. This means consistent quality, accountability, and a relationship built over many programs in the same terrain.