Shopping in Lombok: A Brief Guide

As far as shopping is concerned, the town of Sweta adjacent to Mataram has the island’s largest market, and you can, with some perseverance, find some interesting handicrafts here. You might, however, get better bargains if you buy traditional crafts at specific places- for instance, Penujak,south of Sukarara, is famous for its local pottery made from red clay; Sukarara itself makes excellent basketwork and traditional textiles. For textiles, you could also try visiting one of the 'weaving factories’ in Mataram, where you can usually buy lovely 'ikat’ cloth (woven using tie-dyed threads), or 'songket’ cloth, which is embroidered with gold or silver threads. On the eastern coast of Lombok lies the village of Sukaraja, which is known for its wood carvings- some good buys can be made here too.