Sekotong looks a bit like a tourist town once busy but now deserted and while there are still a few high end resorts that have claimed the best beach frontages, the main reason to come here is to boat out to the coral fringed islands sitting just off the coast. These are “the Secret Gili’s” that very few tourists know about (Gili actually means island and there are literally hundreds of Gili’s dotted all around the island of Lombok) and they tick all the boxes for remote island hideaways. Only 400 metres from the shoreline, Gili Gede is the largest and along with Gili Nanggu are probably the two best known but in all there are 13 islands in the group. Not all of them are inhabited and only a handful cater to tourists with food and accommodation but island hopping is very simple thanks to local boatmen, and all offer pristine white sands, azure blue seas and excellent snorkelling, diving, fishing and swimming.
Beyond Sekotong are two more epic beaches, the eternally beautiful yet secluded Mekaki Beach and beyond it Bangko Bangko , better known to pro surfers as Desert Point, with it’s world famous left hand break.