--- title: "Moyo Island: The Mata Jitu Waterfall Where Princess Diana Once Hid Out" type: "TravelGuide" lang: "en" canonical: "https://www.geokepo.id/en/panduan/pulau-moyo-sumbawa-mata-jitu-waterfall-guide" html_url: "https://www.geokepo.id/en/panduan/pulau-moyo-sumbawa-mata-jitu-waterfall-guide" category: "Hidden Gems & Off-the-Beaten-Path" guide_type: "guide" summary: "Moyo Island off Sumbawa hides Mata Jitu waterfall and the pool where Princess Diana swam in 1993 — still nearly untouched today." covers: ["https://www.geokepo.id/en/lokasi/sumbawa"] published: "2026-08-14T00:58:47.197603+00:00" updated: "2026-08-14T00:58:47.197603+00:00" author: "GeoKepo Editorial Team" publisher: "GeoKepo" license: "Editorial content © GeoKepo. Cite the canonical URL." --- # Moyo Island: The Mata Jitu Waterfall Where Princess Diana Once Hid Out In August 1993, Princess Diana flew quietly to a small island off the north coast of Sumbawa, checked into a tented camp with no air conditioning, and walked through cashew groves to a tiered waterfall to swim alone. No paparazzi showed up, no headline ran the next morning — the story only surfaced years later. Three decades on, the same pool is still there, the same falls still spill over the same limestone shelves, and almost nobody comes to see it. That's Moyo Island: a place that once earned the approval of actual royalty and never turned it into a tourist attraction. ## An Island That Missed the Map Moyo sits just off Sumbawa's northern coast, in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province, separated from the mainland by a narrow strait a boat can cross in under an hour. It falls within Moyo Satonda National Park, which also protects nearby Satonda Island and its unusual crater lake. Compared to Lombok's crowded beaches or Komodo's now-iconic status on Indonesia's tourism map, Moyo barely registers — despite being a manageable trip from Bali and carrying one of the more improbable backstories of any island in the region. Most of Moyo is lowland tropical forest and savanna, protected as a conservation area, with only a handful of small fishing villages strung along the coast. People here live on fishing and cashew farming — the nuts are still the backbone of the local economy. There's no paved ring road, no strip of restaurants, no souvenir stalls. Just dirt trails, tall trees, and a soundtrack that's mostly wind and birds. ## Getting There: It Takes Effort, and That's the Point There's no airport on Moyo, and that's not an accident — it's a large part of why the island stays quiet. The usual route starts at Sultan Muhammad Kaharuddin III Airport in Sumbawa Besar, followed by a 2-3 hour drive north to the Air Bari or Labuan Haji area, where small boats cross over to Moyo. The crossing itself typically takes 30-45 minutes depending on sea conditions and landing point. A second option, increasingly popular with international travelers, is catching Moyo as a stop on a phinisi or liveaboard route between Lombok/Komodo and Sumbawa. Many boats sailing between Labuan Bajo and Lombok anchor overnight off Moyo for snorkeling and a short visit to Mata Jitu — by far the easiest way to work the island into a multi-day Nusa Tenggara itinerary. If you're making your own way from Sumbawa Besar, here's roughly what that looks like: - Rent a car or motorbike from Sumbawa Besar to Air Bari/Labuan Haji (roughly 60-70 km, paved but winding) - Find a fishing boat or local operator at the crossing point — charter rates are negotiable and drop sharply in a group - Carry enough cash for the whole trip; there's no ATM on the island - Confirm whether you're headed to Labuan Aji village (the usual entry point for the Mata Jitu trail) or elsewhere - Build in slack time — boat schedules here run on local logic, not a printed timetable This isn't a trip you can plan the night before, and that friction is exactly what's kept it worth visiting. ## Mata Jitu: The Waterfall That Makes the Whole Trip Worth It Mata Jitu roughly translates from the local dialect as "the spring that hits the spot" — water that finds exactly where it's meant to go. The name makes sense the moment you see it: not one waterfall but a series of stepped limestone pools, each spilling into the next, filled with water so clear it reads turquoise even on an overcast day. From the landing point or nearby village, the walk to Mata Jitu takes about 45 minutes. It isn't a boardwalk. You'll pass through villagers' cashew groves, then into denser forest, climbing sections of packed dirt trail that turn slick after rain. Wear shoes you can actually hike in — flip-flops show up on this trail constantly, but you'll be glad you didn't wear them. The route is moderate: no technical climbing, but not a stroll for anyone who doesn't move much either. Once you arrive, the main pool is large enough to swim freely, and the water is cold enough to feel genuinely refreshing after 45 minutes in tropical humidity. What fewer visitors know: about a 10-minute walk further upstream sits a smaller, quieter pool locals call the "Lady Pool," sometimes "Queen Waterfall." This is reportedly where Princess Diana retreated during her 1993 visit, pulling away from her party for privacy. The water there is even clearer, the current gentler, and it's rarely crowded — even on days when the main pool has visitors around it. ## Timor Deer, Coral Reefs, and Everything Else on the Island Mata Jitu is the main draw, but it's not the only reason to come. Moyo is known for its population of wild Timor deer (Rusa timorensis), which roam freely across the savanna and forest edges — walk early morning or around dusk and your odds of spotting a herd are good, especially near Amanwana. For birders, Moyo holds a surprising amount of unpublicized richness: resident and migratory species pass through the forest and coastline, though it hasn't yet found its way onto most Indonesian birdwatching itineraries. Below the waterline, the reefs around Moyo — particularly off the island's west and north sides — rank among the healthier ones in NTB waters, largely because there's so little mass tourism pressure and the national park designation keeps a lid on damage. Snorkeling straight off the boat or from shore turns up intact hard coral, dense schools of reef fish, and the occasional passing turtle. Some liveaboard operators rank the waters off Moyo among the best snorkeling stops on their entire Lombok-to-Komodo route, precisely because so few boats bother to stop. Beyond Mata Jitu, several smaller waterfalls and springs sit scattered through the interior, though they're rarely visited and generally need a local guide to find — the trails aren't marked. If you're staying longer than a day trip, ask in the village about treks into the island's central hills; the views take in Sumbawa's coastline in the distance. ## Where to Stay: The Most Expensive Tent in Eastern Indonesia, or a Fisherman's Spare Room The accommodation split on Moyo is genuinely extreme. On one end sits Amanwana, a luxury tented resort operating since the early 1990s and the place where Princess Diana stayed. Its oversized safari-style tents line the forest edge facing the sea, with butler service, fine dining, and the kind of privacy that's made it a favorite hideaway for celebrities and royalty for decades. This isn't a budget option — rates sit firmly in world-class luxury territory, and booking well ahead is standard practice. On the other end, villages along Moyo's coast run very basic homestays managed by local families — simple rooms, sometimes without air conditioning, electricity limited to generator hours. Prices sit far below Amanwana: meals with your hosts, island stories from people who actually live there, waking up to waves instead of an AC hum. If you're only coming for a Mata Jitu hike and an afternoon of snorkeling, a homestay — or a same-day trip from Sumbawa Besar — covers what you need. Few islands in Indonesia offer a spread this wide, from one of the priciest tents in the eastern part of the country to a spare mattress in a fisherman's house, with almost nothing occupying the middle ground. ## Best Time to Visit The dry season, roughly April through October, is the better window for a Moyo trip. The trail to Mata Jitu is drier and considerably less slippery, sea crossings are calmer, and underwater visibility improves noticeably for snorkeling. The wet season (November-March) turns the forest trail muddy and can delay boat crossings when the sea kicks up, though the waterfall itself runs fuller if you don't mind a more careful walk in. July and August see the heaviest liveaboard traffic passing through Moyo's waters, so if you want the place genuinely to yourself, aim for April-May or September-October — the weather still holds, but far fewer boats are stopping by. ## Practical Tips and Budget Entry fees for Moyo Satonda National Park are tiered and subject to change, so check current rates before you go. As a rough guide: Indonesian citizens pay around Rp50,000 on weekdays and Rp75,000 on weekends/holidays, foreign visitors around Rp250,000 on weekdays and Rp275,000 on weekends/holidays. Treat these as indicative — park pricing gets updated periodically. A few other things worth knowing: - Bring enough cash for your entire trip — no ATM or card payment anywhere on the island - Phone signal is limited to nonexistent through most of the forest interior - Wear real hiking footwear and pack a change of clothes for the pools - Carry your own drinking water and some food; the island has very few warung - Respect conservation rules — don't feed the wild deer, don't touch coral while snorkeling - Booking a homestay: confirm electricity and freshwater availability before arrival - Arriving by liveaboard: ask how long the boat is anchoring off Moyo — some stops run just 3-4 hours, enough for snorkeling but tight for the full Mata Jitu round trip If time is short, prioritize the main Mata Jitu pool and save enough energy to push on to the Lady Pool — it's the part most rushed visitors skip on their way back to the boat. ## Why Moyo Belongs on Your Itinerary There's something rare left in Moyo that most Indonesian destinations lose the moment word gets out: a place once endorsed, quite literally, by one of the most photographed women alive, and never cashed that in. No signpost reads "Princess Diana's Pool" at the trailhead, no queue forms for photos, no stall sells royal-themed souvenirs. What's there is a forest trail leading to a waterfall, deer that still wander exactly as they always have, and water as clear as it apparently was in 1993. Moyo isn't built for anyone chasing an easy, frictionless holiday. Getting to the point that makes it worthwhile takes a drive, a boat crossing, and a hike through forest. But for anyone looking for the version of NTB that existed before Lombok and Bali got crowded, Moyo is one of the most honest answers still standing.