Short answer: Yes, Mount Rinjani is climbable again. The Senaru route reopened on 3 October 2026 after a land fire closed it, and park officials say all five official trails inside Mount Rinjani National Park (Sembalun, Senaru, Tibanuh, Tetebatu and Aik Berik) are back to normal operations. Rules, quotas and weather can still change a booking, so confirm your exact route and date before you pay a deposit.
If you were watching the news in late summer, the picture looked bleak. Fires across Indonesia's dry-season landscapes pushed the forestry ministry to restrict hiking in several national parks, and Rinjani's Senaru side burned. This guide sorts what actually happened from what has been rumoured, tells you what changes for a trek booked now, and explains how to plan around a wet season that is already close.
What happened to Rinjani in 2026
Rinjani's year has had three distinct phases, and travellers often blur them together.
Spring reopening. Rinjani closes every year for the rainy season, and in 2026 the main climbing season restarted in spring. Reports differ on the exact date: one state-linked report gives 1 April, while a regional broadcaster reported a reopening on 28 March. Either way, the park used the closed months to survey the main routes, add safety railings, build shelters and map water sources.
The dry-season fire restrictions. On 31 August 2026 the forestry minister announced a temporary halt to hiking in nine national parks because of wildfire risk, effective 1 September. The list included Bromo Tengger Semeru, Kerinci Seblat, Mount Ciremai, Tambora, Manusela, Bukit Baka Bukit Raya, Mount Gede Pangrango and Mount Leuser, plus several routes in Lorentz. Rinjani was treated differently by most reporting. Antara and Malay Mail described Rinjani as open on a limited basis, under strict supervision, with climbers confined to areas judged safe. One travel-news site claimed the park offices at Rinjani applied the order in full. That conflict was never cleanly resolved in public reporting, which is exactly why a written confirmation from the park or your operator matters. For the wider list, see our guide to which Indonesian hiking trails are actually open.
The Senaru fire and reopening. A land fire hit the Senaru side of the national park and the trail was closed. Officials then said Senaru would reopen from 3 October 2026. According to the park's figures, the burned area stood at 1,098.75 hectares as of 29 September, with no new or spreading hotspots. The closure and restrictions were issued under a ministry circular, number SE.4/KSDAE/SKSDAE/KSA.02.02/08/2026, on temporarily closing and limiting mountain-climbing tourism to prevent forest fires. With Senaru open again, the five trails are reported as operating normally.
The five trails, and which one you actually want
Most visitors only ever hear about two routes, but the park lists five.
Sembalun is the classic approach from the east. It starts on open savannah, is the usual choice for the summit push, and is the route most people mean when they say they climbed Rinjani. It tends to be the busiest.
Senaru is the northern route and the one that was closed. It climbs through forest before opening onto the crater rim. Many trekkers use it as the descent after a Sembalun ascent, or the other way around, to link both sides into a traverse.
Tibanuh, Tetebatu and Aik Berik are the quieter southern and eastern approaches. They are less commercial, usually need more local arrangement, and are not the routes most agencies sell off the shelf. If you want fewer people on the trail, ask an operator whether any of them suit your dates and fitness. Do not assume they work the same way as Sembalun and Senaru.
If you are choosing between the two main sides, the practical difference is the day-one experience: Sembalun is exposed and sunny, Senaru is shaded and steeper. Our basecamp guide for Senaru and Sembalun covers where to sleep the night before.
What the fire changes for your trek
Do not expect the mountain to look the way it did last year. A burned section of forest or scrub can look stark, and it can be more exposed to sun, wind and, once the rain returns, erosion. Treat the following as sensible assumptions, not official rules.
Expect a tighter, more watched system. After a fire season, park staff are more likely to check permits, group size and your guide. Hire a registered guide and carry the documents your operator gives you. Do not rely on a trek you arranged informally with someone at the gate.
Expect rules about fire. Anything that can start a fire, including cigarettes, camp stoves used carelessly and open flames, is the reason the closures happened. Follow the guide's instructions on cooking and smoking without argument.
Expect trail conditions to vary by day. Dust, ash and loose ground on recently burned slopes make descents slippery. Trekking poles and gaiters are worth packing.
Quotas and prices: what is reliable and what is not
This is the part of Rinjani research that will waste your time. You will find numbers for daily visitor limits, and they do not agree. One site lists a per-route cap of 150 people per day for both Senaru and Sembalun. A travel blog claims a combined daily quota of 700 trekkers across four routes since January 2026 and an age rule for children. Neither number was backed by an official source in the material we reviewed, and the two cannot both be right.
So the honest advice is this: do not plan around a quota figure you read online. Book through a licensed operator, ask them to confirm in writing that your date is available on your route, and ask what happens to your money if the park closes the route again. That last question is the one that separates good operators from bad ones.
For insurance and what the park now expects of climbers, read Mount Rinjani's insurance rules for 2026 before you book. For permits in general, see our guide to getting a Rinjani permit.
Should you go now, or wait for 2027?
The honest answer depends on the date you can travel.
If you can go in the next few weeks, the window is narrowing. The dry season is ending, and the wetter months are the traditional time for Rinjani to close. Travellers who have been told to avoid the rainy season, usually quoted as January to March, are being given general advice rather than an official closure date. We did not find an official announcement for a 2026-27 rainy-season closure, but the park has closed for the wet season in previous years, so assume it can happen with little notice.
If you can wait, the spring reopening is the lower-risk plan. The trails are being rebuilt and surveyed during the closure, conditions are usually better after the rains, and burned slopes have had time to green. Dry months generally run from about May to September, with the best trekking conditions often quoted between May and October.
If you are already booked, do not cancel in a panic. Contact your operator, ask for written confirmation that your route is open on your dates, and ask for their cancellation and rebooking policy in writing.
A practical checklist before you pay
- Ask which route and which dates are confirmed open. Ask for the answer by message or email, not a verbal "no problem".
- Confirm the guide and porter arrangement. Registered guides are expected in Indonesian national parks, and the operator should name who is coming.
- Ask about refunds and rebooking if the park closes again. The Tambora park authority, for example, said it uses no online ticketing and therefore no refund mechanism at all, which is a reminder that the rules vary park by park.
- Check your insurance covers trekking at altitude and evacuation. Rinjani rescues are slow and expensive when they happen.
- Pack for fire-affected terrain. Poles, gaiters, a buff or mask for dust, extra water and sun protection.
- Keep a flexible day on either end. Lombok flights, ferries from Bali and weather all slip, and a rigid schedule makes a closure much more expensive.
Alternatives if Rinjani does not work out
If your dates fall inside a closure, you have options on the same island group. The Bromo area reopened after its own 2026 wildfire closure, and we explain what changed in our Bromo reopening guide. Elsewhere, reporting says hiking remained open on a limited basis at Mount Merbabu, Argopuro in the Hyang Highlands wildlife sanctuary and Mount Halimun Salak, though always under supervision and with access limited to safe zones. Those arrangements can change, so verify them the same way you would verify Rinjani.
One more habit pays off: check the park's official channels the week you travel, and again the day before you leave Bali or Mataram. Closures during 2026 were announced at short notice, and a message to your operator that morning costs nothing.
The bottom line
Rinjani is open again, and the Senaru trail's October reopening means the full set of five trails is reported as running normally. The risk now is less the fire and more the calendar and the paperwork: a wet season that can close the mountain, quota numbers that nobody outside the park can confirm, and operators who promise more than the park allows. Pick a licensed operator, get the route and date confirmed in writing, and plan a spare day. Do that, and the 2026 fire season becomes a footnote to the trek rather than the reason it fell apart.
This guide reflects news reports available as of 4 November 2026. Closures and rules change quickly, so check with Mount Rinjani National Park or your licensed operator before you travel.