The Gili Islands are a trio of small, car-free Indonesian islands with a complex history.

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Located off the coast of Lombok, these three islands—Trawangan, Meno, and Air—are famous for their pristine waters and absence of motorized traffic. Yet, beneath the postcard-perfect surface lies a history of wartime bunkers, land disputes, and a rapid, often overwhelming, transformation into a global tourism hotspot.

The Gili Islands, or Gili Indah, are a small archipelago situated in the Lombok Strait. The name itself is somewhat redundant, as Gili translates to small island in the local Sasak language. While these islands are now a major tourist destination, permanent settlement is a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the 1970s, the islands were primarily pristine mangrove habitats. During the Second World War, Japanese forces occupied the islands, utilizing them as a lookout post and prisoner of war camp. Remnants of this era, such as a tunnel on Gili Trawangan and a sunken patrol boat near Gili Air, still exist today.

Modern development began in 1971 when the governor of Lombok initiated coconut plantations, utilizing labor from inmates sent from Mataram. When these agricultural efforts were abandoned, the local population began to settle on the land, sparking a land dispute that remains unresolved to this day. By the 1980s, the islands began attracting backpackers, influenced by the tourism boom in neighboring Bali. Gili Trawangan eventually emerged as the most developed and party-focused island, while Gili Meno remains the quietest, and Gili Air offers a balance between the two.

The rapid growth of tourism has brought significant challenges. Between 2009 and 2015, visitor numbers to Gili Trawangan surged from 35,000 to over one million annually. This exponential rise has strained local infrastructure, leading to issues with waste management, septic overflow, and damage to coral reefs. Efforts to mitigate these impacts are ongoing, including the work of the Gili Eco Trust, founded in 2000 to protect marine life. Despite their popularity, the islands remain culturally distinct from Bali, and visitors must rely on bicycles, walking, or traditional horse-drawn carriages called cidomo, as motorized vehicles are prohibited by local ordinance.

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