May is arguably the single best month here — clean air, first real swells below, sunset light, and you will have the whole cliff to yourself.
Tampah Cliff in May sits in the early dry-season sweet spot. Daytime temps top out around 32°C, rainfall drops to roughly 50mm across five days, and the first head-high south swells of the year start lining up at Tampah Bay below. There is still no infrastructure, no shade, no signal — but you will likely have the entire clifftop to yourself for sunset.
# Tampah Cliff in May: The Early Dry Sweet Spot
Tampah Cliff is not a curated destination. It is a raw headland west of Selong Belanak with a dirt-road approach, no facilities, and a view down onto Tampah Bay that turns most visitors silent for a full minute when they reach the edge. May is when this place is at its absolute best.
Tampah Cliff sits roughly 4 km west of Selong Belanak village, on the headland that separates Selong Belanak Bay from the more remote Tampah and Mawi bays further west. The cliff drops about 60-80 m straight to the surf zone where the Tampah reef breaks. There is no signage, no ticket office, no kiosk, no temple, no anything. You park beside a dirt track and walk the last few hundred meters through scrub.
May sits at the cusp between Lombok's transition month (April) and the full peak dry season (July-September). What this gives you here:
From Kuta Lombok, drive west on the coast road via Are Guling and Mawun toward Selong Belanak (about 40 minutes). At Selong Belanak village, turn right at the surf-rental shacks and follow the road behind the beach toward the western headland. After about 1.5 km of paved road, the surface turns to dirt. Continue another 1.5-2 km on the dirt track — passable on a scooter in dry conditions, easy on a 4x4 — until you see scattered cars or motorbikes parked on the verge.
In May the dirt is firm. By August it will be deeply rutted and dusty; by January it will be impassable mud. May is the easy access window.
The final approach is on foot, 10-15 minutes through low scrub. There is no marked trail — head toward the cliff edge and you will find the worn paths.
The headland is a curving arc of dry grass and exposed rock with the Indian Ocean spread below. From the edge you can see:
There is no fence. There is no railing. The drop is real and people do die on cliffs like this — keep your distance from the edge, especially with kids, and never walk it after dark without a torch.
The reef at Tampah Bay starts working in May as the SE trades fill in. From the cliff you can watch the lineup form — a left-hand point break that wraps the headland and a more powerful right that breaks further out. In May the sets are typically head-high, occasionally overhead on the bigger swells, with light morning offshores creating the cleaner conditions.
The water itself is open ocean. There is no shelter, no anchored boats, no swimming families. The few surfers who paddle out walk down a steep goat track on the eastern side of the headland; this is not a casual descent and not recommended unless you are already a confident reef-break surfer.
There is nothing here. To be specific:
Local Sasak surfers and a small number of foreign nomads camp here. In May the conditions are good — dry ground, manageable wind, no mosquitoes worth speaking of after sunset. If you want to camp, bring a freestanding tent (no trees to tie a hammock to), at least 4 L of water per person per night, and a rubbish bag to take everything out with you. There is no toilet; dig and bury, well away from the cliff edge.
Sun sets around 17:50 in May. Plan to be at the edge by 17:00. The light hits the western face of Mawi headland, the reef below glasses off as the trades drop, and the horizon turns through every variant of orange and red. On the clearer evenings you can see the silhouette of Bangko Bangko 30 km west.
After dark, head back to your bike with a torch. The dirt track is easy to lose in low light.
May at Tampah Cliff is right for: travelers who want raw, unpackaged Lombok; surfers scoping the reef from above before paddling out elsewhere; photographers wanting empty foregrounds; couples wanting a private sunset.
It is wrong for: anyone needing facilities, families with young children, anyone uncomfortable with no phone signal, and anyone expecting a beach-style swim experience.
If you only do one cliff sunset on Lombok this trip, do it here in May — the combination of access ease, weather, light, and emptiness will not repeat in many months of the year.
Drive past Selong Belanak village toward the western headland and ask any local for 'jalan ke Tampah' — they will point you at a dirt track that bypasses the longer hiking route. A motorbike can get within 300 m of the cliff edge in dry conditions; in May the track is firm enough that even a Vario scooter handles it. Go for the second sunset of your trip, not the first — the first one you will spend just trying to find the place. Bring two beers, a sarong, and zero expectations of facilities.