Gili Iyang’s Oxygen Spreads Across Seas

Kompas/Ryan Rinaldy

Visitors pass by tree houses on Kalompek Hill near Dungkek village, Dungkek district, Sumenep regency, East Java, Monday (28/8). Kalompek Hill is an alternative tourist spot where visitors can see Gili Iyang Island and enjoy a breath of its high-oxygen air from atop its height.

A visit to Sumenep regency in East Java, one of the three easternmost regencies on Madura Island, will not be complete if you only travel around urban areas. The moment you set foot in front of Sumenep Palace, you will want to head out across the strait to Gili Iyang.

The journey across the strait to the island, famous for having the most oxygenated environment in the world, apart from Jordan, takes only between 45 minutes and 60 minutes, depending on the winds. The 10-hectare island with 9,185 residents in its two villages, Banca Mara and Banra’as, are now gaining fame among travelers.