How do women manage their period during a 3-day Mount Rinjani camping trek?

With the right kit it is entirely manageable, and a large share of the women who climb this mountain do so while on their period. The mountain has no disposal infrastructure, no running water, and limited privacy, so the plan is carry everything in, carry everything out, and arrange a little extra support before you start.

Pack for the whole trek in one kit: your regular products plus spares, hand sanitizer, a small pack of wet wipes, a menstrual cup if you use one, painkillers if you need them, and two opaque sealable bags inside an outer bag for carrying used products down the mountain. Do not bury anything and do not dispose of anything in or near lake water; the park’s procedures require all rubbish to come out, rangers check descending groups, and used products left behind are both a hygiene problem and a violation of the rules you agreed to at registration.

Water is the constraint people underestimate. A typical package provides around three liters of drinking water per person per day, and that allocation is for drinking, not for washing. If you expect to wash comfortably during your period, ask your operator before booking for an additional hygiene-water allowance and for a private toilet tent with a bucket or containment unit, and ask how that water is carried up. We provide both on request, and we would rather carry an extra jerry can than have a guest rationing her hydration out of embarrassment about washing.

A cup is a good option only if you can manage it hygienically with your actual water and hand-cleaning setup, so practice before the trek rather than experimenting at 2,600 meters. Pads and tampons remain the practical default for most trekkers, and the sealed-bag carry-out is a routine that every experienced Rinjani trekker knows.

Two more arrangements are worth asking about in advance. A woman guide or crew member may be available for your departure, which many guests find makes the whole subject easier, and our crews are briefed to pitch the toilet tent where it gives you real privacy rather than in the middle of camp. Ask for the arrangements that matter to you before you pay, not on the trail, because everything on the mountain is decided by what was carried up it.