The interior of Nusa Penida is hilly with a maximum altitude of 524 metres, and the climate is drier than Bali.

[3] Nusa Penida, together with neighbouring Lembongan and Ceningan Islands, forms a bird sanctuary.

After a two-year program by FNPF in which 64 cage-bred birds were rehabilitated and released onto Nusa Penida, their number had increased to over 100 in 2009.

[6] The flow through the Lombok Strait is, overall, south-tending, although the strength and direction of the tidal streams are influenced by the monsoon seasons.

In the area of the strait north of Nusa Penida, the pattern is relatively simple, with a flow, at peak tide, of about three-and-one-half knots.