Places of Interest at Sumatra (part 1)

Toba Lake
Toba Lake is the largest lake in South East Asia and also one of the most spectacular, surrounded by tall mountains and with the large island of Samosir in the middle. If we descend from the mountain we see the lake glittering in all its beauty. The Dutch writer Rudy Kousbroek even called Toba Lake, ‘the most beautiful place on earth’. Most visitors stay on the peninsula of Tuk Tuk on Samosir, named after the linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk. In general people stay several days on Samosir to discover the island, to visit

traditional Batak villages, to swim in the lake and go to the hot springs in Pangururan. The centerpiece of North Sumatra, Lake Toba’s bracing climate and magnificent panoramas clear the mind and soothe the soul. For decades a magnet from regional and foreign visitors alike, Toba has developed into a full-featured highland resort while retaining the rustic charm and relaxed ambiance that define Toba’s attraction. Formed by a stupendous prehistoric volcanic explosion, the 100 km long lake is the largest in Southeast Asia and one of the deepest and the highest in the world. The drama of that cataclysmic birth persist in 500 meter cliffs dropping into the blue-green waters, surrounded by steep, pine covered sloped, the climate is fresh and pleasant, with just enough rain to support the lush vegetation. Toba Lake is a 100kms x 30kms volcanic lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Toba Lake has become one of the main tourist attractions for a long time in North Sumatra apart from Bukit Lawang and Nias, visited by both domestic and foreign tourist.

SAMOSIR ISLAND

Samosir is approximately 50 km long and 15 km wide island in Lake Toba, almost as big as Singapore. It is often described as the hearthland of Batak culture. Samosir is actually a peninsula and not an island, as it is divided from Sumatera only by a narrow man-made canal, the Pusuk Buhit Canal between Samosir and mainland, once made by the Dutch. Samosir is a perfect place to relax and cool down. It is beautiful and scenic and very relaxing. Accommodation is extremely cheap, but food rather expensive (according to Indonesian standard). In the end it evens out compared to other major tourist destinations in Indonesia.

GUNUNG LEUSER NATIONAL PARK

Taman Nasional Gunung Leuser is an approximately 890,000 hectares big national park. The main part of the park is in the province of Aceh, but the park stretches into North Sumatra in the regencies of Langkat, Karo and Dairi. Leuser is the last place on earth where elephants, rhinos, tigers, clouded, leopards and orang-utans are found within one area. Leuser has two major river system, two major volcanoes and three lakes. The Alas river cuts the park in the western and an eastern half. The driest months are February and June/July and the wettest March/April and September to November.455 of all recorded plant species in the West Indo-Malayan region are found in Leuser. There are around 700 animal species living in the park. Between 300 and 400 them are birds. About 8,500 plant species grow in the park, including the biggest flower in the world, Raflesia Arnoldi. Two million people depend on the area as their water resource.

BUKIT LAWANG

Bukit Lawang might be one of the best place to meet this exclusive and unique primate and it is one of the largest stronghold community of Orang Utan. Situated at the eastern side of Gunung Leuser National Park, leap with the track of Sungai Bohorok, Medan. With more than 5000 Orang Utans occupied the jungle, Bukit Lawang considered as the house of the enormous orang utan by the visitor. Bukit Lawang founded in the early of 1973, set up to preserve the decreasing number of Orang Utan as the negative result of hunting and trading. The rehabilitation center helps the Orang Utans to regain their nature habits and trained through certain programs before released to the wild. Once the primate heads the jungle, the rehabilitation center keep providing them with supplement and regular check-up. If you wish to feed the Orang Utan directly, there are 2 feeding times 08.30 am and 3.00 pm; you could feed them with milk, bananas and other food supplements supplied by the rehabilitation center. All the activities within the Gunung Leuser National Park should be done under the permit and guide by professional provided by the rehabilitation center. Some visitor argued that the regulations is way too strict and stiff, but the rehabilitation center excuses that the wrong contact by human could harm the Orang Utan.

BUKIT TINGGI

Bukittinggi is one of the larger cities in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of over 91,000 people and an area of 25.24 km². It is situated in the Minangkabau highlands, 90 km by road from the West Sumatran capital city of Padang. It is located at 0°18′20″S, 100°22′9″E, near the volcanoes Mount Singgalang (inactive) and Mount Marapi (still active). At 930 m above sea level, the city has a cool climate with temperatures between 16.1°-24.9°C. The city was also known as Fort de Kock during colonial times in reference to the Dutch outpost established here in 1825 during the Padri War. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in World War II, the city was the headquarters for the Japanese 25th Army, the force which occupied Sumatra. The headquarters was moved to the city in April 1943 from Singapore, and remained until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. During the Indonesian War of Independence, Bukittinggi was the headquarters for the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia from December 19, 1948 to July 13, 1949. From 1950 until 1957, Bukittinggi was the capital city of a province called Central Sumatra, which encompassed West Sumatra, Riau and Jambi. In February 1958, during a revolt in Sumatra against the Indonesian government, rebels proclaimed the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) in Bukittinggi. The Indonesian government had recaptured the town by May the same year.

MENTAWAI ISLAND

Located in the middle of Indian Ocean, 150 km and takes 9 hours trip from Padang, West Sumatra-Mentawai glowing with all the nature spirits and make it an extraordinary escaping spot from a hectic life. Mentawai is the natural habitat for 16 endemic species, and some of them categorized as endangered species e.g. Simakobu monkey (simias concolor-eat leaf as primary food). The present life of Mentawai people categorized as the legacy from Neolithic era and they have a strong believe in nature spirit, for their life strongly affected by nature. They believe that nature is the center of life. All the genuine attributes make Mentawai a perfect place to gain cultural experiences, here you will notice a very fascinating and indigenous culture, like traditional cloths, art, music and the way of life. The entire culture attributes strongly reflects their respect to nature. Tattoo is one of the most important symbol for Mentawai people, its reflect maturity, manhood and status. The art of this body painting inherit from their ancestor. The tattoos ink naturally made from leaf. Among the surfers, Mentawai is the best place to fill their demand for challenges and natures beauty. The beaches offer one of the highest wave in the world, 3 to 4 meters, totally challenge your gut. Once you grounded your self in this hidden Paradise Island, next you will paddle out to the worlds best surf. Dont call your self Surfer if you havent ride Mentawais waves said most of the surfer to expressed their surfing experiences in Mentawai. There are four ultimate diving spot here in Mentawai ,Siberut, Sipora, Pagai Utara (north Pagai) and Pagai Selatan (south Pagai). You can find great waves here year round, but the best waves are during dry season, March to October. Make sure you have the gut to explore all the glassy waves, because the best way to entitled your surfing experiences remarkable is through finding your own.

LAKE MANINJAU

Lake Maninjau is a caldera lake in West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located 16 km to the west of Bukittinggi. The Maninjau caldera was formed by a volcanic eruption estimated to have occurred around 52,000 years ago.Deposits from the eruption have been found in a radial distribution around Maninjau extending up to 50 km to the east, 75 km to the southeast, and west to the present coastline. The deposits are estimated to be distributed over 8500 km² and have a volume of 220–250 km³.The caldera has a length of 20 km and a width of 8 km. Lake Maninjau has an area of 99.5 km², being approximately 16 km long and 7 km wide. The average depth is 105 m, with a maximum depth of 165 m. The natural outlet for excess water is the Antokan river, located on the west side of the lake. It is the only lake in Sumatra which has a natural outlet to the west coast. Since 1983 this water has been used to generate hydroelectric power for West Sumatra. Most of the people who live around Lake Maninjau are ethnically Minangkabau. Villages on the shores of the lake include Maninjau and Bayur. Maninjau is a notable tourist destination in the region due to its scenic beauty and mild climate. It is also used as a site for paragliding.

LAKE SINGKARAK

Another ideal place for recreation and water sport is Singkarak Lake, 36 km from Bukittinggi. There are several motels and restaurants in the area. Singkarak Lake is located about 10 Km of Solok city and ± 35 Km from Kayu Aro. This lake is located in X Koto district and spread across Solok – Bukit Tinggi way. The lake is state between two regencies that is Solok regency and Tanah Datar regency with ± 129,70 km2 (± 1.129,29 Ha) width. Siangkarak Lake is the widest lake in West Sumatra and the second widest lake in Sumatra Island after Toba Lake. The Lake that located in 362,5 m height from the sea level, has special species of fish that only live in this lake and the only in the world. Society around called as Bilih Fish (Mystacoleuseus Padangensis). Uniquely, this fish cannot live in other habitat, both in an aquarium and in a pool. The people around are often selling this fish and the visitors can enjoy the specific taste of this fish in the restaurants that located around the lake. The Lake is equipped by some facilities, such as; hotels, motels, restaurants and also water sport facilities. Beside used as tourism objects and the economic source of society around, nowadays, this lake also used as the electric source of Sicincin.

  Sumber : http://www.yesstourbali.com