Tourist Attractions In Sumatra

North Sumatra’s capital, Medan, is Sumatra’s main city, and it’s also the main gateway to the island as a whole. Medan, with its colonial-style Dutch buildings has a few interesting sights to see, but most of the `must-sees’ are further afield.
Within Medan, the places worth a visit are the Maimoun Palace (the Istana Maimoun) and the Mesjid Raya, a beautiful mosque with a striking black dome.  Mesjid Raya, Medan, Sumatra

Among the museums in Medan are the Bukit Barisan Military Museum, a regular armoury of weapons and war-related exhibits that trace Sumatra’s martial history and the Museum of North Sumatra- a good place to get an idea of the cultural and historical heritage of the region.

Getting to some of the more spectacular sights of Sumatra entails getting out of Medan, although some nice sights are also close enough for you to see them even if you’re staying in Medan and just want to go on a day’s excursion. However, a trip of a couple of days (or more, as the case may be) can take you to some really unforgettable places.
Gunung Sibayak Volcano, Berastagi, Sumatra  Berastagi lies 70 km from Medan and is a pretty little town in the hills. Best known among the mountains around it are two volcanoes - Gunung Sinabung and Gunung Sibayak.

Berastagi is the ideal place for a quiet and relaxed holiday- it’s beautifully cool and unpolluted. The local people, the Karo Bataks, have a very distinctive lifestyle and Berastagi is a good place to experience it. Not too far from Berastagi is the famous Gunung Leuser National Park, one of the largest in the world. It’s got an impressive list of wildlife: elephants, tigers, gibbons, monkeys, orangutans (there’s also an orangutan rehabilitation centre within the park) and the Sumatran rhino.

Lake Toba: 176 km from Medan is one of Sumatra’s most amazing sights, a lake right in the middle of a volcanic crater. Toba is the largest lake in South East Asia and was formed 100 centuries ago, when a massive eruption caused the volcano to collapse upon itself. The lake is today a serene, beautiful one, surrounded by high mountains, and in close proximity to beaches which are shaded by pine trees- an unusual combination. In the middle of the lake is an island, Samosir, a popular tourist destination (it looks it- there are lots of hotels and restaurants all along it). The main town in the area is Parapat, which is on the shore of Lake Toba. While you’re in the vicinity, try to get a glimpse of the cultural attractions around- the Bataks, who live around the lake, produce some excellent handicrafts and have a rich repertoire of song and music.

The lake of Danau Ranau is one of Indonesia’s most beautiful, most secluded- and most hard to get to. High up in the mountains, it’s a quiet and peaceful place, excellent for trekking or camping. The lake can be reached by taking the train to Baturaja from Palembang; from Baturaja, a trip of three and a half hours takes you till the shore of the lake. Recommended if you want a very quiet holiday.

In the eastern part of Sumatra (in the province of Jambi) lies Kerinci. In many ways, it’s like Danau Ranau- cool, quiet, and beautiful. Like Danau Ranau, too, Kerinci lies amidst the mountains, but it isn’t a lake: it’s a green, lovely mountain valley (it does have a lake at one end of the valley, though). In the same area lie a picturesque waterfall and hot springs (you’ll find a lot of these all over Indonesia: they’re linked to the volcanic activity all over the island). Kerinci isn’t only fabulous scenery, however: the valley has tea plantations, and you can see some interesting stone carvings around too.

Besides these, there are other places to visit, too: the 3000 islands which form the Riau archipelago; the Karo Batak Highlands (known for the unusual, pointed-roof architecture of its native houses), and Padang, where the Minangkabau live, Muslims who have a matriarchal society. Padang is also famous for its distinctive cuisine- hot and spicy, but delicious too.