Lake Toba in North Sumatra

After the adventure in the jungle in Bukit Lawang111, our trip in Indonesia continued to new extraordinary places. The northern landscape of the island of Sumatra is dominated by the largest lake in the country and the biggest volcanic lake in the world, Lake Toba. It was formed in the crater of a super-volcano, after the biggest-known explosive eruption on Earth in the last 25 million years. Today it offers a calm and relaxing environment for travelers in search of a moment of peace.

We reached Lake Toba at the end of a six hours drive from Bukit Lawang, via Medan. The tickets can be easily organized by any agent in the jungle and the transfer is usually done with minivans able to transport up to 7 passengers.

Arriving at Lake Toba

The access to the lake can be done either by car from the south part or by ferry from the north. Being 100 km long and 30 km wide, the lake offers mesmerizing panoramic views long before arriving at the access points to the island situated in the large crater. We boarded the ferry from Parapat to the Tuk Tuk village, where we booked a Batak style room at one of the hotels on the coast, offering a beautiful view of the lake.

Our days at the lake have been the best of our trip in Indonesia when we could admire incredible landscapes, taste delicious local food and get together with our friends from Medan, which we met at the arrival in the country. There were also other travelers, that we already got acquainted with on the way from the jungle to the lake and who joined our group, so we spent most of our time together.

The local community on the island and the natural environment offer a truly authentic experience and an open door to discovering long preserved traditions. The old architectural style can be easily recognized all over the Samosir island and the local cuisine promises to impress even the most pretentious gourmets. One dish that we warmly recommend is the Mie Gomak Batak soup.

Mie Gomak Batak soup

We decided to explore the island by scooter, but also cycling along the coast. One of the main points of interest are the ruins of the ancient Batak village Ambarita, together with its stone chairs, head-chopping block and traditional dances. Visiting the tomb of King Sidabutar or the Batak Museum, hiking to the Sipiso Piso waterfall or just going for a swim in the refreshing water of the lake are some of the activities that make Lake Toba a great place to explore.

We spent in total six wonderful days at the lake, before taking a minivan on our last day back to Medan, and further a flight to Malang, on the island of Java.

Check out more pictures from Indonesia here.