May 5th, 2009 | 
Author: Danau Toba, or Lake Toba as we know it, is the largest lake in Southeast Asia. It was created by the eruption of a super volcano 75 thousand years ago. It is still surrounded by the crater edge of that volcano, and in the middle of the lake, volcanic activity created Samosir an island as big as Singapore. Attached to that island is a small peninsula, with the village of Tuktuk on it. This is the tourist destination of the area, where we enjoy the cool air, a dive in the lake, the relaxed atmosphere, and the local Batak culture. Read the rest of this entry »
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The stone chairs of Ambarita where tribal elders held council.
Ambarita is an ancient Batak tribal village on Samosir Island, in Lake Toba. It is located an hour’s walk northwest from Tuk Tuk or about 20 minutes by boat. I visited it together with a small group of AsiaExplorers members.
What makes Ambarita interesting, from an anthropological standpoint, is that during ancient times the Toba Batak people of Ambarita practised a form of carnibalism. What remains today is the cluster of stone chairs where the village elders held council. Whenever an enemy was captured, the elders would invite the rulers of neighbouring villages to a conference, to determine the fate of the victim. The victim is held in behind bars under one of the houses. Read the rest of this entry »
Batak House around lake toba
Batak Museum in Tomok is one of the three that I have visited. The other two are in Simanindo and Pematang Purba. Both the museums in Simanindo and Pematang Purba are former residences of Batak rulers, whereas the one in Tomok, although located a short walking distance from the Tomb of the Sidabutar kings is one specially set up to showcase the Batak culture in Tomok.
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lake toba parapat
The town of Prapat, as seen from our chartered boat on Lake Toba. We stayed at the Danau Toba International Cottage, which is the row of building with red roofs at water’s edge.
Prapat, also written Parapat, is a small town on the eastern shore of Lake Toba, about 170km from Medan, in North Sumatra. Since colonial times, Prapat has been a weekend getaway and resort town for those escaping the heat and bustle of Medan. In my opinion, although some places in Prapat, especially along the shore, is quite scenic, on the whole, it is not a pretty town. In fact, there is no good reason to remain long at Prapat. Despite being a tourist town for generations, there is actually little in terms of attractions that is available to visitors to Prapat, and tourists are well advised to proceed to Samosir Island.
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Ressort Hotel around lake toba
Rows of resorts and hotels in Tuk Tuk, Samosir Island.
Samosir Island is an island located more or less at the centre of Lake Toba. At 630 sq km, Samosir is just slightly smaller than Singapore, which is 714 sq km. Samosir holds the distinction for being the largest island within an island, and the fourth largest island within a lake.
Lake Toba is believed to have been formed 75000 years ago, following the biggest eruption ever known. A second eruption 30,000 years ago pushed up Samosir Island, and formed the peninsula that is now Prapat. Read the rest of this entry »
Traditional Batak house in Tomok, with grain being dried in the yard, and a less-than-traditional satellite dish at the back.
Tomok is one of the main towns on Samosir Island, in Lake Toba. It has a jetty for ferries coming in from Prapat, which is 30 minutes away on the eastern bank of the lake.
Hugging the Tomok jetty are souvenir shops, again every store selling almost the same items. Tourists thinking of buying cheap t-shirts should try them out before purchasing. What I discovered was that the Indonesian sizes are much smaller than back home, so the same size might not fit. Read the rest of this entry »
Tuk Tuk Peninsula is located on the eastern coast of Samosir Island, in Lake Toba. It is the main tourist village on the island, and it is here that tourists to Samosir find most of the accommodation, from simple guesthouses called losmen to upmarket resorts.
It is not difficult to understand why Tuk Tuk is the tourist centre of Samosir Island, for it is by far the most picturesque part of the island. When I was there, I stayed at Hotel Silintong, which sits on a promontory with breathtaking views of the lake. Every now and then, we could see boatmen rowing past our hotel. Read the rest of this entry »
