Covering an area of over 1700 square kilometers, Lake Toba is the largest lake in Southeast Asia and one of the deepest (450 meters) in the world. The mythical homeland of the Batak people, this magnificent body of water was formed as a result of a mammoth volcanic explosion, believed to be the greatest in the earth’s history. So mighty was this eruption, it is thought that a veil of incandescent ash wrapped around the earth, plunging it into the darkness of the last ice age about 75,000 years ago.
Today surrounded on all sides by pine-covered beaches, steep mountain slopes and cliffs, with Samosir Island sitting right in the middle, Lake Toba is a spellbinding sight. Besides its great beauty inside a giant caldera, this region is also celebrated for its traditional villages, superb adat houses, rich Batak culture and relaxing environment. The lake is on most visitors’ itineraries to northern Sumatra who find it inexpensive, safe, cool and pleasant - an ideal place to recover from marathon bus rides. Sunlight can be fierce when out walking so wear a hat.
Inhabiting the lake and its environs, the Toba Batak are the best-known of the five Batak tribes. One million strong, they are considered the most assertive and flamboyant of the five Batak subgroups - and proud of it. Eighty percent are Christian, but their faith is mixed strongly with ancestor worship. The original tribe, the Toba Batak have the purest lineages and speak the most uncorrupted dialect. They can trace their family lines back 10 generations, to a time when any stranger who stared upon their land was killed and eaten. This fate probably befell the first missionaries to the area; the last recorded instance of cannibalism took place in 1906.
Lakeside Resort
Prapat, 176 km and five hours from Medan, is the main town on the lake. Busy and congested, it has a dry bracing climate and spectacular views while sitting on a balcony or walking the winding streets. Prapat is the principal embarkation point for wooden, double decker ferries crossing over to the island of Samosir, departing every 30 minutes or so during daylight hours.
Most of the upscale tourists are Indonesians and Chinese from Medan and Singapore, while the international budget travelers are more drawn to Samosir. A tourist office is located near the arched entrance to town. Drop in at the Batak Cultural Center, Jl. Josep Sinaga 19, to see what’s on. Dances and musical performances are usually staged on Saturday evenings. Enthusiastic Batak singing and other forms of entertainment are staged on occasion at Hotel Prapat.
Bring sufficient cash, as moneychangers and Bank BNI on Jl. Sisingamangaraja consistently offer poor rates. Travel agencies and a few hotels in Tuk Tuk will change money, but at even worse rates. The Telkom office is in back of town on the road to the bus station.
Wednesdays and Saturdays are Prapat’s big market days, when the pasar by the jetty swarms with Batak from outlying villages. Woodcarvings, leather goods, curios, and the usual tourist fare are on sale. Souvenir shops also line the highway selling a great variety of overpriced handicrafts: clothing, batik, striking kain ulor textiles.
Samosir Island
Wherever you stand on the shore of Lake Toba, you see this 630-square-km island. Samosir, which is about the size of Singapore, is technically a peninsula, connected in the west by a narrow isthmus at Pangururan. The island was once a piece of a plateau at the same elevation as the cliffs surrounding the lake, but a cataclysmic volcanic eruption blew open a 30-by 90-km depression, collapsing the piece of crust that is now the island.
The original home of the Toba Batak, Samosir offers a sunny and dry climate, superb hiking, royal tombs, dramatic Batak architecture, stone carvings, reasonable accommodations and tasty food. In the hills are relaxing thermal pools. Set amongst leafy gardens, most restaurants are just a few steps from the lake’s shore. Swimming in the lake is delightfully cool, the surrounding vegetation lush and green. The best way to get around the island is by rented motorbike (Rp50,000 per day).
On the ferry from Prapat, locals will approach you to stay in their guesthouses and bungalows which are mainly concentrated in the small peninsula of Tuk Tuk. The ferry, which takes about 40 minutes to cross the lake, stops at the lakeside accommodations of your choice. As there are few tourists and an oversupply of great places to stay, you should be able to bargain a good rate. There’s no a/c, but you don’t need it because the lake is 800 meters above sea level.
Places to Stay
Stay in traditional Batak-style houses with steps that lead up to a tiny door through which you have to stoop to enter. The outside is traditional but the inside is modernized. With the beds in lofts on different levels, these are great fun to scramble around in. The cheapest is to share one with up to five people.
Young backpackers congregate at Bagus Bay so it tends to be noisy at night with motorbikes coming and going. Try to get quieter rooms away from the road. Pool, water slide, common room sometimes with movies, and a small lakeside area for swimming. Excellent value.
Carolina (tel. 0625-41520/451210, email: carolina@psiantar.wasantara.net.id) has an outstanding location close to the water with rooms and apartments (Rp100,000-Rp200,000) built in traditional style. Bike rental, laundry service, helpful staff, fresh fruit breakfast, terraces with view of beautiful sunrises. This is a popular family hotel, so kids are up and about by 6 am. Tabo Hotel is a cute little property with charming villas on the lake with deluxe rooms (hot water). Annette and Anton run it more like a guest house than a soulless hotel.
Jaqwi, half way between Carolina and Bagus Bay. Apart from being an above average restaurant (especially for steamed fish), Heddi offers cooking classes (Rp350,000) where you learn how to cook 4 dishes (out of a choice of about 25). Heddi’s kitchen opens to a panoramic view of the lake.
Getting There & Away
From Medan, the unappealing capital of north Sumatra, many buses make the 200 km trip each day. Inquire at Dolok Silau Tour & Travel (tel. 0625/-1467) in Prapat or Bagus Tour & Travel in Tigaraja. Or you can cross the lake by boat from Parapat to Haranggoal and then catch a bus up to Brastagi and further to Medan. Deluxe a/c buses also do the unforgettable 15-hour journey south to Bukittinggi, the homeland of the Minangkabau people.
