Lake toba is one of the biggest lake in Sumatra island and in Indonesia, too. Lake Toba is about 285 km from Medan City, a capital of North Sumatra. Lake Toba is about 100 km long and about 30 km wide. Lake Toba is also called Parapat by a people of North Sumatra.
From Jakarta, we needed ... Read review
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Advantages: Beautiful place, friendly people Disadvantages: Take 3-4 hours from Medan
Lake toba is one of the biggest lake in Sumatra island and in Indonesia, too. Lake Toba is about 285 km from Medan City, a capital of North Sumatra. Lake Toba is about 100 km long and about 30 km wide. Lake Toba is also called Parapat by a people of North Sumatra.
From Jakarta, we needed a trip about 2.5 hours by plane, whereas from Medan to reach the lake Toba we needed 3-4 hours trip by car.
To go to location of lake, we drive ... ...hours until we arrive to lake Toba. .
In a middle of lake, there is an island called Samosir island. To reach a samosir, we might use boat and there is also bigger ship which transports cars and busses sailing to Samosir. A cost to sail to Samosir is only Rp 25.000.
When we are in Medan, we feel so hot, not like on Toba, cause in Toba we feel so cool. If you want to have amazing view of Lake Toba, I'd suggest you to ... more
Lake toba is one of the biggest lake in Sumatra island and in Indonesia, too. Lake Toba is about 285 km from Medan City, a capital of North Sumatra. Lake Toba is about 100 km long and about 30 km wide. Lake Toba is also called Parapat by a people of North Sumatra.
From Jakarta, we needed a trip about 2.5 hours by plane, whereas from Medan to reach the lake Toba we needed 3-4 hours trip by car. To go to location of lake, we drive a car or a bus from Medan through an area of hill and It take about 3-4 hours until we arrive to lake Toba. .
In a middle of lake, there is an island called Samosir island. To reach a samosir, we might use boat and there is also bigger ship which transports cars and busses sailing to Samosir. A cost to sail to Samosir is only Rp 25.000.
When we are in Medan, we feel so hot, not like on Toba, cause in Toba we feel so cool. If you want to have amazing view of Lake Toba, I'd suggest you to drive on the top of the hill, passing by small villages and having a look on such a beautiful countryside, where you will have similar views. Lake Toba is a so relaxing place, where you will definitely enjoy.
When I went to lake Toba, I live in Sinabung hotel, the hotel is on the edge of lake Toba and the rate of hotel is about Rp 300.000. We just walk ahead 20 m to reach lake and we can swim in the lake, too. What's enjoyable swimming in lake Toba, enjoyable and fresh.
On Samosir, there is a unique culture called "Batak Toba/Tapanuli" and the nicest thing to do, in my opinion, is to expore the traditional Batak Toba villages to meet the friendly people on Samosir.
On lake Toba and Samosir we can find an abundance of cool places to stay, to eat, libraries, internet, bars, prostitutes, drugs, video rooms and shopping a traditional unique goods.
A trip to Sumatra for many is not complete without a trip to LakeToba. Danau Toba is the local name for this lake which is the biggest in Indonesia. The lake itself is three times larger than Singapore and is about 450 metres deep.
LakeToba is accessible from a small town called Parapat on the north eastern side of the lake. The lake itself is stunning and reminds me somewhat of Lake Windemere. There is a huge island in the middle of the lake called Samosir island which was originally inhabited by the Batak people of Indonesia.
The Bataks are an indigenous tribe of cannibalistic people who came from the northern regions of Cambodia and Vietnam and settled in the highlands of Sumatra. There are three settlements on the island still and if you go to Tomok village on Samosir you will be able to see a few tombs of the Batak King ...
willow 02.10.2000 (01.01.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lake Toba (Sumatra)
We took a trip to LakeToba just over a year ago on a 4 month backpacking trip round South East Asia and would go back tomorrow given half a chance. It was one of the places we'd heard to much about and our Rough Guide gushed over the natural surroundings and beauty of the place so we knew it had to be one of our top stops.
WHERE IS LAKETOBA?
LakeToba in Sumatra is the biggest lake in Indonesia and is a truly beautiful place worth a visit if you ever get the chance to visit this country. It's one of the largest islands in the world, with plenty more to see, but we loved Toba.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Danau Toba is here today because of a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago, which blew off the top of the volcano (a huge volcano by the way) and the remaining crater became a lake over time, now containing a central island ...
Advantages: Beautiful and quiet Disadvantages: A long way from Java
and it really is massive. Danau Toba is so vast that it's central island alone is the size of Singapore. It's an utterly beautiful and serene place, where days just drift by in a mix of swimming, canoeing, shopping, generally hanging out and chatting. Its one of the easiest places to do nothing that I've ever been. If it's a bit touristy for you (it's been a backpacker hangout since the 60's) then you could always try the nearby Danau Maninjau (Danau means lake in Indonesian) - if possible even more laid back. I spent a week there doing nothing but swimming and playing cards and drinking beer, for next to no money. A tip worth knowing is that if you're only intending to visit Toba, you can fly into Medan which has an international airport - it's not easy but it's possible. And it's preferable to trekking overland from Jakarta, a bus ...
