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THE ISLAND SUMATRA

Our home island Sumatra - the second largest island in Indonesia - is in the fourth place in procuring total visits of foreign tourists following Jakarta, Bali and Batam. This region has a remarkable panorama, thick with virgin forests, lush vegetation, strong rivers, beautiful waterfalls, peaceful sandy beaches and large ancient lakes. The diversity of arts, people and culture literally make Sumatra the Garden of Eden for social scientists and culture seekers.

Read more about the beauty Sumatra has to offer:

BUKITTINGGI
The heart land of Minangkabau tribe, highland of Bukittinggi, is a pleasant two-hour drive from the West-Sumatra provincial capital of Padang through the gorgeous Anai Valley up to the Agam Plateau. Located 930 meter above sea level, Bukittinggi (formerly called Fort De Kock by the Dutch) has a cool climate and is surrouned by three vulcanoes: Tandikat, Singgalang and Merapi.

The central landmark is the town's clock tower, referred to by the locals as Jam Gadang. It's overlooks the market square, a beehive of activity. A fantastic place to wander around and do some shopping for local and traditional food and souvenirs. Nearby Kota Gadang is renowned for its fine silver filigree and hand embroidery. On the outskirts of Bukittinggi there is the 150 meter deep canyon Ngarai Sianok (Sianok Canyon), the 'Grand canyon of the south East Asia'. It is an incredibly winding through the bottom of the steep-walled canyon. West Sumatrans claim it is unrivalled for natural beauty in all of Indonesia. 50 km east of Bukittinggi lays Harau Vallay with Rock Lime and waterfalls.

Be sure to see the traditional performance of Minangkabau Dance with the Hight Light Plate Dancer. Those dancers dance on broken plates or glasses! Only 10 km north of Bukittinggi you find the Batang Palupuh reserve for Raflesia Flower. This special flower you can see only eight times a year when the flower blooms. She was discovered for the first time by Sir Thomas Raffles and Dr. Arnoldy in Bengkulu in 1818. It is the biggest flower in the world with its 100 cm of diameter. This flower needs 6 to 8 months to grow and 15 day laters she blooms. Extraordinary is that this flower has no root, leaf or trunk. It is a parasite since the flower has no chlorophyll or historian.

MANINJAU LAKE
A small and beautiful crater lake, rivals in scenery Lake Toba on a smaller scale. It's one of West Sumatra's most famous sights. Around the lake are facilities to swim and water-skiing and there is a good selection of hotels and restaurants. The village of Matur, overlooking the lake, arranges traditional dance performances on request.  There is interesting tracking from Puncak Lawang (1.250m) down to Lake Maninjau (500m). Another hike takes you from Lake Singkarak, Diatas and Dibawah.

MENTAWAI ISLAND
Consist of four main Island, North Pagai, South Pagai, Sikakap and Siberut, about 100 km from west of West Sumatra coast. The tribe living in the Indian Ocean is named the Mentawai Tribe. Among the 4 islands Siberut Island is the largest but has the lowest population among them. Their culture and language is totally different from the people who live on Sumatra. Their culture goes back to the stone age, most of the old people decorate their body with tattoos. According to the legend, those are the oldest tattoos in the world. The people are very professional hunter still using bow and poisoned arrow. Among their tradition is important to practice magic. The Magic-man, therefor, is important. He leads ceremonies, cures the ill, gives advice to the tribesman before they go out hunting, building a house, making canoes etc. There hundreds of island with beautiful beaches and coral reefs. Also the best place for surfing.

LAKE TOBA
One of the largest and deepest lakes in Southeast Asia. In the middle of the lake lays Samosir island. The land of the Batak toba tribe with a unique culture. You can see the original Batak houses and arts. Toba has developed into a full-featured highland resort while retaining the rustic charm and relaxed ambiance that define Toba's attraction. 

LEUSER NATIONAL PARK
The second largest national park in Sumatra, containing over 900.000 hectare of virgin rain-forest. The park is home to many animals, including orang-utan, gibbon, tiger and elephants. Among them also the last of the Sumatran rhino. There are research facilities for the study of primates, birds and insects. You can find many interesting places to visit in this vast area. F.e. Bukit Lawangouth, in the south part or the NP, where you can see orang-utan in the Platform or the wild orang-utan. An interesting experience for the adventure-seekers is to go rafting with tubing or go swimming in Bahorok Riveresia. 

NATIONAL PARK OF KERINCI SEBLAT
Home to rhino's, tigers, elephants, bears and orang-utan, the Kerinci sprawls across four provinces, making it Sumatra's largest national park. The scenery is magnificent, dominated by volcanic cones including the highest peak in Western Indonesia Mount Kerinci. Lake Kerinci is the best place to sight the park's famous bird life.

KUBU PRIMITIVE TRIBE
Is a tribe inhabiting the foothill of Bukit Barisan in the central parts of Sumatra, Indonesia, in the vicinity of Palembang and Jambi. They are the last-known hunter-gatherers society in Southeast Asia. They are nomadic peoples living by constructing temporary wooden shelters in forested areas until game and resources dwindle. They live entirely in the forests in shelters of branches and leaves built on platforms. They have developed ingenious ways to effectively use available resources to survive. For instance, they beat the stripped bark of a poisonous tree into the waters to catch fish. The fish are stunned by the poisonous bark and surface for easy catching. They have developed unique wooden traps for each type of game animal in their vicinity.

FORT MARLBOROUGH
Fort Marlborough was built by the East Indian Company under the leadership of Governor Joseph Callet. The vicinity constitutes the strongest fort made by British in the far east after Fort George in Madras, India. Fort Marlborough stand facing south and covers the area of 44,100 square meter. The Fort is a typical early eighteen century, turtle shaped fortification. Measuring 120.5 m in width and has an overall lenght of 180 m. A solid construction of bricks of various sizes, bound with cement and floored concrete or bricks and tiles. The main part and entrance of the fort is surrounded by a ditch which is crossed by three bridges. The interior chambers of the fort functioned as guard rooms or moray, magazine, prison and stores. It is said that there exist an under ground tunnel which enabled the garnisun to attack the enemy from the rear.

BUNG KARNO'S HOUSE IN EXILE
During the Dutch colonization, Soekarno (he became the first President of the Republik Indonesia) was exiled in Bengkulu (1939-1942). During his exile Soekarno stayed in an house located at Anggut Atas. Now known as Jalan Soekarno-Hatta. Some of Soekarno's possesions, like his bicycle and library are kept in this house. During his stay in Bengkulu, Soekarno had designed a mosque which nowerdays is known as Masjid Jamik (Jamik Mosque).

THE MUSI RIVER
Palembang straddles the broad Musi River, the two halves of the city are linked by the Ampera Bridge. Any true 'Palembang' experience must include a river trip. Bustling floating markets and glimpses of traditional ways of life along the river will stay with you long after you return home. The annual Bidar Race is well worth including in your plans if you are in the area around Independence Day, August 17th. The boats are over 24 meters long and only 3/4 of a meter wide, powered by as many as 50 oarsmen.

 

SGA Tours
Sumatra as the largest island of Indonesia has many possibilities for unforgettable traveling. Above you have read some of the beauty. On the next pages you choose your tour from our packages or can get some ideas for a personalized tour.