Lake Toba (Indonesian: Danau Toba) is a lake and supervolcano, 100 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, and 505 metres (1,666 ft) at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about 900 metres (2,953 ft). It is the largest volcanic lake in the world.
Lake Toba is an immense volcanic lake covering an area of 1707 sq km (bigger than Singapore) with an island in the center. Formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption some 70,000 years ago, it is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. Some studies say it might have been associated with causing previous ice age/climate change and the largest human population bottleneck ever. Genetic estimates suggests that there where only a few thousand individuals that survived the catastrophe. The island in the middle - Pulau Samosir - was joined to the caldera wall by a narrow isthmus, which was cut through to enable boats to pass; a road bridge crosses the cutting. Samosir island is the cultural centre of Batak tribe.
Lake Toba is a beautiful and unique place to visit in Indonesia. It is just a few hours drive from Indonesia’s third largest city Medan. Medan has flights from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Jakarta and Singapore and many other cities in Indonesia.
There is so many tourism attractions around Lake Toba :
Tuk Tuk
Tuk Tuk is the main tourist center on Samosir Island. It is a pleasant place for walking around, shopping and admiring the views over Lake Toba.
Tomok
Tomok is about 5km from Tuk Tuk on Samosir Island. It is the main area that locals live. It is a good place for buying souvenirs and eating local food. In Tomok you can see the grave of King Sidabutur. He was the Batak King that introduced Christianity to the Batak people.
Ambarita
Ambarita is famous for the “stone chairs”. The stone chairs are around 300 years old where a kind of court was held to decide the fate of criminals. Serious crimes were dealt with harshly. The criminals were beaten and their bodies rubbed with lemon and chilli to make their wounds more painful and finally they were beheaded and their bodies thrown into Lake Toba.
Blood and some meat of the criminal was eaten by the king and the villagers. One of the guides is a direct descendant of the former king of the village.
Museum Huta Solon Simanindo
A visit to the museum is a must for anyone wanting to explore Batak culture and tradition. There are some good examples of traditional Batak houses. There are Batak dancing performances held from Monday to Saturday at 10:30 am. Audience participation is more than welcome!
Hot springs
The hot springs located around 40km from Tuk Tuk and is a scenic drive to get there. The water from the hot springs is not surprisingly very hot!
Swimming in Lake Toba
Lake Toba is great for swimming and cooling off. The water is a little chilly but as they say, it’s fine once you get in. The water is deep, but a few hotels have created their own swimming areas in the lake to make it safe for people with young children.
for detailed info visit http://www.laketoba.info/
See The Beauty
 |
| Wide Open View |
 |
| Aerial View |
 |
| Traditional House Design |
No comments:
Post a Comment