Medan, Indonesia
The largest Volcanic Lake in the World
📌 By Jakub Mikula | May 07, 2018
Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world. It is located about 4-6 hours by car (taxi) from Medan, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is believed that the eruption, which took place some 70 thousand years ago, killed most of the human population at the time, and deposits of ash have been found as far away as the coasts of East Africa. Over time, the crater has transformed into a beautiful lake with an island in the middle.
Itinerary:
Our trip started at Kualanamu International Airport (Medan). We arrived in the evening, around 6pm, and decided to go directly to Parapat, a town next to Lake Toba. We planned to spend the first night in Parapat and travel to Samosir Island early the next morning. We managed to get a taxi (van) for 350.000 IDR for two people. The road from the airport was amazing. It was a highway, and there were no traffic jams. After a while, we took a smaller road, lined with houses and full of traffic. From that point, the travel time increased drastically, but the total time from Medan to Parapat was only about four hours (still faster than we had expected). We spent a night at Star Hotel (Parapat), and early the next morning we walked to the jetty, where we took a ferry to Samosir Island.
Places of Interest:
1. Medan
Since the main goal was to visit Lake Toba, I did not spend much time in Medan. Maybe next time ;)
2. Parapat (Lake Toba)
The jetty in Parapat is a lively place early in the morning, surrounded by a market where you can find all kinds of fruits and vegetables. There are also some tour agencies that offer taxi/ van services back to Medan. We bought the ferry ticket directly on the ferry.
3. Tuk-Tuk (Samosir Island, Lake Toba)
We crossed crystal-clear fresh water, heading to the center of the crater: Samosir Island. We then walked to our hostel, which we had booked the night before, and rented a scooter. This way, we could travel all around the island and explore everything it offers: fantastic views, hills, forests, pastureland, and animals. You can also swim in the lake.
We spent one night here, and the next day we decided to go back to Parapat and continue to the village of Berastagi on the way back to Medan. On the way (we rented a taxi from Parapat), we stopped by Sipiso-Piso Waterfall.
4. Sipiso-Piso Waterfall
5. Berastagi
Berastagi is a small village surrounded by two stratovolcanoes: Mount Sibayak and Mount Sinabung. We stayed at one of the hostels facing east. Because Berastagi is about 1300m above sea level, the weather is cool and fresh.
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