Travelling

One of Indonesia's most exotic destinations, Nias Island combines a great surfing break, the most beautiful of beaches and a culture older than history.

Nias has the size of but outside of the months of June and July it is a quiet place and great to relax. The most important places on the island are Gunung Sitoli in the north, and Teluk Dalam in the south. Teluk Dalam is close to Lagundri/Sorake which has the best beaches and surfing. Lagundri/Sorake is called the CITY SURF by tourist who ever visit Nias Island.

After the movement of Nias people from Gomo to others place, they were going to make a new settlement at the new area, and it might be close to their origin. One of the places they have reached is Teluk Dalam at the South of Nias Island. In the time of inventing the new life style and the growing population, the people of Nias made the community of life more advanced and more organized. Such as they built a village ruled by the land lord, the houses bigger, the construction stronger, more finely, and the new rules.

Source : world66

The fact that it is laid on the high plains is also the reason to address this area as The legend of Lau Kawar (Kawar Lake) is one which is widely spread among the people of Karo regency, North Sumatra. This regency is 2, 127. 25 km2 wide and locates on the Bukit BarisanTanah Karo Simalem. Its climate is chilly with the temperature around 16 to 17 Celsius scale. The soil is fertile as well. Therefore, it is no wonder that this area is surrounded by beautiful views. One of those natural views is the Lau Kawar lake which is situated in Kuta Gugung village, Simpang Empat Sub-district, Tanah Karo Regency. The clear and calm water as well as the beautiful orchids in the surroundings make it even more beautiful.

The people believe that Lau Kawar lake was once a village entitled Kawar. It was a fertile area that its people depended their lives on farming. The land produced wonderful harvest though not even an amount of fertilizer or such kind was used to help the plants grew. However, there was once a disaster that turns the village into a lake. What did happen actually? The complete story is as follow.

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Village. Its people were mostly farmers, and the land did produce wonderful harvest. It is said that one day the harvest was doubled compared to the previous year. The barns were extremely full with rice that they Once upon a time, there was a very fertile land at the Karo Regency. It was known as the Kawar couldn`t store the whole harvest. For this reason, the people agreed to work together and have a selamatan by performing cultural ceremonies.

The selamatan day came at last. The village was decorated wonderfully. The people were all dressed up colorfully with various accessories here and there. The females were busy cooking many kinds of foods for the ceremony.

A performance of Gendang Guro-Guro Aron (name of dance party) was also held during the ceremony. This performance was a special art from the people of Karo. Certainly, all of the villagers attended this annual ceremony except an old woman who was paralyzed. Nevertheless, her son, daughter in law, and grandson were all at the ceremony.

The old woman lied on her bed alone. “I really want to be at the party but I cannot even stand on my feet”, sobbed the old woman in her deepest heart. She could only see the merry party from distance. The faint sound of the Gendang Guro-Guro refreshed her memory when she was still a teenage girl. The boys and girls would usually dance in pairs when the Gendang Guro-guro was performed in a party. It was a beautiful moment for her. No matter what, all was past. Nothing she could do but just to remember the days when she was still young. She was alone with no one talking to her. She would just cry and cry to relieve herself from such a burden in her days as an old woman. No one really cared about her. Everyone minded their own business, and she was abandoned like a trash.

The lunch time came and all of the people at the party gathered around the table for the foods that had been prepared. Many kinds of delicious meals were on the table: grilled lamb, pork, and chicken which were just finished being cooked. All of them enjoyed the foods happily, and they also laughed once a while. The cheer crowded atmosphere somehow made the old woman`s son and daughter in law forget about her. They completely forgot that the mother was alone in the house.

Contradictory to what was going on at the party, the old woman was starving in the house. She didn`t eat even a bite since morning. Being so hungry, she really hoped that either her son or her daughter in law would come and bring her something to eat. It`s been hours she spent waiting for someone coming with something to eat, yet she was still alone in the house: no one came as she expected.

“My goodness, I am so hungry. Why any of my family didn`t come to bring me something to eat?” sighed her with her body shivering for hunger. She forced herself up from the bed and searched for something to eat in the kitchen, but nothing, it was all in vain. It was that the daughter in law had planned not to cook that day, realizing that foods would be prepared in the feast.

The poor old woman powerlessly came back to her bed. She was so disappointed and sad that her tears dropped. She cried for her poor life. “Dear God, how could my children do this to me? How could they enjoy the party without even thinking about me? How could they be so cruel to me My God?” cried the poor old lady.

The lunch was over after several hours, and suddenly the man remembered about his mother. He rushed to his wife, “My wife! Have you brought some foods for mother?”

“Not yet” the wife responded.

“Wrap some of the foods for her then, and ask our son to take it home for mother” asked the husband.

“Alright”, said the woman while hurriedly wrapping the foods for the mother. After that, she asked her son to take the foods home for her as her husband told her previously, “My son, please take these foods for your grandmother”.

“I`ll do mother”, said the son and then he rushed to the house. He immediately handed the foods to his grandmother as soon as he reached the house and then he ran back quickly to the party.

The old woman was very happy for the foods. Finally, she got something to eat. She unwrapped the package happily and was so astonished for what she saw in it. She was so disappointed to find only leftovers: there were only some bones of beef and lamb which were almost without any meat to eat! “What is this! Do they think I am an animal? Why did they give me leftovers and bones!” moaned her furiously.

The mother stored complete grilled meat into the package in fact. However, the grandson ate the foods on his way to his grand mother that only bones were left. The old woman did know anything about this that she thought her son and daughter in law did it on purpose. She felt so disappointed and humiliated that she hardly held her tears to fall down. She then prayed to God to curse both her son and daughter in law.

“My God, they were sinful to me. I beg You to punish them!” said the woman in her prayer.

There was a very strong earthquake not even a minute when the woman completed her prayer. The sky was suddenly dark and cloudy, and there was a great thunder followed by heavy rain. The crowd in the party ran here and there in panic. There was no more laughter in the party, replaced by cries and shouts from every direction. No one could escape from the terrible disaster. The wealthy village was drowned in a short time and there was not even a single person survived.

The drowned village turned into a big crater several days later and it was flooded by water. The people in the surroundings later on call the it Lau Kawar. And this marked the origin of the Lau Kawar in Tanah Karo Regency , North Sumatra.
Source Thanks to : literature.melayuonline

Nias Island lies about 125 km of west Sumatra Island on the Indian Ocean. It is part of North Sumatra Province. The water surround the island is great for sea activities, such as surfing and scuba diving. The people also have curious culture, which will enrich visitor's heart. The island has some prehistoric remains, which built on megalithic Stone Age, and considered came from the oldest megalithic culture in Indonesia.

The local call their land as Tano Niha or "land of the People", while the people calls them selves as Ono Noha. Ethnically, the Niasers are involved in to the Ptoto-Malay ethnic who once ever get with the Asian Proto-mongoloid world. Niasers speak a kind of language related to Malagasy. Because of the similarity in languages, custom, body size of the Niasers with the Bataks on Sumatra mainland, it is possible that the Niasers have derived from the Bataks.


Source : indonesia-tourism

Lingga village was 15 km from Brastagi City, this is a unique Karo village where traditional houses are still well preserved and inhabited today. Five to six families live in each house and for a small donation will give you a tout of the house.

The visitor also could visit Tuk Tuk to look for accommodation (inns and hotels), 42 km from Pangururan to Tuk Tuk or one-hour trip on car. Approximately 50 inns and hotels in various classes are available in Tuk Tuk. There are also several high-class hotels here. From the positive aspect, clearly tourism supported the local business. On the other hand, the physical development practical ignored principles of the business and town planning when businessmen rushes to built hotels, guesthouses, etc.

Entered Tuk Tuk is like visiting Legian or Sanur Bali in the early stage. With several shops displayed clothes and art objects, followed by cafes, discos and hotels. At night, a lot of rejoicing tourists (mostly domestic) surrounded campfire while playing the musical instrument and the typical Batak song.
Source : indonesia-tourism

Tongging is a small town in North Sumatra. Its call to fame is its strategic location in a valley on the northwest of Lake Toba. From the viewpoint in Tongging, visitors get the most spectacular view of Lake Toba.

Source : asiaexplorers

Sibayak Mountain

Berastagi to Sibayak Mountain distance are only 7 Km, this is why the hikers choose this City, as the closest alternative to reach the mountain peak (2.094 meters from sea level). With the currently available infrastructure, the vehicles could reach close to the mountain peak that was known with its beauty nature. On the Peak of Sibayak Mountain, we could see a sulfuric crater lake with wide around 200 x 200 meters, with temperature 119.6 Celsius and the temperature of surrounding air is 21 Celsius. The other scenery of Sibayak mountain peak is Sinabung mountain peak (2.451 meters from sea level), located in the west.


Not just that, near Berastagi, on the side of Sibayak mountain peak we could find LauDebuk-Debuk Hot Water Springs. Located in Daulu and Semangat Gunung village, this hot water springs flowed with the temperature of 35 Celsius emerged through the lava cracks in the volcano slope that afterwards was accommodated in the bathing place ponds. The climbers usually use this hot water reservoir to release their fatigue from the trip. Now, there are also an electrical generator (power plant) on the hot spring upstream that had the temperature above 150 ° Celsius. The visitors could see a power plant, which produces electricity from geothermal vapors.
Notes : lau (karo language) = water

Source : indonesia-tourism

Bahorok is the administrative unit that contains Bukit Lawang. Indonesians normally say Bahorok when they refer to Bukit Lawang. The area of Bahorok has many plantations like cocoa, palm oil, natural rubber, oranges, etc. Bukit Lawang started as an orangutan rehabilitation center, but quickly developed into a major tourist destination of North Sumatra. Without tourist there would not be much in Bukit Lawang. Tourists come to see orangutans, it is a convenient first stop for travels in Sumatera with lots of activities, nice nature, tourist adapted food, convenient accommodation, and friendly people. Here one can get adjusted to Sumatra before onward travels. Bukit Lawang and its many restaurants and accommodation are nicely located along the clear and clean Bahorok river on the outskirts of the huge national park, GunungLeuser. Besides seeing orangutans, Bukit Lawang has has a long range of other out-door activities. Bukit Lawang is easily accessible and has a huge selection of losmens, hotels and restaurants that make it a very lively and touristy place. On Sunday's it's particularly crowded as hundreds of Indonesians come to picnic along the river. It is perfect for relaxing in comfort and for families. It is easy to see orangutans, even if you are in a hurry.
There is also a tourist information services here and it can be worthwhile to visit it.
Source : sumateratourism

Samosir is approximately 50 km long and 15 km wide island in Lake Toba, almost as big as Singapore. It is often described as the hearthland of Batak culture. Samosir is actually a peninsula and not an island, as it is divided from Sumatera only by a narrow man-made canal, the Pusuk Buhit Canal between Samosir and mainland, once made by the Dutch. Samosir is a perfect place to relax and cool down. It is beautiful and scenic and very relaxing. Accommodation is extremely cheap, but food rather expensive (according to Indonesian standard). In the end it evens out compared to other major tourist destinations in Indonesia. The island is small enough for visiting everything of interest from any place you choose to stay in.
Source : sumateratourism

In the district of Simalungun, North Sumatra, Indonesia, laid a small city called by the local inhabitants Parapat or Prapat. Located just nearby Lake Toba, this tiny city lures the domestic and foreign tourists to visit the area of breathtaking beauty. Provided with complete transport infrastructure and facilities, the village becomes easily accessed by any kind of mass transportation. Besides, many travelers, who just happened to pass through or pull off Jalan Raya Lintas Sumatra-Jalinsum (Sumatran Highway), usually will pay a visit to this historic city. The highway stretches out west side of Sumatra Island, connecting two pivotal capitals in the Sumatra Island: Medan City (South Sumatra) and Padang City (West Sumatra).

Apart from the exotic sites of the city, Parapat is widely famous amongst South Sumatran people as a legendary city. Parapat City was once a pekan[1] located in the shore of Lake Toba. After an unfortunate incident took place in the region, the local inhabitants preferred to call it as Parapat or Prapat. It was told across generation that a human shaped rock appeared just beside Lake Toba. According to some people, there was an appealing woman named Seruni who has reincarnated through that solid human-shaped rock. What kind of hideous incident becomes the backdrop of such reincarnation? Why such an appealing woman suddenly transformed into a solid rock? Do you still want to know the answer? Follow the complete story in Batu Gantung below!

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Once upon a time, in a small remote village of Lake Toba shore, North Sumatra, lived a happy couple with their pretty daughter named Seruni. Not only good-looking, Seruni was a dutiful daughter as well, who always obeyed the order of her parents and helped them in doing house chores and earning livelihood. She always went to small garden alongside Lake Toba, growing some green vegetables and harvested them to meet the daily need.

On a sunny day, Seruni went to the garden alone, since her parents had appointment with some people in the neighboring village. She was only accompanied by her lovely dog named Toki. Arriving at the garden, instead of working, Seruni sat in small wood, enjoying the nature of the land, looking at the blue sky, as though she was thinking about a serious problem. Whereas Toki only watched Seruni from a distance, as if it tried to understand what was in her mind. Some times, the dog barked to drive her attention, but Seruni always ignored it and kept gazing at the blue sky.

The sorrow began from the last few days, and Seruni always seemed sad and depressed. She was forced by her parents to get married with one of her relatives, her cousin. As a matter of fact, she had established relationship with another young man, and made promise to build a family with him. She was so confused about her parent‘s decision. In one side, she didn‘t want to disappoint her parents, on the other hand, she couldn‘t bear the pain of being separated with her beloved boyfriend. She was uncertain about the next decision as though she was in an intersection of road. Being in such turbulent times, Seruni started to get desperate.

“Oh my God! I could bear no longer this painful life, this is too much burden for me,” complained Seruni while crying.

“The worm will not turn,” added Seruni.

In the next few moments, Seruni got up from her chair. Crying desperately, she moved lambently forward to Lake Toba. It seemed that the beautiful daughter wanted to end her life, committing suicide by jumping to the lake. At the meantime, Toki could only walked behind and tried to stop her by barking loudly.

With such disquieting thought popping into her mind, Seruni walked with a kind of saunter as if she hadn‘t a care in the world, to the edge of Lake Toba. Unitising the surrounding, she slipped into a yawning hole and dropped to the bottom. The black rock within created a harrowing situation and the silence made it scarier and tauter. The good-looking woman was very scared. On the dark hole, she began being aware of that the rocky wall moved toward her, closer and closer, trying to squeeze her tiny body.

“Help.......! Help..........! Help me, Toki.....! Somebody rescue me!” screamed Seruni, hoping someone passed by and lend a hand to her.

Her dog, Toki, grasped the signal sent by Seruni, and understood that she needed a help, but Toki could do nothing, except barking and barking on the upper edge of hole. Seruni repeated again and again her scream, asking for help, but Toki remained in the place and barked. Seruni finally became completely desperate.

“Oh..... it is better for me to die then suffer from an unfortunate life,” mumbled Seruni, trying to chill out.

Soon after she said that, the rocky wall started moving closer again.

“Parapat[2]… ! Parapat the rock… Parapat!” shouted Seruni, hoping that the rock squeeze her body.

On the upper hole, Toki still barked to drive attention from people who would help Seruni out of the dangerous situation. After a while, Toki scampered to Seruni‘s house, asking for help from the neighbor.

Arriving at the house, Si Toki approached Seruni‘s parent who had just come from the neighboring village.

“Auggg…! auggg…! auggg…!” barked Toki, scratching out the ground as if it wanted to inform the parents that a terrible danger was threatening Seruni.

“Toki…, where is Seruni? What happened to her?” asked the father to the dog, wiping the dog‘s fur.

“Auggg…! auggg…! auggg…!” Si Toki kept howling, moving here and there as if it attempted to invite them walking to a certain place.

“Pa....it seems that Seruni is in danger,” said Seruni‘s mother.

“You are right ma....... Toki tried to tell us about a place where Seruni is,” stated the father, supporting her idea.

“But it has been late, it is night. So....how do we reach there?” asked Seruni‘s mother.

“Ma.....bring me a torch! I will ask for help from our neighbor. They will accompany us searching for Seruni” answered the father.

In the next few hours, many people gathered in the yard of Seruni‘s house, carrying with each of them a torch. Presided by the father, the group of seeker followed whereabouts Toki walked. They entered a garden and finally stopped just before the big hole where Seruni felt in the morning. Toki started barking, moving closer to the hole, telling the group that Seruni was in the bottom of the spooky hole.

Being sure about what Toki showed, the parents moved closer to the hole. What a surprise......they saw a big solid rock within the hole. The shock continued as they heard a slow voice of woman coming from between the rocks. “Prapat.....! Prapat the rock.....Prapat!” sounded the voice.

“Pa... hear the soft voice! Is that our daughter‘s voice, isn‘t it?” asked the mother in panic.

“Yes, I hear that, the voice of Seruni. I am sure about that,” answered the father.

“But, why does she say Prapat, Prapat the rock repeatedly?” asked the mother wonderingly.

“I don‘t know. Something bad happens there,” stated the worrying father.

One of the seekers who carried the torch tried to shed some light on the hole. Unfortunately, the hole was so deep, making the light difficult to penetrate the dark.

“Seruniii…! Seruniii… !” yelled the father.

“Seruni…my beloved daughter! It is your mother. I come here to rescue you, to take you out of the hole,” shouted the mother, attempting to steal the attention of Seruni.

Many times they shouted, it always ended in vain. There was no answer from Seruni. Only a soft voice of woman who asked the rock to squeeze her.

“Parapat… ! Parapatlah the rock… ! Parapatlah!”

“Seruniiii… my dear!” the mother again called Seruni while crying uncontrollably.

The people who were present at the location helped the parents to search for Seruni. One of them paid out a piece of rope to the bottom of hole, but no one touched or grasped the rope. The father increasingly became worried about her daughter. He then decided to go down to the bottom to pick up her daughter.

“Ma, please hold this rope, and tie together with the big tree!” ordered the father to his wife.

“And bring this torch with you,!“ added the father.

“Where will you go?” asked the mother.

“I want to go down there and search for Seruni,” answered the father in the affirmative.

“Don‘t go there! It is too dangerous for you,” said the mother, trying to stop her husband going down.

“She is right Sir. The hole is very deep and dark,” added another seeker, convincing the father.

After a long talk, Seruni‘s father rescinded his intention to go down there. In the next few moments, a striking voice emitted from the hole, making the land shake. All of sudden, the hole closed and some rocks nearby it felt apart. All people included Seruni‘s parents run here and there, tried to escape from the falling rocks. They kept away far from the hole, leaving Seruni alone in the hole. She couldn‘t be saved anymore from the dreadful disaster just happened.

Soon after the earthquake stopped, all of sudden, appeared a big women shaped rock that hanged in the slope of hill beside Lake Toba. The people of village believed that the rock was the reincarnation of Seruni who was squeezed by the rock within the hole. Then, they named the rock as “Batu Gantung” (the Hanged Rock).

Days later, the news about the disaster and the reincarnation of Seruni was heard all over the village. The people came to the site location to see the Batu Gantung. The presents who saw the incident said that they listened to a voice saying “Prapat......Parapat the rock....Prapat!”. Therefore, the word “Prapat” became expressed repeatedly as they told the story to the other people. Across generation, this story is being told.

Then the village (pekan) nearby Lake Toba is called then “Parapat”. In recent day, Parapat is a small city of North Sumatra that is densely visited by both domestic and international tourists, as the location is known for having picturesque scenery.

Thanks For Source : literature melayuonline

Lake Toba (Indonesian: Danau Toba) is a largest volcanic lake in the world, 100 km long and 30 km wide, and 505 m. (1,666 ft.) at its deepest point, in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about 900 m (3,000 feet).
Lake Toba is the current live ranking of the nominees to become a New 7 Wonder of Nature. The top 77 Official Nominees will be eligible for consideration by the New7Wonders of Nature Panel of Experts for inclusion in the group of 21 finalist candidates.
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