Is Lake Toba worth visiting?

Lake Toba is the flooded caldera of a supervolcano that erupted around 74,000 years ago in one of the largest eruptions in the planet's history. The lake is 100 kilometres long, and Samosir, the island in the middle, is roughly the size of Singapore.

Getting there from Bali

Fly Bali to Medan via Jakarta, usually 5 to 8 hours including connections. Alternatively fly to Silangit, much closer to the lake, via Jakarta.

From Medan it is four to five hours by road to Parapat, then a 45-minute ferry to Samosir. From Silangit it is about an hour and a half by road.

What it is like

Cool and green, at 900 metres. The lake is deep, blue and enormous, the hills around it are pine and grass rather than jungle, and the atmosphere is nothing like Java or Bali.

Tuk Tuk, the small peninsula on Samosir, is where most visitors stay: guesthouses on the water, warungs, motorbike hire and a pace that stops the moment you arrive.

Batak culture

The area is the homeland of the Toba Batak, a predominantly Christian people with their own language, architecture and musical tradition.

Traditional houses with dramatic saddle-backed roofs, at Ambarita and Simanindo.

Stone chairs at Ambarita, where village disputes were judged.

Sigale-gale puppet performances and Batak singing at Simanindo.

Tomb monuments in the fields, which are still built and maintained.

What to do

Hire a scooter and ride around Samosir, which takes a full day and is one of the better rides in Indonesia. Swim in the lake, which is clean, fresh and cool. Walk in the hills to the viewpoints above Tuk Tuk. Visit the hot springs at Pangururan on the western side. Do very little, which is what most people end up doing.

Beyond the lake

Berastagi, on the way from Medan, with two climbable volcanoes and a fruit market.

Bukit Lawang, three to four hours from Medan, for orangutan trekking in the Gunung Leuser rainforest. It is one of only two places on earth where wild Sumatran orangutans can be seen, and combining it with Toba is the standard north Sumatra trip.

Sipiso-piso waterfall, a 120-metre drop into the northern end of the caldera.

Practical notes

It is cool. Nights at 900 metres need a layer, which surprises people arriving from Bali.

Facilities are simple. Guesthouses rather than hotels, limited ATMs, patchy coverage in places.

Sumatra is largely Muslim, but the Toba area is Christian, so alcohol and pork are available and the atmosphere is different again.

Malaria risk exists in parts of Sumatra, though not generally in the Toba highlands. Take advice.

Distances are large and roads are slow. Nothing in Sumatra is as close as the map suggests.

How long

Three to four nights at the lake. Seven to ten days for a north Sumatra trip including Bukit Lawang and Berastagi.

Is it worth it from Bali

If you have two weeks or more and want the opposite of Bali, yes. It is cool, quiet, culturally distinct and very cheap. For a short trip, the travel time is hard to justify.

Where to stay on Samosir

Tuk Tuk is the peninsula where almost all visitors stay: a loop road with guesthouses on both sides, most with lake frontage, jetties and hammocks. Rooms run from 10 to 40 USD, and the better ones are Batak-style houses with the carved roofs.

Pangururan, on the western side, is a local town with hot springs and almost no tourism. Tomok, at the ferry landing, is busier and less pleasant.

Getting around the island

Hire a scooter for about 100,000 rupiah a day. The road around Samosir is roughly 130 kilometres and takes a full day with stops, climbing into the interior highlands where nobody goes. It is one of the best rides in Indonesia and the fuel comes from bottles at roadside stalls.

A north Sumatra week

Days one to two: Bukit Lawang, trekking for orangutans in Gunung Leuser.

Days three to four: Berastagi, with Sipiso-piso waterfall on the drive south.

Days five to eight: Lake Toba and Samosir.

Day nine: back to Medan or out from Silangit.

That is the standard route and it works in either direction.