Sightseeing on Sumatra

Sumatra is Indonesia's largest and least developed province. It has large areas of thick forest, habitat for much rare wildlife. Large reserves have been set aside for ecotourism, which means that tourists experience and learn about the wilderness.

The original ethnic people are the Batak. Their traditional houses are on stilts, and several families share a house. A Batak village, Jangga, is open to visitors, who can see traditional houses and handicrafts. The Batak are famous for their singing and puppet performance, the Si Gale Gale. The puppet is a life-sized image of a Batak youth carved from the wood of the sacred banyan tree. It is dressed in red turban and shirt and blue sarong. The puppet, operated by a dalang (puppet master) dances to gamelan music of flutes and drums.

Mount Leuser National Park is one of the last places where the orangutan can be found in the wild. The park is 10,000 square kilometres, and has two orangutan reserves, Bohorok and Ketambe. In both, there are centres that train captive orangutans how to be wild again. The park is also home to the very endangered Sumatran rhino, as well as elephants and tigers. There are many species of bird and reptile, and about half of all Sumatran plant species here.

On the east coast there is the Berbak Wildlife Reserve, containing a large peat forest. This was formed by the accumulation of organic matter in a swampy environment. There are crocodiles and turtles, about 240 bird species, but above all, the Reserve is famous for its tigers. During the rainy season, the Reserve floods and the animals move to higher areas that are almost inaccessible to people. It is best, therefore, to visit from June to October when it is dry.

Lake Toba is the largest lake in Indonesia. It is 1707 square kilometres and 450 metres deep. It is a crater lake located 800 metres above sea level, surrounded by steep mountains and edged with beautiful beaches. In the centre there is an island, Samosir, which has numerous towns and villages and a lake of its own. Samosir is home to the Batak people. There are many walking trails on Samosir and around the Lake Toba area.

In Medan City, tourists can visit the Grand Mosque, built in 1906 and the Sultan's Palace built in 1888 by the Sultan of Deli. Also in Medan City is the largest crocodile farm in Indonesia, with over 2000 crocodiles of different species. Here visitors can watch the feeding of the crocodiles, visit the hatchery and see how the skin is treated for leather.

If you use any of this information in your own work, acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
A Trip to Indonesia (2001). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au

Back to Sightseeing Tours menu
Back to A Trip to Indonesia main menu

Updated August 2001