Payakumbuh(west sumatra)

Payakumbuh

A picturesque village and market place. Fine basketry is available here. It is 35 km from Bukittinggi and a little further up is the most dramatic view on the Harau Valley.

Harau Valley

Along the road to Harau Valley is a lovely countryside. Steep granite walls shelter the fertile valley. A waterfall, 150 meters high falls into a basin. The Harau Valley is a nature and wildlife reserve, where tapir, siamangs, boars, wild goats and tigers still roam. The Harau Valley is 15 km from Payakumbuh.

Rimba Panti Nature Reserve

Fauna and flora of the Rima Panti Nature Reserve are protected. It is situated 103 km from Bukittinggi. Stop at Batang Palupuh, 16 km from Bukittinggi.

There, in a small reserve is the Rafflesia Arnoldi, the biggest flower in existence, which blooms only once a year. Sixty km from Bukittinggi on this road is a small monument defining the equator at the village of Bonjol.

The reserve's inhabitants include several species of monkeys, honey bears, tigers, flying squirrels, birds, butterflies, etc. A guide can be obtained from the office at the reserve. The provincial office of the Directorate of Nature Conservation (BKSAA) at Padang can give you complete information.

Pantai Arta and Kata

Both these places are popular beach resorts for the local people. Arta beach is located about 23 km from the center of Pariaman. It is known for its beautiful pine trees along the sea shore. The sandy beaches, clean water and bright sunshine are perfect for swimming and sunbathing. The pine trees can protect you from the direct sun rays. Kata beach is about 2 km south of Pariaman.

Mentawai Islands

Four islands make up the Mentawai cluster off the West Sumatra coast: Siberut, Sipora, Pagai Utara and Pagai Selatan. The people of these islands still live in comparative isolation, maintaining their age-old ways. Siberut is well known for its untouched forests, a part of a nature reserve inhabited by a number of animal species not found anywhere else, among them some rare monkey species. Beautiful coral reefs are found offshore.

Anai Valley

The surroundings of the Anai Valley are magnificent. The dense tropical forest all around is most impressive and is a nature reserve.

Below runs the river Anai with its crystal clear water. Just on the side of the road is a 40 m high waterfall.

Ngalau Indah Caves

On the road from Bukittinggi to Payakumbuh these caves extend deep into the mountainside. The domain of thousands of bats which you won't see but only hear and sense as they fly close over your head.

At the main entrance is a stone with an outline of an elephant visible on its face. The coolness and damp air is refreshing after the tropical heat outside. The path through these caves leads out to the top of the mountain from where it is quite panoramic. The drive up to the hillside is itself worth making because of the variety of the exquisite views along way.

Batusangkar (west sumatra)

Batusangkar

An old small town, 50 km southeast of Bukit-tinggi, it is a centre of the ancient Minangkabau culture. Pagaruyung is the historical site of a Minangkabau kingdom in the 14th century. Nearby is where some archaeological vestiges, such as the Written Stone, the Stabbed Stone and some other relics can be found.

Pariangan/Belimbing

It is said that this little village came into being at the time of the big deluge. It is situated on the slopes of Mt. Merapi, thought to be the cradle of the Minangkabau culture. This historical village still reflects the pure social structure of the Minangkabau conception of a village. A mosque, a council house and traditional house with rice-barns form the nucleus of the village.

Padangpanjang Part of west sumatra

Padangpanjang

The conservatory of Padangpanjang is a national institute specializing in the Minangkabau music and dances.

Solok, Diatas and Dibawah Lakes

Solok lies on the Trans-Sumatra Highway, 64 km from Padang and 76 km from Bukittinggi. The town has some fine examples of Minangkabau architecture with horn-shaped roofs and outer walls of wood, completely carved and painted in brilliant colors. Sixty km from Solok are the Twin Lakes (Danau Diatas and Danau Dibawah) which are becoming popular as a holiday resort.

Cool mountain air and beautiful landscapes seen from the hill between the two lakes have made this spot extraordinary.

Set only about 1 km apart, one of the lakes is on a slightly higher elevation than the other.

The spot offers an impressive panorama of the surrounding countryside and offers itself excellently to hiking or camping.

Shopping Hints

Hand-woven silk sarongs, embroidered garments and house-linen, richly woven cloth, gold and silver threads jewelry, wood carving, ornaments of coconut shell and seashells. There are also traditional copper-ware and miniature models of Minangkabau houses.

ACCOMMODATION

West Sumatra has several small comfortable hotels, though none of the deluxe class. Three and two- star hotels all have air-conditioning in Padang, with attached bathrooms, telephones and TV sets. A few are such as Muara, Pangeran, Marianis International and Machudum. In Bukittinggi, Benteng and Minang hotels have a homely atmosphere and Denai Hotel has cottages.

RIAU

Travelling in Indonesia

The territory of this rich province includes a sizable slice of the eastern Sumatran coast and more than 3,000 islands of all sizes.

Riau, although comparatively small in both size and population (about 2.5 million), is the heartland of the Malays and the cradle of Indonesia's Malay-based national language and culture. The first book of Malay grammar, the Bustanul Katibin, was written and published here in 1857. Its links with Johor on the West Malaysian mainland have been long and strong.

Sitting astride one of the world's oldest and busiest trade routes, the Strait of Malacca, the Riau islands have for many centuries provided a safe haven to ships plying the sea lanes between Europe, India and China. The rise of Malay power, however, began somewhere around the 13th century, when that of the Buddhist kingdom of Sriwijaya began to crumble. Malay kingdoms emerged on both sides of the Malacca Strait.

In 1402, Parameswara founded Malacca, a kingdom which was to play a pivotal role in the history of the area in the century that was to come. Being the first to come into contact with European and other seafarers, the language of the area, Malay was adopted by the newcomers to make themselves understood in the region. So, apparently, the spread of the language began in 1511, however, Malacca fell to the Portuguese who had come in their quest for gold, gospel and glory. Malacca's Sultan Mahmud Syah fled south, settling first in Johore, then in Bintan in the Riau archipelago.

Since then, it was a period of wars and intrigues for the Malay states around the Straits, further aggravated by the arrival of the Dutch and the British in the early 17th century. To make a long and complicated story short, peace was restored only after the signing of the Treaty of London in 1824, giving the Dutch control of all the European territories south of Singapore, and the British of all the colonies towards its north.

The link between Johor and Riau was severed. With the subjugation and dissolution of the recalcitrant Riau sultanate in 1911, the Dutch effectively established their power over the islands. Riau's cultural clout, however, endured.

The smallest islands of the Riau archipelago are no more than rocky reefs, about one hectare (2.5 acres). The larger Bintan, Lingga and Singkep islands are about 1,000 hectares in size.

PLACES OF INTEREST