On the Shores of the World’s Largest Crater Lake
Exploring the Trail of the Batak Tribe in North Sumatra
Lake Toba — a Massive Volcanic Crater Lake Stretching 180 km
We arrive in a small village on the tranquil shores of Lake Toba with a minivan from the nearby Berastagi. After purchasing our tickets at a concrete-camouflaged booth with a friendly local, we wait for the ferry. It announces its arrival with a blaring horn, and we step on deck feeling like we just lost our eardrums.
An impressive journey follows across this huge, water-filled crater. It’s crazy to think that this was once a volcano. When the volcano erupted about 74,000 years ago, it cooled the entire world by a few degrees and influenced the migration route of Homo sapiens. Now, it’s simply a massive, quiet lake.
We dock at an island in the middle of the crater lake: Welcome to Pulau Samosir
As we drag our backpacks ashore, we notice how peaceful it is here. Fish nibble at the stones in the clear water, while birds circle in the air. A stark contrast to the Indonesia that we left just an hour ago. My friend Adelia, who’s traveling with me through Sumatra, lights up a cigarette, and we head towards the only road visible from the pier.
Journeying into the Past — Exploring Sumatra’s Batak Tribes
We catch up on much-needed sleep, get to know our host family, and set out the next day on a journey into the past — to the Batak tribe of North Sumatra.
The various Batak peoples are known for their warrior culture and ritualistic cannibalism.
We’re told that the latter practice shaped the image of Batak culture in the West through early accounts of a few travelers who ventured far enough into the land. Listening to the locals, we hear theories that the Batak peoples encouraged these narratives to keep colonizing explorers at bay.
The roofs of traditional Batak houses remind us of buffalo horns and carry an intimidating ambience. We learn that this design was intentional and served to deter evil spirits as well as intruders.
A Motorcycle, a Pretty Worn Tire, and an Offer for Dog Soup
The next day, we decide to explore the surroundings on a motorcycle. The region around the lake is known for its rice fields and views. However, the road punctures our tire, throwing a wrench into our plans.
Suddenly, we’re stranded on an isolated, small road in North Sumatra.
As both of us sit there in silent panic, watching the water buffalos graze on herbs in front of us, a friendly local passes by, pauses, and asks us through gestures if everything is alright. In broken Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesia’s national language), we explain our flat tire, and he points to a house a few meters away.
A few minutes later, we’re sitting on two wodden, wobbly stools in front of an old farmhouse. A lively mix of chickens, dogs, and cats is bustling around our feet. Three kind village mechanics are gathered around our motorcycle, working on the tire. We get out our best Bahasa Indonesia to chat with the slightly grumpy homeowner and his wife. I think our announced visit interrupted their afternoon nap. I’d be grumpy too, understandably.
As is often the case when traveling, predownloaded Google Translator comes to our rescue. However, when the mechanic speaker voice offers us dog soup, we have to reconfirm twice to make sure we understood correctly. Politely, we decline the offer, explaining that we’re vegetarians. Normally, we aren’t, but in that moment, we definitely are. This elicits confused expressions, but we gratefully steer clear of the dog soup topic.
After a while, our motorcycle is ready again. We thank our saviors, buy cola and tea from their shop, and head back to our host mother, Marinta. She is my age — 26 years old — runs her own guesthouse, raises her little sister there, and cooks one of the best Chicken Rendang in the Toba region. She inspires me a lot, and I believe she likes me too because we become friends.
Continuing our Journey to North Sumatra: Off to Bukittinggi
With a 13-hour bus ride, we soon head to the next city. Distances in Sumatra can be deceiving — it is, after all, the 6th largest island in the world. The bus is chilled to what feels like -5 degrees, and party music blares from the speakers at precisely 11 PM. But we’re well-prepared with three sweaters per person and headphones, already looking forward to exploring new roads soon.
My Favorite Things Here:
- Host family & Marinta — if you’d like to get in touch with Marinta, you can email me. You’ll find my address in my profile!
- Lake Toba and Samosir Island
- Batak Museum
Good to Know:
- Unexpected heavy rain can occur here at any time of the year. I would recommend packing your valuables in a plastic bag and having a rain poncho for excursions.
- Safety — as two solo female travelers, we felt very safe on Samosir, even in the evening darkness.
