Lake Toba and Berastagi - Land of Bataks and Karos

Lake Toba

Enroute to Samosir on Lake Toba 

Lake Toba is a volcanic lake in a Caldera inside which is an Island called Samosir which is of the size of Singapore. The lake itself is the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia. One of the traveller's told me on the boat ride to  Samosir, "It's an Island in a Lake in an Island in an Ocean". Wow!

We first went from Bukit Lawang to the Medan airport to drop off a few people before catching an impressive highway to Parapat on the other side of the lake where we had to catch the ferry. The price was 250K per person from Bukit Lawang and the total journey took around seven and half hours. The ferry costs 25K one way. I checked in into the Hub Tata guesthouse which is in the North side of Tuk-Tuk, the town where most of the hotels and guesthouses are.

Toba is the land of the Bataks, an ethnic group endemic to these areas. 

Bataks

Bataks are six ethnic groups of the North Sumatra highlands who speak closely related Batak languages and includes groups around Lake Toba and Karos who live near Berastagi which is closer to Medan. Their total total population is around 10 Million. Each Batak language has its own script which is derived from old Pallava script from India though these are hardly used. Religious books are called Pustaha (deom sanskrit Pustaka) and written in bamboo. Batak had rajas or kings who ruled over small areas and were never politically united.

The Bataks practiced a syncretic religion of Shaivism, Buddhism and local culture. The Karos were influenced by Tamil traders and many of them have surnames like Brahmana, Pandia, Pelawi etc. which are of Indian origin. Toba and Karo Bataks started converting to Christianity from the 1900s and today they are mostly protestant Christians with a Muslim minority. A significant minority of Batak people do not adhere to either Christianity or Islam, and follow traditional practices.

Sopo or Graneries

The houses have a saddle shaped roof with several of them decorated with intricated carving. Toba traditional villages are usually organized as a line of houses (jabu) facing granaries (sopo). In the last decades, virtually all sopo have either collapsed or have been converted into dwellings. Originally roofs were made of sugarpalm fiber (ijuk), but now corrugated iron and tin is increasingly used. Today the only Toba houses with traditional ijuk can be seen in the museum in Samanindo. Traditional large houses were inhabited by several families. Nowadays, most Toba houses have a concrete extension built in the back, usually equipped with running water and used as a bathroom and kitchen. 

All across the Island, one can see reburial or bone houses called Tugu. A reburial ceremony is a tradition in which the bones of one's ancestors are reinterred several years after death. The bones of a particularly honored ancestor and those of his descendants are exhumed, cleaned, mourned and finally laid to rest again in a bone house.

Exploring Toba and Samosir island

Stone Chair of King Siallagan

The next day, I hired a bike (150K IDR) and went off to explore the island. The plan was to go North and circle the island if possible. Enroute was Batu Kursi Raja Siallagan ( Stone Chair of King Siallagan ) which is the palace of King Siallagan.  At the center, there is a a large Banyan tree locally known as hariara and a set of stone chairs which were used as the place where village matters were discussed and wrongdoers were tried. Another set of stone chairs and table at the back of the courtyard is where the executions would take place. All around are some beautiful Batak traditional houses in stilts and a few Totem poles.

Next, further North is Museum Huta Bolon Simanindo. The museum is housed in the former home of Rajah Simalungun, a Batak king. His Grand Daughter still stays there and manages a Dutch styled Glass house and a few rooms have been converted into a Guest House. I met her in the glass house where she was working with her team and getting things ready for the tourist season. The museum's collection includes brass cooking utensils, weapons, crockery from the Dutch and Chinese, sculptures, and Batak carvings. All through the roads there are beautiful churches and Batak graveyards with some spectacular view of the hills on one side and the lake on the other. 

Parhallow viewpoint

The west side of the Island is connected to the mainland with a bridge and her I turned Eastwards into the Highlands to get back to the East Coast as circling the Island would take a lot of time. Up in the mountains, there are small village and dwellings of farmers. A nice stop is a lake high up in the mountain called Danau Sidihoni Samosir. The road cuts through a protected forest area before coming down to the coast. There are some excellent views of the lake from high up and I stopped at Parhallow viewpoint and coffee shop, a nice place for Coffee and views. Soon, I was back to Tuk Tuk town. 

I was planning to go to Bukittinggi West Sumatra, but because of the upcoming Eid holidays, seats were not available and flight tickets from Padang to anywhere was expensive, so I decided to skip West Sumatra for now and go back to Medan through Berastagi where there were two volcanic mountains that could be explored. From Medan, I would fly to Jambi, in Central Sumatra and make my way to the South. West Sumatra and the unique culture Minangkabau people or Minang had to be done in my next trip.

Berastagi

Berastagi Town Monument

I got my ticket to Berastagi booked through my guesthouse caretaker Rahmat. We were three of us going to Berastagi, so we could share a taxi which costed us IDR 250K each. Where ever you are in Tuk Tuk, the ferry stops at the hotels and picks you up directly, so that was nice. From the guesthouse, we dropped off at Parapat and soon, we were on our way. En route our driver Raja played some Batak songs which were really good. I asked him for some of the song names and plan to add it to my already excellent Indonesia songs playlist.

Berastagi is around 66 km south of Medan and is located around 1,300 m (4,265 ft) above sea level, giving it a pleasant salubrious climate. The town developed in the 1920’s as Dutch hill station and today has become a popular weekend destination. Its famous for two volcanos, Sinabung and Sibayak and also for the hot springs near Sibayak. Sinabung is an active volcano and off the limit for trekking while Sibayak is a dormant volcano and one can hike up to the summit. 

Due to the rich volcanic soil and temperate climate, a lot of vegetables are grown around Berastagi. There was a major vegetable market very near where I was staying and a farmers market used to be held everyday. 

I checked in to a guest house called Nachelle Homestay. It is run by a couple - Mery and Abdy. Mery welcomed me and sat me down with details of all activities, food to eat, places to explore etc. 

The city was a few Kms away from the guest house. It is a crowded and dusty place with lots of local tourists and noise pollution all around. There are many local markets and variety of outlets and food options. The best place to get away and do some walking and running are the Gundaling hills nearby where there are also some good resort stay options.

Karos

Karos are a Batak tribe located in the highlands around Berastagi. In the 13th to 16th century, the Karo people established the Aru Kingdom and it was one of the earliest kingdoms in Sumatra. It was mainly a mix of Hinduism and animism with Islamic influence coming in later. The successor state of the Aru Kingdom was the Sultanate of Deli, which had a mixed influence of Karo, Malay, Tamil, and Aceh. 

A Karo Building Architecture

The Karo started converting to Christianity due to Missionary activity during the Dutch rule and interestingly became predominantly Christian only after independence. This is because the church itself became independent and started adopting more elements of traditional Karo culture such as respecting local adats (tradition) and music. Most of the churches I saw all had GBKP prominently displayed which meant "Gereja Batak Karo Protestan" or Karo Batak Protestant Church which is the largest church among the Karo people. However people living away from the Karo Highlands have converted to Islam. 

Mery told me that some of the Karos had titles like Pandia and Behramana and originated from India. On exploring further, I found out that the Karos belong to one of five marga or clans. One of the margas is Sembiring which means 'black one', and many Sembiring sub-marga (Colia, Berahmana, Pandia, Meliala, Depari, Muham, Pelawi, and Tekan) are of South-Indian origin, suggesting that inter-marriage between Karo and Tamil people took place.

Traditional Karo houses are longhouses which is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. Only a few can be seen now.

Food

BPK

Mery told me not to miss the local delicacy BPK which is available only during lunch. Over the next few days, I tried out the BPK food. It stands for "Babi Panggang Karo" (Karo Grilled Pork), a dish that includes roasted or grilled pork slices served with boiled cassava leaves (daun singkong), saksang sauce (chilli sauce with a mixture of congealed blood), Sambal Andaliman (Sambal made from Sichuan pepper), a slice of lime, and a plate of white rice.

Abdy told us that Karos also have dog meat, and shops and eateries display this by marking it as B1 or "biang" compared to B2 which is Pork or "babi". After that all across the province, I kept seeing B1 and B2 shops Understandably, I didn't dare to venture into the B1, though I am an enthusiast for local cuisine.

The best coffee in town is at Kopi Tarik Bioskop Berastagi where I used to go in the evenings and hang around. There are lot of food options from Indo chinese to local delicacies in the city area.

Sinabung

Cabbage fields 

The second day, I hired a bike for the day (IDR 150K) from a nearby place called Raymond Cafe and went to explore Mount Sinabung which is around 25 Kms away towards the west of the city. After being dormant for 1200 years, it erupted in 2010 and and has been continuously active since September 2013. 

Enroute, I stopped at various places taking photos. All around the volcano, the land was lush green with farmers growing vegetables. There were churches and villages enroute and also a few cafes around the volcano where one can have a vantage view. Stopped at a place called Pancur Pitu Cafe and after spending 2 to 3 hours driving, went back to the city. 

Sibayak

At the top of Sibayak

The next day, I had planned for a sunrise trek to Mount Sibayak. Abdy from Nachele homestay organized it for 300K per person, which would include driving with him to the base, trekking to the top and on the way back, visiting the hot springs.  

We left at around 0430 AM after some black Coffee. We were three of us, myself and 2 others from Belgium. Abdy's SUV took us some way up to the mountain and then we parked and started climbing. It was pitch dark, all the way to the summit. Two friendly dogs joined us happy to see Abdy who was a familiar face to them. We slowly inched our way to the top through the moderately strenuous hike.

Abdy showing sulphurous rock

At the top, we could see stars and the sky was intermittently clear and cloudy with clouds rolling in from all around. There was also vapor from the volcano steaming up from below. Slowly as our eyes got accustomed, we could see the contour of the crater. Then as the morning light started getting stronger, we could see the panoramic view of the landscape around, the mountains, the cities below. Far away was Medan and nearby was Berastagi. Still closer were the hotels and homestays from the Hot Springs below us. The morning sunrise got obscured by the clouds, but the view was spectacular, with Mount Sinabung at a distance from us. Other visitors joined us and also people from the tents below where people had camped for the night.

Soon, it was time to start the descent. As we went towards the crater below, we checked out some fumaroles (opening on the crust emitting steam and gases). The temperature of the gas leaving the vent was pretty hot and can burn the hand, so it has to be felt a few feet away from the vent. In addition to steam, sulfurous gases are emitted. These have their origin in magma cooling underground.

Along the way down, Abdy kept showing us the different Flora and their local uses and medicinal properties. After some time, we reached our vehicle and then we drove down the hot springs. Sulphur hot springs are formed by fumaroles when some of the steam condenses at the surface. Rising acidic vapors from below, such as CO2 and H2S, dissolves, creating steam-heated low-pH hot springs.

The water from the hot springs were collected into many swimming pools which can then be used to bathe in. We spent about 1/2 hour in the pools and it was an amazingly relaxing experience after the hard climb and descent.

Sipiso-Piso

The Knife waterfall 

The next day I rode to the Sipiso-Piso which means Knife waterfall in Batak. It is at the edge of Lake Toba and is a pleasant day visit with steps leading all the way to the bottom. Though it can be better maintained, it was a nice hike with the Lake visible on one side and the waterfall on the other. 

After a few pleasant days in Berastagi, I left for Medan and then flew into Jambi in central Jakarta. 

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