Toba Lake : One of the Largest Lake of the World

Toba Lake is the highest lake in the world, the largest lake in South East Asia, and also one of the most spectacular, surrounded by tall mountains and with a large Samosir Island in the middle of the lake, at an altitude of 1.000 meters. Toba Lake is 100 km long and 30 km wide, bigger than Singapore, formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption. it is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth.

Toba Lake is estimated that was formed during a volcanic eruption about 70.000-75.000 years ago and which was the most recent super volcano eruption. It is estimated that volcanic materials that were spewed out the mountain totaling 2800 cubic km, with 2,000 cubic km of ignimbrite that flowed over the ground and 800 cubic km volcanic ash that is estimated was blown (wind) to the west for 2 weeks. After this eruption, a caldera was formed that was filled by water afterwards and now known as Toba Lake. The pressure from the dormant magma, which has not yet erupted, caused Samosir Island to emerge. The region that now known as Samosir Island originally was a peninsula that attached to the Sumatra mainland.

Toba Lake lies in the Batak highlands, visited by both domestic and foreign tourist, and has become one of the main tourist attractions for a long time in North Sumatra apart from Bukit Lawang and Nias. It has a very enchanted scenery for being surrounded by green hills with steep, pine covered sloped. It offers beautifully magnificent view, fresh air, tranquillity, and pleasant. If visitors descend from the mountain they see the lake glittering in all its beauty.

The island in the middle of the lake - Samosir Island - was joined to the caldera wall by a narrow isthmus, which was cut through to enable boats to pass; a road bridge crosses the cutting. Tuk Tuk, named after the linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk, is the main town to stay on Samosir Island. On the western side of the Samosir Island, just across the causeway from Pangururan, there are hot springs. In the Island, visitors can also find many big statues as Cemeteries for Batak people ancestors especially King Sidabutar's Graveyard, traditional houses of Batak Toba Samosir tribe, Batak museum with traditional dance performed in Simanindo, stone chairs used for judgement and executions in Ambarita, and see a waterfall up the hill around Tuk Tuk. In Samosir Island, there are two other lakes namely Lake Sidihoni and Lake Aek Natonang. Generally visitors go to Samosir Island by ferry from Parapat, a town on the side of Sumatra mainland.

Many types of flora live within the boundaries of Lake Toba, include various types of phytoplankton, emerged macrophytes, floating macrophytes, and submerged macrophytes. Lake Toba also offers a nurturing environment for fish such as the tilapia mossambica, aplocheilus pachax, lebistes reticulatus, osphronemus goramy, trichogaster trichopterus, channa striata, chana gachua, clarias batrachus, clarias nieuhofi, clarias. sp., nemachilus fasciatus, cyprinus carpio, puntius javanicus, puntius binotatus, osteochilus nasselti, lissochilus sp., labeobarbus sora, and rasbora sp.

Location of Destination
Lake Toba encompasses three districts, Simalungun, Parapat, and Ambarita districts. It lies about 176 km southwest Medan City, Capital of North Sumatra Province, Republic of Indonesia.

Route to Get Destination
By plane to Sukarno-Hata Airport (Jakarta). Then by domestic flight about 2 hours from Sukarno-Hatta Airport (Jakarta) to Polonia Airport (Medan).
Then by car approximately 4 hours from Polonia Airport (Medan) to Toba Lake. Or by train about 2 hours from Medan to Pematang Siantar town, then by car about 1 hour from Pematang Siantar to Toba Lake.

Best Time to Visit
May to August, or when there is event 'Toba Lake Traditional Party'

Accommodation for Traveller
Niagara Hotel, Panorama Hotel, Patra Jasa Hotel, Romlan Guesthouse (in Samosir Island), Tabo Cottages (in Samosir Island)