Spectacular Lake Toba in North Sumatra has up to now mostly been seen from its east side. Nevertheless, its southern beaches are no less dramatic and await your discovery.
Dolok Sanggul, capital of the Humbang Hasundutan Regency in south Toba is your start to your exciting exploration. Based in the hills, and blessed with frequent rainfalls. Here are attractions to find around Dolok Sanggul Lake Toba:
1 | Gorgeous Bakara Valley
From west to east, the spectacular Bakara Valley stretches along the southern shores of Lake Toba, taking the shape of a bowl. Easily reached by Dolok Sanggul, here the two swift-running yet shallow rivers course throughout the valley, hanging out right into a pond. The rivers named Aek Silang and Aek Simangira, both cascade from massive cliffs. From a vantage point admire the beautiful panoramic view of both the valley and the lake: a genuinely thrilling experience.
2 | Getting drenched at The Binanga Janji Waterfall
Nestled among villages surrounding the Bakara Valley, sits possibly the most magnificent sights that nature has to offer as you find the Dolok Sanggul-Binanga Janji Waterfall. Janji is among the most beautiful waterfalls around Lake Toba, situated by the village of Tipang. The rush of water gurgling and splashing over stones will fulfill your ears. This 20-meter high waterfall takes on to impress even seen during the rainy season.
3 | Sipping the Original Lintong Coffee
To keep you alert and active while researching Lake Toba is a good cup of coffee. The island of Sumatra, and notably North Sumatra, is known for many different of delicious coffees, namely the Sidikalang Coffee, Mandailing Coffee and Lintong Coffee. Lintong Nihota that forms part of the Humbang Hasundutan Regency is a small town that became synonymous with the entire southern part of Lake Toba area, and for that reason, the majority of the coffee from the south ofsouth of beaches is sold bearing its name. Sumatra’s distinctive Lintong coffee taste gains a lot of its unique personality from its processing techniques, which entails a partial wet-process followed by a three-stage drying cycle that”cures” the unroasted beans. This processing method creates an earthy odor with a balance of sweet and bittersweet taste that is so special to Lintong coffee.
4 | Searching Exotic Food
A favorite dish that is considered a must to test is The Spicy Hot Pickled Grass Carp. The plate is constituted of a fermented fish product favorite in the Batak community named Naniura (meaning uncooked fish). The processing method of Naniura begins with eviscerating then washing the fresh fish. The cleaned fish is soaked in lemon juice (asam jungga), then mixed with condiments including onions, ginger, turmeric, and galangal. The fermentation process takes about 1-4 hours. Typically, Naniura was made from the increasingly rare fish (Neolissochilus thienemanni), a species found exclusively in Lake Toba. These days, the common Carp is utilized instead. Once solely served to the King, it is now a typical meal served at most traditional events.
