Lake Toba is the largest lake in Southeast Asia as well as the largest volcano lake in the world. This enormous lake was the result of the world’s most tremendous volcano eruption which was claimed as the cause of ice age period in 70 thousand years ago. Scientists believe that only some thousands living creatures were able to remain living after such a world-shaking event. Some evidences even proved that the ashes erupted by the mountain reached up to some parts of Europe. The mountain itself – named Toba Mountain – vanished due to the remarkably strong blast out of the mountain

How to Get There

You can reach Lake Toba by first flying to Kuala Namu Airport in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra Province. Once you arrive at Kuala Namu, there is a train connecting the airport directly to the city of Medan. But if you want to go straight to Lake Toba, you should reserve a taxi (locals call it "travel") that will pick you up at the airport and take you straight to the Tiga Raja Port, Parapat, on the edge of Lake Toba. Usually the travel fare for the route Kualanamu - Parapat is around 75,000 rupiahs per person. The Medan-Parapat trip would take about 4 hours. Along the way, you will enjoy the scenic stretch of palm forest.

Here are some contact numbers of the travel: 
Nice Taxi = 061 4558844/081264250898 
Paredep Taxi: (061) 735 8635 
Bagus Taxi = 0813-6121-8903 / 0812-8052-2393

Parapat village

Visitors are able to get around Lake Toba by getting into a public boat with a very cheap cost – only 10,000 rupiahs. The public boat is ready to bring the visitor around Lake Toba or just across Lake Toba to reach the island in the middle of the lake, Samosir Island. The ones who prefer to get a land transportation can hire a motorcycle or bicycle from the villagers with about 70,000 until 100,000 rupiahs per day. You might get cheaper rates during the low season.

Ferry boat

Samosir Island
Visitors can reach Samosir Island at the center of L:ake Toba by ferry boats readily available on Parapat ports. There are 2 ports in Parapat: Tiga Raja Port and Ajibata Port. The first port is for tourists who do not bring their own vehicles, while the latter is for tourists who bring their own vehicles.

Tiga Raja Port

At the Tiga Raja Port, there are several ferries scheduled to depart for Samosir Island every 1.5 hours. The cost of this boat ride is Rp. 10,000 per person and the crossing takes about 45 minutes. Usually the ferry crew will ask where in Samosir Island you want to get off the ship, because they will drop off passengers to stops closest to your hotel.
Unlike Gili Trawangan or Kuta Bali where there are many pubs and bars, the atmosphere in Samosir Island is calmer and more peaceful. The scenery is breathtaking and serene. There are few bars but never overly noisy. That is why Samosir Island is often become an ideal destination for those who want a quiet atmosphere differs from the frenetic daily routine. Traveling makes us rethink life, and learned a lot of the value of life at every new thing we encounter. As said Miriam Beard; "Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living. "
Same like on the mainland, if you wish to travel around Samosir Island, you can rent a motorcycle for 80,000 - 100,000 rupiahs a day. Once you have a vehicle to get around, here are some destinations on Samosir Island that are worth visiting: 
1. Tomok Village 
In this village there is the Ancient Tomb of King Sidabutar. It is said that King Sidabutar was the first to set foot on the island. There are also Batak Museum that displays traditional Batak house with Sigale-gale Statue. The legend behind this statue is that there was once a king who had a son named Manggale. He was then killed in a war. The King became so sad and fell ill. The royal advisor then proposed to create a ceremony and sculpt a face resembling Manggale on a wood statue. In the ceremony, Manggale's spirit was called and went into the wooden statue. The statue then danced to the music of Batak Toba for 7 days and 7 nights. 
Lastly, don't forget to check out Tomok Market. There are many vendors selling crafts such as clothes, sandals, magnets, key chains, Ulos Batak fabric, bags, etc. Feel free to haggle the price!

Traditional Batak house with Sigale-gale Statue

2. Ambarita Village
There is a praying chapel in this village. It is still under construction but visitors may come to look around and/or pray. In the building complex, there is a meeting room with a capacity of 100 people, indoor kitchen and bathroom. There is also a wall relief portraying the suffering of Jesus before the crucifixion. At the front and rear of the building there are statues of Jesus.

Legends of Lake Toba

Lake Toba is very famous for the legend about how the lake was formed according to local villagers’ belief. It tells a story about a farmer catching a big-golden fish and keeping it in the pond near his house. The fish then transformed into stunningly beautiful woman, and the farmer wished to marry her. The fish accepted the man’s proposal with one requirement – never called their future kid as the kid of fish’s. Soon, the farmer undertook the requirement and married the fish-reincarnated woman, but then when they had a son, the farmer forgot about his promise.

One day the farmer felt angry to the kid because of eating his food, then he called the kid as the son of fish. Knowing that her husband betrayed their promise, the mother brought the kid away from the house. Soon, the dark cloud covered the sky, and a great storm suddenly fell down. Before reincarnated back into a fish, the mother ordered her son to go up to the hill and stayed there until the storm stopped. But the storm kept falling down for a long time so that when the storm stopped, the surrounding area had been full of water and became a lake which drowned the farmer. Only a small part of the hill was left in the middle of the lake which was then called as Samosir island – the name of the farmer’s kid.

Indonesia, an archipelago in Southeast Asia, is a homeland for more than 100 ethnic groups. This large amount of ethnic groups brings Indonesia on having a very rich culture and tradition for one ethnic group has different custom and tradition than the others. One enticing tradition takes place in Madura, one region in the East Java during August until October every year. This tradition is called Karapan Sapi (the Indonesian words for Cow Racing Festival) which attracts visitors from the other regions of Indonesia to come and observe such a picturesque festival in Madura.

Rules of the Cow Racing Festival

While people are normally see horses as participants in a race, the animals participating in Karapan Sapi are cows. Two cows and one man as the jockey are joined as one team and have to race against the other teams. The length of the track is about 100 meters until 200 meters that the cows are able to reach the goal in about 14 until 18 seconds. Because the cows run very fast, the jockey are sometimes darted off the piece of wood which becomes the footing space. First team to reach the goal is considered as the winner and receive a very large amount of money, about 75 until 80 million rupiahs.

Tradition before the Racing

Seeing the big prize that will be received by the winner, many people in Madura have a strong desire of winning the racing. They even call out the best shaman of the village to keep the cow healthy and unhurt until the day of the racing comes. The best food and enough rest are provided by the cow owners while some others do not utilize the cows to hijack the field before the competition is held. Before the racing starts, the cows are being paraded around the track completed with saronen (musical performance from Madura) as the back sound. Saronen music accompanied the cows parade is provided by each participant of the Cow Racing in the purpose of making the race much more cheerful.

Karapan Sapi is the most-waited event for all people in Madura, both participants and spectators. Often, Madura people staying in the other provinces of Indonesia come back to their hometown during August until October only because they want to observe this event.