Berastagi

Introducing Berastagi

You might have to pinch yourself upon arriving in Berastagi: the town is too busy with daily life to pounce on tourists. What a blissful relief from the guide overload you’ll find elsewhere in Sumatra.

Berastagi has a healthy economy based on something other than tourism. As an agricultural trade centre, the town’s markets are always humming with activity, and modern-day snake oil hawkers fill the sidewalks with ‘big-city’ amusements for isolated country folk. On sale are jungle miracle cures, second-hand shoes, and 20-years-behind pop music. On Sunday, the largely Christian community takes the babies and bibles out for worship.

Beyond the town are the lush green fields of the Karo Highlands, dominated by two volcanoes: Gunung Sinabung to the west and the smoking Gunung Sibayak to the north. These volcanoes are a day hike apiece, making them two of Sumatra’s most accessible volcanoes, and the primary reason why tourists get off the bus in the first place.

Berastagi is at an altitude of 1300m, and the climate is deliciously cool, sometimes even cold.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009