Things to do in Danau Toba
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Museum Huta Bolon Simanindo
At the northern tip of the island, in Simanindo, there's a fine old traditional house that has been restored and now functions as a museum. Museum Huta Bolon Simanindo was formerly the home of Rajah Simalungun, a Batak king, and his 14 wives. Originally, the roof was decorated with 10 buffalo horns, which represented the 10 generations of the dynasty. The museum has a small but interesting collection of brass cooking utensils, weapons, Dutch and Chinese crockery, sculptures and Batak carvings.
Displays of traditional Batak dancing are performed at 10:30 from Monday to Saturday (30,000Rp), if enough tourists show up.
The village of Simanindo is 15km from Tuk Tuk and is acce…
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Batak Warung
In Pangururan, a simple warung, across from the police station, looks more like a bus stop than a restaurant, but it does a busy lunch-time trade of Batak dishes, such as sassang (stewed pork) and nila (fish stew).
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Trekking
If you don't fully succumb to Samosir's anaesthetising atmosphere, there are a couple of interesting treks across the island. The trails aren't well marked and can be difficult to find, but ask any of the guesthouses for a map. In the wet season (December to March) the steep inclines are very muddy and slippery and can be quite dangerous.
The central highlands of Samosir are about 700m above the lake and afford stunning views of mist-cloaked mountains on a clear day. The top of the escarpment forms a large plateau and at its heart is a small lake, Danau Sidihoni. Samosir's vast tracts of jungle have long since vanished and the only forest you will pass through on either w…
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Christian Paraphernalia
You'll see more Christian paraphernalia in Toba than you will in the American Bible Belt. In Batak communities, homes are typically decorated with tapestries of a long-haired Jesus and gold cross necklaces adorn cleavage. The rice paddies and villages are cultivated around sober Protestant-style churches and tombs merging traditional Batak architecture and Christian crosses.
This was once the 'heart of darkness' from the perspective of the European and American missionaries and the first evangelists met their makers by the tips of spears. Good timing brought survival and fame to a German missionary named Nommenson. His arrival preceded a bumper crop and in return the Bata…
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King Sidabutar's Grave
The Batak king who adopted Christianity is buried in Tomok, a village southeast of Tuk Tuk. The king's image is carved on his tombstone, along with those of his bodyguard and Anteng Melila Senega, the woman the king is said to have loved for many years without fulfilment. The tomb is also decorated with carvings of singa, mythical creatures with grotesque three-horned heads and bulging eyes. Next door in death is the missionary who converted the tribe, the career equivalent of boy band stardom.
Next in the row is an older Batak royal tomb, which is used as a multilingual fertility shrine for childless couples, according to souvenir vendors. The tombs are 500m up a narrow …
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Stone Chairs
More traditional Batak artistry and legend is on view in Ambarita, 5km north of Tanjung Tuk Tuk. The 300-year-old stone chairs is where village matters were discussed and wrongdoers were tried. A second set of megaliths in an adjoining courtyard was where the accused were bound, blindfolded, sliced and rubbed with chilli and garlic before being beheaded. Ambarita, 5km north of Tanjung Tuk Tuk. Guides love to play up the story and ask for volunteers to demonstrate the process.
It is customary to pay a small fee for the tale, or risk meeting a savoury death (just kidding). There is a small market in Ambarita on Thursday (07:00 to 10:00) to the right of the T-junction.
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Batak Graves
The road that follows the northern rind of Samosir between Simanindo and the town of Pangururan is a scenic ride through the Bataks' embrace of life and death. In the midst of the fertile rice fields are large multistorey graves decorated with the distinctive Batak-style house and a simple white cross. Reminiscent of Thai spirit houses, Batak graves reflect much of the animistic attitudes of sheltering the dead.
Cigarettes and cakes are offered to the deceased as memorials or as petitions for favours. Typical Christian holidays, such as Christmas, dictate special attention to the graves.
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Mata Air Panas
Across the isthmus, just before Pangururan, there are some mata air panas (alt name Hot Springs; Pangururan) that the locals are extremely proud of. Most foreigners look around at the litter and decide that the waters are too hot.
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Gokhon Library
Better load up on reading material in Toba, because the rest of Sumatra is a desert for the printed word. Gokhon Library and several other sundries shops nearby have used and rental books.
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Rumba Pizzeria & Homestay
Sometimes Rumba's is full of energy cranking out Toba music and side dishes of cheerfulness. But even if it's deserted, the pizzas are divine after the monotony of nasi Padang.
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Brando's Blues Bar
There are a handful of foreigner-oriented bars, such as this one in between the local jungle-juice cafés. The local tipple is palm wine, known as tuak.
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Sunshine Beauty & Wellness
In Tuk Tuk, Sunshine Beauty & Wellness will turn beasts into beauties with affordable haircuts, facials, after-sun treatment and traditional massages.
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Bamboo Restaurant & Bar
A stylish place to watch the sun slink away, Bamboo has cosy cushion seating, a down-tempo mood and a reliable menu.
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Sunshine Beauty & Wellness
In Tuk Tuk, Sunshine Beauty & Wellness will turn beasts into beauties with affordable haircuts, facials, after-sun treatment and traditional massages.
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