The province of North Sumatra stretches across the island of Sumatra between the Indian Ocean and the Strait Malacca. It borders Aceh province on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra provinces on the southeast. It has an area of 70787 km².The province contains a broad, low plain along the Strait of Malacca coast; the provincial capital, Medan, is located here. In the south and west, the land rises to the mountain range that runs the length of Sumatra; the mountains here are dominated by Lake Toba, formed from the caldera of an ancient volcano. Several large islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra are part of North Sumatra, most notably Nias, Tanah Bala, Tanah Masa, and Pini.
Sumatra Mandheling and Sumatra Lintong coffee beans are grown in North Sumatra and largely exported to the U.S. Mandheling is named after the similarly spelt Mandailing people located in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The name is the result of a misunderstanding by the first foreign purchaser of the variety, and no coffee is actually produced in the "Mandailing region". Lintong on the other hand, is named after the Lintong district, also located in North Sumatra.
Lake Toba, the crater lake in the middle of the province, is a popular tourist resort, especially the town of Parapat on its shore. Its cool and dry mountain climate makes it the perfect place to relax.
SamosirSamosir, the giant, dry "Island of the Dead" in the middle of Danau Toba is a grim reminder of a second powerful eruption, about 30,000 years ago. In that time, a secondary peak formed, which split later, and came back down again. The eastern part now forms the peninsula of Prapat and the shores until Porsea, and the western border of Samosir. The island measures 45 by 20 km, and originally was a peninsula.
It only became a peninsula after the Dutch arrived and dug a canal across the small piece of land of 200 metres in 1906. This action seemed to have a lot to do among the local population, because they thought the island would slip away towards the middle of the lake and simply disappear
The town of Berastagi, located at the foot of Mount Sibayak, will greet you with its lovely flowers. The smell of fresh vegetables and the colorful and aromatic arrangements of fruit will etch their place in your memory. Try markisah (Passion Fruit)...
NIAS ISLAND
A small island, 130 km long and 45 km wide, Nias lying just 125 km off Sumatra's west coast, administratively belonged to the North Sumatra, province. Like any other western isiand off Sumatra, Nias stands quite apart.
Its rugged terrain, malarial climate and warlike population having served to isolate from the mainstream of Sumatran culture for many centuries. As a result, Nias never experienced the dramatic influx of Indian, Islam and Eur opean cultural influences to the degree these were felt in other areas.
The islands's inhabitants have instead followed their own line of development, building on an earlier Austronesian sub-strata of culture which they hold in common with other Indonesian peoples.
Today they are best known for their spectacular tribal art and architecture, a uniqye style that has fascinated generations of scholars and collectors. Not much is known about the island's prehistory which is a pity, since the inhabitants have been working in durable stone and bronze for a very long time.
Custom clothing from Batak
Source: Wikipedia Indonesia
