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SumatraPOP 50.37 MILLION

Includes  Why Go? ...... 494 Few isles tempt the imagination with the lure of adventure Bukit Lawang...... 501 quite like the fierce land of . An island of extraor- Danau Toba...... 508 dinary beauty, it bubbles with life and vibrates under the Pulau ...... 515 power of nature. Eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis are Sumatran headline grabbers. Steaming volcanoes brew and Banda ...... 521 bluster while standing guard over lakes that sleepily lap the Pulau Weh...... 526 edges of craters. Orangutan-filled jungles host not only our Banyak Islands...... 531 red-haired cousins, but also tigers, rhinos and elephants. And ...... 537 down at sea level, idyllic deserted beaches are bombarded by Mentawai Islands...... 544 clear barrels of surf. As varied as the land, the people of Sumatra are a spicy Bukittinggi...... 550 broth of mixed cultures, from the devout Muslims in Aceh Kerinci Valley...... 560 to the hedonistic Christians around Danau Toba and ...... 568 the matrilineal Minangkabau of Padang. All are unified by ...... 577 a fear, respect and love of the wild and wondrous land of ...... 580 Sumatra.

Best Places to When to Go Eat Padang ¨ ¨Bixio Cafe (p529) °C/°F Te mp Rainfall inches/mm ¨¨Pak Tri’s (p541) 40/104 20/500 16/400 ¨¨Marola (p567) 30/86 ¨¨Jenny’s Restaurant (p512) 12/300 20/68 ¨¨Pondok Kelapa (p576) 8/200 10/50 4/100

-0/32 0 Best Places to J FDM A M J J A S O N Stay Hit the Take in Travel- ¨¨Horas Family Home (p512) Apr–Oct Mid–Jun Feb–Aug waves on the Men- the chaotic canoe ling during the dry ¨¨Pondok Tailana (p533) tawais, Nias and races at the Danau season maximises ¨¨Freddies (p527) the Banyaks. Toba Festival. wildlife sightings in the jungle. ¨¨Abdi Homestay (p558) ¨¨Nachelle Homestay (p507) Sumatra GeHISTORttingY There & Away 491 - - - - -

(www. (www.airasia.com) (www.airasia.com) (www.malaysia (www.sriwijayaair.co.id), (www.sriwijayaair.co.id), Getting There & Away 8 Ferries cross the narrow Sunda Strait, which You canYou hop on a plane from to every plantations oil-palm when warning: of word A From , ferries make the quick hop Keep in mind that Sumatra is one hour behind BOAT AIR port from both ports to Jakarta and, on the Bandarlampung. side, Sumatra and Airlines baru, but few travellers use these routes. links the southeastern tip of Sumatra at Bakau heni to Java’s westernmost point of Merak. The sea crossing is a brief dip in a day-long voyage that requires several hours’ worth of bus trans pore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang with Air Silk AirAsia (www.silkair.com), Pa Sumatra, West In respectively. airlines.com), dang receives flights from Kuala Lumpur. Banda and Pulau Palembang, Aceh, also receive international flights from mainland Asia. Southeast Garuda aboard Sumatran major (www.lionair. garuda-.com), co.id) Air or Sriwijaya among others. Flights from Sumatra to other parts of Indonesia typically connect through Jakarta. on Sumatra’s east coast are burned (annually, usually during dry season), the smoke frequently results in the closure of Pekanbaru and airports. Ferries run between on Sumatra’s east coast and Melaka and Klang (for Kuala Lumpur) in Malaysia, Singapore and Pulau Batam, but Dumai is only useful if you have your heart set on an international boat journey or if you’re transporting a motorbike between Sumatra and Malaysia. to Pulau Batam and Pulau Bintan, the primary islands in the . From Batam, Pekan and Palembang Dumai, for sail set boats 8 These days, most travellers reach Sumatra via budgetairline flight or ferry from Java. The old sea routes are largely redundant. Malaysia. and Singapore hub, primary international Sumatra’s is Medan with frequent flights from its new airport to mainland Southeast Asian such as Singa triggered over killing tsunami, a region-wide The in Aceh. people, mainly silver one 170,000 the rescueto the disasterlining was that and to brought peace reconstruction have efforts to date. holds and it largely region ------No human conflict human No could compare to the The in Suma never welcomed Dutch were In the early 19th century, the Dutch at the early 19thIn century, Throughout the colonial , Sumatra sawThroughout Sumatra era, the colonial The most influential port of the day, Sam Themost portinfluential day, the of The Strait of Melaka, an important tradeThe of Melaka, Strait quake off the northwestern coast of Sumatra off quake tra, which contributed several key figures to key figures which contributed several tra, was Sumatra the independence struggle.Yet 1958 rule. Between with Jakarta’s dissatisfied and 1961, rebel groups based in Bukittinggi resistedand the mountains of with the which led to clashes centralisation, independent Fiercely military. Indonesian most troublesome to be Jakarta’s Aceh proved started movement separatist in region. Aceh’s 1970sthe late and continued until 2006. destruction occurred that Day on Boxing in 2004, when a 9.0-plus-magnitudeearth tablished authority over Pulau Nias. Treaties Nias. Treaties Pulau over tablished authority and alliances brought other areas of Sumatra under Dutch rule. tempted to assert military all of control over met a move with resistance its by Sumatra, es finally Dutch the 1863 In tribes. disparate can traders monopolised pepper exports monopolised pepper can traders from Aceh, and the Chinese exploited the reserves Belitung,and Bangka the islands of on east of Palembang. many foreign powers stake a claim in its re in its claim a stake foreign powers many in thesources: the Dutch based themselves the British portSumatran of Padang, west Ameri ), (now Bencoolen in ruled udra, near Lhokseumawe, eventually became near Lhokseumawe, udra, refer used to traders to the en the name that who corrupted Polo was Marco tire island. It 1292 report in his onthe name to ‘Sumatra’ the area. powers and culturalpowers such as Islam. influences as a local emerged The of Sriwijaya kingdom 7th the end of the at its with player century, near the moderncapital presumably based influence After Sriwijaya’s of Palembang. city the northernwaned, Aceh, at tip of Sumatra, through the strait.assumed control of trade prevailed until the sultanate The of Aceh’s era 17ththe beginning of Dutch when century, claimed a piece of the spice trade. traders Pre-Islamic history than is oftenPre-Islamic myth more fact,evidence but archaeological suggests for migratingwas the gateway Sumatra that Southeasttribes from mainland Asia. exposed the Chinaroute between and India, super region’s to the east coast of Sumatra History