speCIAL OFFER -SAVE £500 PER PERSON Circumnavigation of Sumatrath November 2018 th An in-depth exploration30 October of Sumatra to 16 aboard the MS Caledonian Sky Lake Toba Belitung Islands oin us aboard the MS Caledonian Sky as we MALAYSIA The Itinerary Gunung Leuser circumnavigate Sumatra, the world’s sixth largest island. Day 1 London to Singapore. Banda Aceh National Park J Belawan Fly by scheduled flight. Separated from mainland Asia by the Strait of Malacca and Medan Simeulue Islands Malacca from Java by the Strait of Sunda, Sumatra lies at the heart Lake Toba Day 2 Singapore. Arrive this Nias Island Singapore of geological and cultural crossroads. Spectacular volcanoes afternoon and transfer to the Bukittinggi and mysterious calderas are many along the Barisan Shangri La Hotel (or similar) for an Siberut Island SUMATRA Padang overnight stay. The remainder of Mountains, the long spinal range of the island following Belitung the evening is free. Sumatra’s west coast. Perpetual warmth and the presence of Bengkulu Islands high peaks have made the natural environment of this large Day 3 Singapore. Enjoy a leisurely Krakatau morning to either explore Ujung Kulon Island landmass one of the most diverse in the world: the many National Park independently or relax at the hotel. national parks of the island are an attempt to protect this In the early afternoon there will be Day 5 Lake Toba, Sumatra. increasingly endangered treasure. a guided tour of Singapore which From the port of Belawan our first will include the National Orchid discovery in Sumatra is to the iconic With the Indian Ocean to the west and the south-east Garden and Chinatown before we Lake Toba. At over 1145 square Asian archipelagos to the east, Sumatra’s history is rich transfer to the MS Caledonian Sky. kilometres it is the largest lake Enjoy a Welcome drink and later in South East Asia found amidst and the island is home to many fascinating peoples. Our sail the Malacca Strait which was the volcanic peaks of the island. voyage will explore their cities, towns and villages, from named after the Malacca Sultanate After an early breakfast we will Aceh at the northwestern tip of Indonesia, to the Bataks that ruled over the archipelago start our journey inland to Parapat, between 1414 and 1511. It is the gateway town located in the and Minangkabau of the central highlands, and the Nias of from here that early traders beautiful and fertile volcanic basin offshore archipelagos. Sumatra was revealed to the western from Arabia, Africa and Persia at the northern end of Bukit Barisan world by Marco Polo and is often referred to as the Isle of would trade glassware, camphor, mountains’ range. The scenery is Gold: sailing around its diverse shores, exploring its coastal ivory, sandalwood, and perfumes stunning and after lunch in a local and today the Strait is one of the restaurant we will board our boat to communities and occasionally venturing inland, we will most important shipping lanes in cruise across the lake to the central be able understand why. The privilege of exploring this the world. island of Samosir, passing lovely remarkable land from a small ship and in the company of coves with white sandy beaches to Day 4 Malacca, Malaysia. Before where colourful Toba Batak villages knowledgeable expedition team members and local guides is setting off for Sumatra we spend cling to the shore. We visit the an opportunity not to be missed. the morning in the historic traditional beautiful houses and port of Malacca. With more ancient tombs of Laga Siallagan, than its fair share of colonisers the first raja of Ambarita. In front from Malaysian princes to the of the traditional houses we find Voyage Highlights Portuguese, Dutch, British and the Banyan tree with the stone Japanese, this strategically chair of King Siallagan, the location • Full circumnavigation of the sixth largest island on Earth. placed city has a fascinating where all important judicial and • Great natural world experiences including opportunities to see history brought vividly to life in village matters where traditionally Orangutans in Bukit Lawang, searching for the world’s largest flower the excellent Ethnographical administered. Continue to the local near Bukkitingi and snorkelling amongst fish and corals in Pulau Weh, Museum. On a guided walk other market before returning to the Mentawai and Belitung Islands. visits will include the 16th century MS Caledonian Sky in the • Opportunity to enjoy walks on the slopes of Krakatoa Volcano. Portuguese fortress, the former early evening and moor overnight. Dutch Governor’s house and the • Visit remote tribal cultures in Siberut and Nias. impressive Christ Church. We Day 6 Gunung Leuser National • Explore remote islands including Simeulue which is well off the return to our vessel by rickshaw for Park or Medan. There will be a traditional tourist route. lunch and continue up the Strait of choice of excursions today, either Malacca. choose from a long but rewarding www.noble-caledonia.co.uk Belitung Islands Rural area, Sumatra Traditional house, West Sumatra Malacca day as we leave the vessel at sunrise the geothermal volcanic valley. megaliths in a rite of passage. Day 12 Siberut Island. This MALAYSIA Gunung Leuser and drive inland to the eastern side We will sail over lunch to Banda The higher they jump, the better morning we will anchor off the Banda Aceh National Park of the Gunung Leuser National Aceh where we will visit the chance they have of acquiring Mentawai archipelago. Like Nias, Belawan Park and visit the Orangutan Tsunami Museum, memorial and a wife. However, the tradition these islands have a unique Medan Simeulue Islands Malacca Rehabilitation Centre at Bukit educational centre and the Blang originated to train them for warfare culture, flora and fauna due to Lake Toba Nias Island Singapore Lawang. This is now one of the Padang Park. We will also visit the and defence. This colourful culture their isolation from the rest of the Bukittinggi world’s most important conservation State Museum that exhibits many developed separately to mainland country. On arrival local boats Siberut Island SUMATRA projects as orphaned orangutans cultural artefacts including the Sumatra and the island has a will take us upriver through the Padang are brought here to learn how to ‘Lonceng Cakra Donya’ bell, a gift history of head hunting, warfare, tropical forest to a small village Belitung live in the wild again. We can watch from the Chinese Emperor, which slaves and gold. After lunch on where we will be invited to the Bengkulu Islands them at play and feeding and learn dates from the 15th century. board your expedition team will meeting house to enjoy a cultural Krakatau how the six month rehabilitation arrange a Zodiac cruise before performance before spending time Ujung Kulon Island programme works. We will enjoy Day 9 Simeulue Islands. After a continuing our journey south in walking though the village. The National Park lunch in a local restaurant before morning at sea we arrive in the the late afternoon, crossing the island is rich in wildlife and as we returning to the ship in the late archipelago of the Simeulue Islands equator this evening. return along the river we will keep afternoon. Alternatively explore at lunchtime. Located 100 miles an eye out for some of the 140 the highlights of Medan, the from the Sumatran coast and with Day 11 Padang for Bukittinggi. bird species and monkeys which nearby capital of North Sumatra. white sand beaches, vast coral We return to the Sumatran frequent the forest. Over lunch we Here we visit the 19th century reefs and a pristine blue sea dotted mainland today at the port of sail to the islands off the coast and Maimoon Palace, a 30 room palace with a multitude of seamounts, Padang, our base for a choice will find a suitable landing site to featuring Malay, Mogul and Italian atolls and small islets, the Simeulue of full day excursions. This part enjoy a beach walk or swim off the influences before continuing to Islands are well off the traditional of Western Sumatra, in the beach. the Mesjid Raya (Grand Mosque). tourist route. We will use our Bukkitinggi Highlands, is home to We will explore the collections at Zodiacs to land on one of the local the Minangkabau culture which, Day 13 Bengkulu. After a morning the Museum of Northern Sumatra beaches for swimming, snorkelling despite their Islamic faith has the at sea we reach the southern including stone carvings from Nias and nature walks. largest matrilineal society where half of the island and the city of Island, artefacts from the Hindu, the woman is the head of the Bengkulu. The British East India Buddhist, and Islamic periods as house and controls family affairs. Company established a garrison Sumba dance, Banda Aceh well as exhibits on colonial and We will head inland passing the here in 1685 but with little success military history. Our guided tour will magnificent Anai Valley and visit until Sir Stamford Raffles arrived in end at the Chinese pagoda before the Pagaruyung Palace, one of the 1818 and established a market in returning to the ship. most important socio-historical pepper, coffee and nutmeg. The projects in Tanah Datar. The palace British remained until 1824 when Day 7 At sea. After a busy couple building is a duplicate of the the city was traded with the Dutch of days we have a day to relax as original that was burned by Dutch for Malacca. On a city drive we will we cruise the coast to the northern Colonials in 1804 and was rebuilt view Fort Marlborough built by the tip of Sumatra.