The world's largest volcanic lake, with the island of Samosir at its center and a relaxed Batak culture of clan houses and music. Its cool highland air makes it a restful escape.
2.68°N 98.88°E
The drier months from roughly May to September give the most reliable sunshine for swimming and scooter trips
2 nights
KNO
$12/night
Lake Toba is the flooded crater of a supervolcano that erupted around 74,000 years ago, and it is enormous: the largest lake in Southeast Asia, with the island of Samosir sitting in the middle of it like a smaller country. The water is deep blue and cool, the air at 900 meters is fresh, and the pace is slow. This is Batak country, a Christian people with their own language, music, and distinctive curved-roof houses.
It suits travelers who want to do very little for a few days: swim, ride a scooter around the island, read, eat grilled fish, and watch the light change on the hills. It is not a manicured resort scene, and some of the infrastructure is faded. Come for the calm and the scale rather than nightlife or polish.
Tuk Tuk is a small peninsula on Samosir island and the main travelers' hub, lined with guesthouses that step down to the water. Many have their own little swimming jetties and lakeside restaurants. It is walkable, mellow, and the obvious place to settle in for a few days of doing not much.
The water is clean, deep, and refreshingly cool, and most lakeside guesthouses have steps or a platform you can jump off straight into it. Because it is a crater lake there are no tides or salt, just calm freshwater. A morning swim with the hills reflected around you is the simplest pleasure here.
Renting a scooter is the best way to see the island, with quiet roads winding past rice fields, Batak villages, and viewpoints over the lake. A full loop is long, so many people do the northern or eastern parts in a day. Fill up on petrol when you can, as stations are sparse, and watch for loose dogs and the odd buffalo.
In Ambarita village there is a set of carved stone chairs where Batak elders once held council and, by tradition, judged and executed wrongdoers. A local guide will tell the story for a small fee. Nearby you will see traditional Batak houses with their dramatic upswept roofs, often draped in carving and red, white, and black paint.
Getting there
Fly into Medan's Kualanamu airport (KNO), the main gateway for North Sumatra, with connections from Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. From the airport it is roughly a 4 to 5 hour drive to Parapat on the lakeshore, either by private car, a shared minibus, or the public Sejahtera bus. From Parapat, a passenger ferry crosses to Tuk Tuk on Samosir in about 30 to 45 minutes and will often drop you right at your guesthouse jetty. A car ferry runs from Ajibata nearby if you are bringing a vehicle.
Best time to visit
The drier months from roughly May to September give the most reliable sunshine for swimming and scooter trips. It can rain in any season at this altitude, but the wettest stretch is generally around November to December.
Where to stay
Tuk Tuk on Samosir is where almost everyone stays, with cheap lakeside guesthouses and a few comfortable mid-range hotels, most with swimming access and views. Budget rooms are very cheap, and even the nicer places stay affordable, so it is easy to treat yourself to a room right on the water.
Yes, the open water off Tuk Tuk is clean, deep, and pleasant to swim in. Avoid swimming right next to fish farms, which are dotted around parts of the lake, and stick to the areas your guesthouse points you to.
Two to three nights is a good fit for most people, enough to swim, scooter around, and slow down without getting bored. If you want to explore the far side of Samosir or just fully decompress, add an extra night.
Yes, and many travelers do, since both are reached from Medan. They sit on opposite sides of the city, so you usually pass back through or near Medan between them, which makes for a long but doable transfer.
Build a route across Indonesia in minutes. We work out the travel time and cost between every stop, then a local turns it into a trip.
Build your tripTomok, where the ferries from Parapat dock, has a cluster of old Batak houses, the stone sarcophagus of King Sidabutar, and rows of souvenir stalls. It can feel touristy, but the carving and the explanation of Batak beliefs are genuinely interesting. It pairs well with a stop in Ambarita on the same ride.
On the far side of Samosir, the road climbs to the Tele viewpoint, which gives a sweeping look back over the whole lake and island. Near Pangururan there are hot springs on the slopes of Mount Pusuk Buhit, the mountain the Batak consider their place of origin. It is a longer trip, best with a scooter or a hired car and driver.
The Batak are famous across Indonesia for their singing, and some Tuk Tuk restaurants and bars host live guitar and vocal sessions in the evenings. It is informal and warm rather than a staged show. Ask your guesthouse who is playing while you are there.
The sights worth building a day around. Open any one for a full guide.
culturalBatak stone chairs where village councils met, with a grim history of trials and executions.
Read guide
viewpointGrassy ridge of bald green hills dropping to a narrow blue arm of Lake Toba.
Read guide
islandThe large island in the middle of Lake Toba, with Tuk Tuk as its laid-back traveller base.
Read guide
waterfallA 120-metre jet of water dropping off the cliffs at the northern end of Lake Toba.
Read guide
culturalBatak village with old royal stone graves and the wooden Sigale-gale puppet dance.
Read guide
