SIGAPITON, Indonesia In mid-August, when Mangatas Togi Butarbutar visited an ancestor’s grave in this village on the shores of Indonesia’s biggest lake, he had to tread carefully. Though the area had long been claimed by his Indigenous community, known as the Pomparan Ompu Ondol Butarbutar, construction of a government office building was in progress. […]
In 2017, Indonesia announced an ambitious plan to attract 20 million international tourists by 2019 by developing ten new tourist destinations, dubbing them “the 10 New Balis”.
One of the destinations is the scenic Urat village, a small village in the middle of Samosir Island in Lake Toba, North Sumatra.
To get there, one must take an hour and half hour trip by plane from the capital, Jakarta, to Medan or Silangit airports in North Sumatra province, then travel 30-45 minutes by boat to Samosir island, followed by a four hour drive. This rural tourism destination offers nature, culture, and adventure as its tourism attractions.