SUMATRA MAIN CITY

MEDAN
Medan is the capital of north Sumatra and the third largest city in Indonesia. It is a huge, sprawling city and a popular entry/exit point for travellers. The solid Dutch buildings of the affluent older suburbs inspire images of bloated bureaucrats and burghers from the colonial era, while jerry-built lean-tos house the bulk of its population.

The city's two finest buildings are the Istana Maimoon (Maimoun Palace) and the magnificent black-domed Mesjid Raya. There are some fine examples of European architecture along Jalan Sukarno-Hatta, such as Bank Indonesia and the High Court. There are a number of museums, including the Museum of North Sumatra, which has excellent coverage of the region's culture and history, and the weaponry-and-warfare-influenced Bukit Barisan Military Museum. You can see cultural performances at Taman Budaya.

Much of the budget accommodation is close to the city centre. Jalan Semarang, a small street between Jalan Pandu and Jalan Bandung, has great food stalls offering Indonesian and Chinese meals late into the night.

Leaving frenetic, sprawling Medan and heading into the highlands, the beauty of Northern Sumatra unrolls an endless vists of lush plantations and charming villages, with the Majestic Bukit Barisan range providing the backdrop.

BUKITTINGGI
The administrative, cultural, and educational enter for the Minangkabau people, Bukittinggi is one of the loveliest, friendliest, most relaxed town in all Sumatra. Cool and sunny, nestled in mountains just south of the equator, the town is very compact with many tourist services. more details

PADANG
Padang , the centre of Minangkabau society, is not only the provincial capital of West Sumatra but also the originator of Indonesia's first "fast-food" Nasi Padang. The museum of Padang has an interesting display of historical Minangkabau artifacts and traditional items. To the south of Padang is the Kerinci Seblat National Park - an amazing 1.5 million hectares in size - where elephants, tigers and rhinos roam in a protected environment. The centerpiece of the park is the active volcano, Mount Kerinci, the second highest peak in Indonesia.

JAMBI
Jambi contains some of the largest tracks of rainforest and peat forest in Indonesia. Traditionally the home of reclusive forest nomads and coastal Malays with closer ties to their cousins a short distance across the Malacca Strait than with the rest of Indonesia, Jambi is now becoming more closely integrated with the rest of the nation through improved overland routes and the prosperity stemming from intensive oil exploration.

The Batanghari, the largest river system in Sumatra, drains the whole province. All life is concentrated on the river, with settlements stretching for a kilometer or more along the river bank but only two rows of houses deep. Huge floating shops, consisting of two lashed to tugboat cruise the river, maintaining leisurely contact between villages. No trackless forest is complete without a lost temple. Muara Jambi, the site of a Buddhist monastery complex, one of the largest in Sumatra, has been liberated from the smothering embrace of the jungle a short distance by river boat from Jambi town. An adjoining museum display the rich heritage of this mysterious civilization.

Elephants, tigers, rhinos and the elusive sun bear roam the Kerinci Seblat National Park. Covering a significant section of the Bukit Barisan range, the park contains most of Sumatran large mammals and an incredible selection of bird life, including five species of the majestic Hornbill.

PEKANBARU
Capital of Riau Province and the main city of oil-rich Riau Daratan, Pekanbaru is modern, well-laid out town on Siak River. It's the gate away to the Southeast Asia's largest and richest oil fields, an important and rapidly developing area of Sumatra. A crazy-montage of races-about 50% Minagkabau, another chunk Melayu, with asprinkling of Batak and Javanese-have converged on this busy, hot, low land city. Pekanbaru is not what you 'd imagine of an oil city - is unexpected friendly. The oil companies have made significant contributions to the city's health, communications, agriculture, recreation, education and transportation projects.

The Siak Rivers forms the northern boundary; shops, hotels, banks, and the porth lie in the north half of the city, while impressive government offices, military headquarters, and the main bus station lie in the southern part of town. Flat and surrounded by swamps and rainforest, Pekanbaru suffers from an oppressively hot and humid climate

TANJUNG PINANG
Tanjung Pinang is scurrying, fast-growing, visa-free Malay-Chinese trading center and the principal town of Insular Riau, located on Pulau Bintan 80 km south and just two hours by speedboat from Singapore.

Tanjung Pinang serves as an important commercial shopping center for such cities as Medan, Jambi, Jakarta, Palembang, and even Padang, so lots of goods are available. Tanjung Pinang lies on the south central coast of Bintan, the largest island in the Riau Archipelago (1,075 square km). It's generally flat except for several "mountains": Gunung Bintan (334 meters) and Gunung Kijang. Beside its bauxite mines, Bintan most notable assets are nearly deserted, lovely, white-sandy beaches. Unfortunately, the water in area is no longer good for diving, due to Singapore's near by oil refinery exploration and increased area oil exploration. Better diving possibilities are hulls of ships sunk during WW II of Tanjung Brakit, Pulau Mapor (east of Pulau Bintan), Pulau Mantang, Pulau Pompong, and Pulau Abang.

BANDAR LAMPUNG
Lampung, Sumatra's southernmost province, overlooks the Sunda Straits, and what remains of Krakatau - site of one of the world's largest-ever volcanic eruption- is about 30 kilometers off the southern shore. The provincial capital is Bandar Lampung, Sumatra's ferry link to the neighbouring island of Java

For detail information about Indonesia Tour Packages in Sumatra, please contact: Adventure Indonesia