Lake Maninjau

A trip to a beautiful lake is always a nice idea to spend a relaxing vacation, take a break from our busy days while enjoying the view, hear the water, and feel the fresh air could be the best way to forget about our daily activities for a while.


This time we'll take you to one of the most amazing lakes in Indonesia, Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra. lake Maninjau is a vulcanical lake which lies 461 m above sea level with 100m2 wide and maximum depth of 500m. The location is not far from Bukit Tinggi, a fascinating city which is also one of the main tourist destinations in Indonesia with so many point of interests you can find.

By the lake there is a village called Maninjau Village. This village is well known because it was the birth place of two famous figures in Indonesia, Buya Hamka (a fenomenal literati), and Rangkayo Rasuna Said (one of Indonesia's national hero), to honor this woman there is a street in Jakarta that named after her.

Visiting this lake, you're gonna be pompered by it's fresh air and stunning view of the lake that has clear water. But unfortunately tourists are not allowed to swim in this lake, that's because the local people here hold a very strict moslem tradition so you cannot wear a swimsuit or dresses that looks too open. But you can swim in the resorts or hotels around this lake that has swimming pool facilities though.


Beside in the lake area you can also find many good accomodations in Bukit Tinggi, this might be a good idea because by staying here the next day you can visit various tourist attractions in the city. You can also find many restaurants serving various kind of food, but usually you can only find European or other foreign food in hotel restaurants. Be careful if you would like to try traditional cuisines of this area, West Sumatra is known for its delicious but spicy food. So if you don't have a very strong stomach you better ask carefully first before you make your order. There are also many stores here selling high quality Songket which is a traditional woven of West Sumatra that is so famous around the world.

To get to this place you have to take a flight to Padang, then continue to Bukit Tinggi by land, there are a lot of public transportations that can take you from Padang to Bukit Tinggi then to Lake Maninjau.