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Volcanic lake located in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Lake Toba (Danau Toba), on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, is the largest volcanic lake in the world. Samosir island, in the lake, is an island within an island. It is in North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara).
The nearest point from Medan.
The most popular gateway to Lake Toba and Samosir island.
Increasingly become popular places to visit. The Silangit airport is located at here.
The only land bridge connecting mainland and Samosir island and the mountain of Pusuk Buhit are at here.
The big island in the middle of the lake.
By car
There are 2 routes to reach Lake Toba from Medan:
By bus
Parapat bus terminal is "Terminal Sosor Saba Parapat" with an ALS shop "Loket Bus ALS Parapat" (to Medan, Bukittinggi, Padang) and not much else.
By taxi
By train
There is no direct train to Lake Toba. The nearest train station is at Pematang Siantar 50 km north of Parapat.
By ferry
Local transport around the lake takes the form of boats (cheaper, school boats with limited schedules and more expensive public boats that operate throughout the day).
By public transport
It may be obvious but just remember there are no taxis around Lake Toba. Public buses exist, but there is no specific schedule.
By bicycle
Exploring whole lake toba is very time consuming, so mostly is limited to surrounding area only.
By foot
Exploring by foot is limited to surrounding area only. Exercise caution for traffic and beware for pickpocket / robber especially at night time.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Beringin · International · KNO
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