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Region & island in western Indonesia
Photo: Gelder, W. van, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
Sumatra (also Sumatera) is a region of Indonesia and the sixth largest island in the world. Wild and rugged, Sumatra has great natural wealth.
The only province to implement Sharia law, Aceh has considerable autonomy. Besides its beautiful mosques, tourists come to see and dive Pulau Weh.
An offshore region named after the two biggest islands in the group. Sandy beaches and stark rock formations
Visit historic Fort Marlborough, the Sukarno Museum, and the massive Rafflesia flower
Home to the ancient Muaro Jambi temple complex, and the jungles of Bukit Duabelas NP
Volcanoes, elephants, dolphins; surfing, hiking, sunbathing
Home to beautiful and cultural Lake Toba, surfing on Nias and Batu Islands, and orangutans at Gunung Leuser National Park
Home to Muaru Takus, 900 year old Buddhist temple complex in the jungle
Comprised of many islands east of Riau province, beach resorts and diving
Home to the lively and historic city of Palembang, unique seafood, and the jungles of Bukit Lawang
See the Harau Valley
By bus
There are bus services from Java to various parts of Sumatra. Whilst most originate from Jakarta, there are services from Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Malang.
By boat
5/3 hours (express/regular). Some passengers choose to travel by night, when it is cooler.
By train
The only useful railway service runs from Bandar Lampung in the very south of Sumatra to Palembang (400 km) and to Lubuklinggau.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Pekanbaru · Regional · PKU
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Banda Aceh is the capital of the Indonesian province of Aceh on the island of Sumatra. It was also the capital for the Sultanate of Aceh upon its foundation in the late 15th century.
Bandar Lampung is the capital city of Lampung province in the south of Sumatra island, Indonesia. Of particular note to tourism is its proximity to Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, which is one of the rare homes of the Sumatran elephant and Sumatran tiger.
Bukittinggi is a city of 117,000 people (2014) in West Sumatra. It is a city popular with tourists because of its pleasant climate and central location.
Bengkulu is the capital of Bengkulu province, which is named after the city, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. With a population of 329,000 (latest estimate for 2014), Bengkulu is the largest city of Bengkulu province.
Jambi or Kota Jambi (Jambi City), is the provincial capital city of Jambi province in eastern Sumatra, Indonesia.
Medan is a very large city on the north coast of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, and the capital and largest city of North Sumatra province. Medan isn't a tourist destination, but it's a convenient stepping stone to other places like the 'weekend getaway' Berastagi, the island of Penang, Malaysia, and the popular, beautiful crater lake, Lake Toba.
Padang is the capital city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is mostly used by tourists as an access point to Bungus Bay, the surfing sites and indigenous tribal culture of the Mentawai Islands, the inland hills of Bukittinggi, and the Kerinci Seblat National Park.
Palembang (IPA: [paˈlɛmˌbaŋ]), also called Pelembang (IPA: [pəˈlɛmˌbaŋ] or [ˈplɛmˌbaŋ]) by the locals, is Indonesia's provincial capital of South Sumatra. Situated on the lowlands where the Ogan, Komering, and Musi Rivers meet, the Palembang metropolitan area is home to more than two million people.
Pekanbaru is the capital of Riau province in Indonesia. It is a centre of oil production.
Gunung Leuser National Park is a large Indonesian national park covering 950,000 hectares in northern Sumatra, straddling the border of the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh. It is most famous for being one of the last places in the world where one can see orangutans in the wild.
The Harau Valley (or Arau Valley) is in West Sumatra in Indonesia. It is an area of natural beauty located halfway between Pekanbaru and Bukittinggi.
Kerinci Seblat National Park is an national park in Sumatra, spanning four provinces.
Krakatoa (Gunung Krakatau) is a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. It is part of Lampung province in Sumatra.
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.
Lhoknga (or Lhok Nga) is a town in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. Located just 15 km from the provincial capaital Banda Aceh, you find the quiet beaches of Lhoknga and Lampuuk.
The Mentawai Islands are a chain of islands in Indonesia off the western coast of Sumatra, recognized as having some of the most perfect surfing breaks in the world. However, because most waves break over very sharp and shallow coral reefs, only experienced surfers should attempt them.
Nias (or Pulau Nias, Nias Island) is an island the Indian Ocean off North Sumatra. Isolated yet worldly, the Nias Island chain has been trading since prehistory with other cultures, other islands, and even mainland Asia.
Tesso Nilo National Park is an Indonesian National Park in central Sumatra's Riau province. Created in 2004 to help preserve Sumatran tigers and Asiatic elephants, development of tourism within the park is still in its infancy.
Articles and travel topics about Sumatra and Indonesia.
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