Berastagi

Berastagi is a town in North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is home to two famous volcanoes, Sibayak and Sinabung, the latter of which has been erupting quite frequently since 2013.

Understand
A small town in the main road connecting Medan with Karo highland and Lake Toba, it's a popular weekend getaway town for locals from Medan. The town is located in the Barisan mountains (Bukit Barisan), the longest mountain range in Indonesia extending from Aceh to Lampung. With a height of about 1300 meters above sea level, the annual mean level temperature is about 23° C. In the rainy season, fog may occur frequently and wind may get chilly. A light jacket or windbreaker may help. You might check the market for second hand jackets.

Get in
The nearest airport is Medan's Kuala Namu International Airport. A taxi direct from the airport takes around 3 hours. Buses also go right from the airport to Kabanjahe via Berastagi (Rp 40,000).

Berastagi is only 67 km from Medan, but the road is often jammed, particularly on weekends, so travel time is often north of two hours.

Bus Rp20,000 (Mar 2024), duration 1½-2 hr, with Pt. Almasar Indonesia shop (loket), near Citra Garden 2, south of Medan. No bus from Amplas terminal.

Renting a car is expensive, but if you are short of time and plan to continue your journey beyond Berastagi, it's a viable option. Motorbikes are also available to rent in Berastagi.

While bus can stop in Berastagi mostly on-demand, the nearest bus terminal seems to be Kabanjahe. It can be reached via local yellow minibus written Karya from Berastagi main road, south direction. From there, you can take bus to Medan, Lake Toba, and elsewhere.

By public transport
Buses service many of the surrounding villages as is the case in the rest of Indonesia. Prices are similar to those elsewhere in Indonesia. You may get to ride on the roof of local minibuses. Many run along the main road all the time. Central market is main stop.

By foot
Berastagi is a small city and walking around is possible if you stay at the city. You can cover the whole city in less than an hour. Walking to surrounding villages, though, is not recommended.

See
The tourist info is very helpful. However, booking trips is cheaper with local agencies, for example Losmen Sibayak Guesthouse (in the center, next to BRI bank).



Do


There are several waterfalls around, some can be reached with car/motorcycle, but some required trekking for several hours.

If you bring kids, you may want to visit the theme parks.

Buy
If you want to experience a local narcotic, try betelnuts from the market. You buy the leaves, a paste, tobacco and a red nut. All are mixed on the leaf, rolled and chewed. The paste is lime so it has a kick to it.

Karoland coffee is very nice, and may be purchased in shops all over town.



There are two banks with ATMs: Mandiri and BRI.

Eat
Chinese restaurants in the main street have some good eating options and hot food.

Food tents are set up along the side of the main street after dark. Many types of Indonesian foods are available, like 'Ikan Bakar' (Grilled Fish). They also sell a spicy tea called Bandrek, which is perfect on a cold mountain evening. Best with milk (Bandrek susu).

There are now several cafes along the main street. Ask to try the local coffee. Sumatra coffee is world class, and Karoland coffee, though not yet famous, is as good as it gets.

Samudera Bakery on the main street has nice bread.

For an adventure try the local specialty called babi panggang karo or BPK (grilled pork served with spicy pig blood and cooked cassava leaves), saksang (pork/beef/dog meat in a special sauce) or ikan mas arsik (sauteed goldfish with spices).



Drink
Try the palm wine known as tuak at a local tuak house. Don't be surprised if someone breaks out a kecapi and starts singing. You can also snack on snake, monitor lizard, and dog meat.

Very good quality coffee is grown in these highlands, though it's not yet well known outside of local cognoscenti. Ask for it!

Connect
Consult with your hotel if they provide free Wi-Fi hotspot. If you need an internet cafe, Berastagi city center has several. Do not expect blazing speed - you can get by for browsing and e-mail, but streaming movies will need a lot of patience.

Although in mountainous region, cellphone coverage is very good except if you find yourself in the middle of forest! Phone internet may be limited to around town only, with surrounding villages offering only 3G or lower coverage, at best.

Area code for telephone is 628.

Go next

 * Medan
 * Lake Toba

Public transport to Lake Toba/Parapat is possible but involves 3 minivan changes and takes around 5 hours. Easier to charter a taxi/minivan from the guesthouse and get there in 4 hours than whole day or Taxi Trans for Rp 500,000 (private van); like tobatransporter@hotmail.com/+6285261492668. You could also stop at the waterfall on the way; Bukit Lawang seems to be best reached via Medan.

For public transport:

Medan:

Frequent ordinary buses to Simpang Kuala/ Simpang Pos on Jln Ginting in Medan are Rp 20,000. From there you can get minibuses into central Medan for around Rp 7,000.

Samosir:

-Walk to the bus station south of the roundabout in central Berastagi and take the next bus headed towards Kabanjahe - 20 min, Rp 5,000 (you can tell the driver you're going to Parapat and this message may be passed along to the other drivers making it slightly easier to communicate).

-In Kabanjahe grab the next bus going to P. Siantar and ask to be dropped off at Sinpong Dua - 3 hours - Rp 25,000

-When dropped off at the Sinpong Dua junction, you'll need to cross the road and walk south a few minutes (just ask any local where the bus stop to Parapat is) Big bus costs Rp 15,000 and takes about an hour - drops you off right near the ferry to Samosir Island/Lake Toba

Total time takes about five hours or so including transfer time and it's best to leave Berastagi by about 10:00 in order to leave plenty of time to catch the ferry to Samosir (as of August 2015).

July 2012: For transport to Lake Toba (Rp 130,000/person; leaves at 13:30 or 14:00 and arrives in time for last ferry to TukTuk - as of August 2015), Medan and Bukit Lawang, seats in one of the tourist buses (minivan 5-7 persons; PT Bagus Holiday's Taxi) can be arranged through the local tourist agencies. This is much quicker and easier than public transport and just a little bit more expensive.