Lake Maninjau

Lake Maninjau is in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Lake Maninjau is a large crater lake with several villages bordering it. It is a great place to relax, experience local rural lifestyle and watch the sunsets. The lake also supports swimming, canning and fishing. The villages themselves are small and great for escaping the hectic pace of Indonesia.

Get in
A bus from Bukittinggi takes 1½ hours and costs Rp20,000 per person as of 2017. There are also buses from Padang via Lubukbasung and Pariaman in 3 hours.

Get around
If you took the bus then there is not much to see when you arrive in front of the lake. If you have a motorbike, then you can go around the lake and enjoy the landscapes, it takes 2-3 hours. There are some possibilities for trekking and there's a waterfall by the mosque to the north of town Maninjau.

See

 * The view from the top of the road winding town to town Maninjau.
 * A blood red sunset from a beach side restaurant.
 * The surroundings of the lake where badly hit by the September 2009 Padang earthquake. Many landslides all around the lake destroyed some houses. There's still the occasional landslide damaging buildings and roads, which may make traveling around the lake troublesome.

Do

 * Rent a motorbike and go around the lake.
 * Take a bus up the mountain road and walk down a path through the forest.

Buy

 * On the way too or from Bukittinggi, stop at one of the dozens of roadside stalls in the village of Matur for a bag of roasted peanuts in the shell.

Budget under Rp130,000
There are lots of budget accommodations near the lake.



Go next

 * Padang via Lubukbasung and Pariaman 117 km (bus takes three hours).
 * Harau Valley
 * Bukittinggi by bus, two hours.