North Sumatera

North Sumatra is one of the provinces on the island of Sumatra with a population of around 14.8 million people (2020). It is the province with the largest population on the island of Sumatra and outside Java. The capital city of North Sumatra Province and the largest city is Medan. 

In the center of Medan city, you can still see the well-maintained buildings of the Dutch colonial era. During the Dutch colonial period, North Sumatra was the center of tobacco plantations which was the main commodity and source of revenue for the Dutch colonial government and became the driving force of the Dutch economy at that time. Currently, North Sumatra is the economic center on the island of Sumatra, which is supported by large plantations, especially rubber and palm oil, as well as industrial areas that absorb quite a lot of labor.

North Sumatra has very interesting and well-known tourist desination such as Lake Toba and Berastagi City. Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world with the deepest point reaching more than 505 meters. The panoramic beauty of Lake Toba can be juxtaposed with the beauty of similar areas in Europe, so it is often dubbed the Monaco of Asia.

The Nias Islands has a very good area for windsurfing, namely Hinako Island which is directly opposite the Indian Ocean. In addition, on Nias Island, especially in the village of Bawomataluwo, there is a cultural heritage that is hundreds of years old and has been proposed to become a world heritage site to UNESCO.

Medan city itself is a modern city with a very interesting combination of colonial heritage to explore. Medan City has an international airport with direct flights to and from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Jeddah, Medina, Colombo, Bangkok, Phuket and others.