First of all, Lake Toba is a historic and scenic destination in Sumatra, Indonesia, South East Asia. The lake emerged as a result of the largest volcanic eruption ever to occur on earth 74,000 years ago. The blast formed a caldera that was later filled in by water, flora, and fauna. It is excellent for a holiday, whether you are looking for tranquility or adventure. Second of all, Lake Toba is the biggest volcanic lake surrounded by picturesque mountains of Sumatra. The landscape presents amazing views from any direction you see it. Finally, Lake Toba offers trekking into the protected rainforest to see wildlife including tigers, elephants, and orangutans. See more.

Lake Toba is now preparing to welcome international visitors more than ever. Two recent major progresses for Lake Toba are the key driving forces for the expected growth.

First, the Government of Indonesia wants to promote Lake Toba to replicate Bali. They call Lake Toba a New Bali in a bid to see the flow of tourists to Lake Toba similar to that found in Bali. Bali has many unique attractions, so does Lake Toba. For example, culture is each destination is unique. Balinese have long been famous for centuries-aged traditions including art, fashion, ceremonial events, and belief. Lake Toba has no less of them. It has unique Batak’s culture in art, fashion, ceremonial events and belief, too. For the Government, it is a matter of development. While Bali tourism has developed to attract over 10 million tourists annually, Lake Toba is still a fifth of that. Under the Government’s plan, Lake Toba is now seeing contructions of toll roads between Medan city and the lake (cutting the distance from five hours’ drive to about two), star hotels and residential complexes, and a modern bridge connecting Samosir to the mainland. Samosir is an island in the middle of Lake Toba.

Second, Lake Toba received the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) award as being a new global geopark for its significance to the world. This success followed nine years of administration improvements, socialization processes, ecological efforts, and information management. It took that long to turn a virgin landmark into a recognized global geopark. Lake Toba formally hosts over 16 geosites that together prove what happened 74,000 years ago when Mount Toba blew and changed the whole world. Scientists have argued that the eruption killed almost the entire human race. It also left behind a large caldera and a resurgent dome in the middle. After being filled with water, the caldera turned into the legendary Lake Toba and the dome into the famous Samosir island. That island is bigger than Singapore in size. Now imagine how big and beautiful Lake Toba is. See more.

The UNESCO has designated Toba Caldera as a UNESCO Global Geopark. The caldera, or more generally known as Lake Toba, was among the 16 new UNESCO Global Geoparks announced by the organization’s executive board in July 2020. Lake Toba will atrract more visitors as a result of the award and publication.

However, the good news came amids the mounting global fight against COVID-19 pandemic that has made tourism industry suffer since early 2020. As of today (October 2020), the lake has been opened to local visitors but not yet to the international community. We will update this website accordingly when the situation has returned to normal.