Lake Toba is the world’s biggest volcanic lake surrounded by picturesque mountains of Sumatra, Indonesia. It 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. The landscape has amazing views from any direction you see it. Therefore, Lake Toba has become a historic and scenic destination in South East Asia. It is excellent for a holiday, whether you are looking for tranquility or adventure.

On top of that, Lake Toba offers trekking experience into the protected rainforest to see wildlife including tigers, elephants, and orangutans. Two out of only three species of orangutans live near Lake Toba. See more.

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

First, the Government of Indonesia has been promoting 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 has received the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) award as being a 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. As a result, Lake Toba formally hosts over 16 geosites that together prove what happened 74,000 years ago when Mount Toba blew and changed the entire 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.

Finally, Lake Toba expects a surge in visitor arrivals following the successful defeat of COVID-19 through a mandatory vaccination program. The first wave of large visitors may come as early as 2022. Overall, about 50% of the country’s population (270 million) has received at least the first dose of the anticoronavirous vaccines. Two-third or 67% of it has been fully vaccinated. In other words, the country has so far injected the required two doses of the jabs into 91.2 million people (source: Our World in Data, November 26, 2021). Currently, international visitors are still subject to a 5-day quarantine procedure upon arrivals. Once the requirement has been lifted, Lake Toba will once again be free for direct access from both of its international airports. See more.