Beautiful Lake Maninjau : West Sumatra Destination

Lake  Maninjau  is a volcanic lake that is located at 461,50 meter above the sea level. Its width is 99, 5 km2 with 4, 95 meter of the maximum depth. The existence of Lake Maninjau has created a folktale called "Single Sembilan" (The nine Bachelors). People living around the lake believe that those nine Bachelors are real. Once upon a time, there was a family consists of nine Bachelors and a beautiful girl named Sani. There was a man named Sagiran who loved her, they love each other until one day they were accused of doing contemptible thing by the Bachelors. In order to prove the Bachelors 'assumption, both Sani and Sagiran jumped into the cauldron of Mount Tinjau. Before jumping into the cauldron, they swore that the mount would not explode if they did that contemptible thing, otherwise, the mount would explode if they did not do it. Finally, there was a huge explosion causing a big hole that was fulfilled by water that is believed as the cause of the existence of Lake Maninjau.

The first President of Indonesia, Mr. Ir. Soekarno, batas ever visited Lake Maninjau, as an expression of his amazement, he wrote a pantun  (Malayan bait ramalan) sounded " Jika makan aria pinang, makanlah dengan sirih hijau, jangan datang ke ranah Minang, jika belum mampir ke Maninjau " which means that he suggested everyone visiting West Sumatera must visit Lake Maninjau because of its wonderful scenery.

We may compare it with other famous lakes from all over the world seperti lake in Luzern, Zurich, dan Swiss. Lake Maninjau has shinny turquoise water with the Flapping leaves of coconut trees and hills around the lake that make a wonderful view in Lake Maninjau.

Where Location and Access go to Lake Maninjau?

It is located in Tanjung Raya, in the district of Agam, West Sumatra provinsi , Indonesia.  Ada dua alternative ways to reach the destination, from the east and from the west. If you choose to start it from the west, it will be started from Padang to Lubuk Basung (the capital of Agam district) passing by Pariaman city. It spends about a half an hour day by land using any accessible public transportation or chartered car that can be easily found there. It will be started from Padang to Bukit Tinggi continued to the destination passing by Kelok 44 for approximately three hours if we choose the alternative way from east.  Many types of hotel or home stays can be easily found there. There are many restaurants offering delicious Masakan.

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The Beauty of Ranau Lake in West Lampung

Ranau Lake is the widest one in South Sumatra. It is around 8x16 km2  in width with the scene of Mount Semiung on its behind. It is also surrounded by hills and valleys. Moreover, its water is so clear.

The lake is a result of a natural process. It comes from an earthquake and volcanic explosion that created huge shale. A stream from the Mount Semiung later empties to this shale that turned it to a lake.There is natural hot water at the feet of Mount Semiung, which comes from the bottom of the lake. A waterfall, the Subik, can also be seen around the lake.

Ranau Lake Location

Lake Ranau locates on the border of the District of West Lampung, the Province of Lampung. The lake can be threaded with private car from Bandar Lampung through Kemuning and Liwa Hills. The road is already asphalted yet it curves all the way, at the border of the District of OKU precisely (on the southern part of South Sumatra Province and West Lampung District, Lampung Province). People can also reach the site with different routes. It is more or less 324 km from the city of Palembang, around 130 km from the city of Baturaja, and 50 km from Muara Dua. There are hotels and motels for rent at the sides of the lake. People, who would like to taste the beauty of the lake, are welcomed to stay in one of those places.

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