TONGGING: ANOTHER MAGNIFICENT SIDE OF TOBA LAKE (with Indonesian Translation)

I'm pretty sure you all has known what Toba Lake is. But for those who haven't, then I'll tell you a little about it. Toba Lake is a Lake that's formed because mountain's exploded, so it's actually a caldera. There's an island in the middle of Toba Lake, called Samosir Island. To go to Toba Lake and cross to Samosir Island, you have to go to Parapat. There are some ships that can take you to Samosir Island. But there's another way to see this beautiful lake, you also can see Toba Lake from Tongging.

A road to Tongging and to Parapat is different, so make sure you have to know which destination you want to before you go. In this page, I wanna share you my journey to beautiful Tongging. So, to be in Tongging from Medan, you will pass some winding or curve road, all the way to Berastagi. Berastagi is a 'Lembang' in North Sumatra, especially for Medan people. Many people from Medan will go to Berastagi in weekend. But for me, it's not so 'Lembang',  Lembang is sooooo much better than Berastagi lol. From berastagi, you can see Sinabung Mountain clearly and there are some destinations if you wanna stay for a while. 

A forest in Berastagi

Beside you can see Sinabung Mountain, a road from Medan to Tongging will take you to see  orange gardens. You also can pick it by yourself, of course there's a price for that. There are some gardens owned by different person, so just choose the one you want! Then, you'll pass a really really beautiful view, it's a dike or embankment from a hill. You'll also see Sipisopiso Fall but in a small size cause it's far lol. Make sure to take a picture there!

Can you see that Sipisopiso Fall?

Finally, not far from seeing Sipisopiso Fall site, you'll immediately see Toba Lake from far but you have to continue your ride, go down that hill and you'll be in a point where you can take a picture with a village and Toba Lake as a background!! It's sooo beautiful, you choose the point! In the end, after going down that hill, you'll meet some seafood restaurant and you have to enter one of them! The restaurant is in the edge of  lake, so you can eat while enjoying the view of Toba Lake. My last tip is you have to make sure that you'll be in Halal restaurant as long as you're in North Sumatra, so be careful and wish you'd be there soon!

I told you it's really really beautiful isn't it?

Toba Lake from the restaurant

Gue yakin kalian pasti udah tau Danau Toba. Tapi buat kalian yang belum, gue bakal nyeritain sedikit. Danau Toba itu danau yang terbentuk karena gunung api yang meledak, jadi sebenarnya ini adalah kaldera. Ada pulau di tengah Danau Toba, yang disebut Pulau Samosir. Buat pergi ke Danau Toba dan menyeberang ke Pulau Samosir, kalian harus pergi ke Parapat. Ada beberapa kapal yang bisa bawa kalian ke Pulau Samosir. Tapi ada cara lain buat ngeliat danau ini, kalian juga bisa liat Danau Toba dari Tongging.

Jalan ke Tongging dan Parapat beda, jadi pastiin kalian harus tahu tujuan mana yang kalian pengen sebelum pergi. Di halaman ini, gue pengen sharing tentang perjalanan gue ke Tongging. Jadi, buat ke Tongging dari Medan, kalian bakal ngelewatin beberapa jalan berliku, sepanjang jalan menuju Berastagi. Berastagi adalah 'Lembang' di Sumatera Utara, khususnya untuk orang Medan. Banyak orang dari Medan akan pergi ke Berastagi di akhir pekan. Tapi bagi gue, Berastagi bukan 'Lembang', Lembang jauh lebih baguss daripada Berastagi lol. Dari berastagi, kakian bisa liat Gunung Sinabung dengan jelas dan ada beberapa tujuan kalo pengen singgah di Berastagi. 

Selain kalian bisa liat Gunung Sinabung, jalan dari Medan ke Tongging juga bisa bikin kalian liat kebun jeruk. Kalian juga bisa metik sendiri, tapi pasti ada harganya haha. Ada beberapa kebun yang dimiliki sama orang yang beda, jadi pilih aja yang kalian mau! Trus, kalian juga bakal ngelewatin pemandangan yang baguuuus bangeet, yaitu adalah igir bukit. Kalian juga bakal liat Air Terjun Sipisopiso tapi ukurannya kecil soalnya dari jauh lol. Pastiin kalian foto-foto disitu! 

Akhirnya, ga jauh dari spot foto Air Terjun Sipisopiso tadi, kalian bakal liat Danau Toba dari jauh tapi tetep, kalian harus ngelanjutin perjalanan, nurunin bukit daaan kalian bakal ada di titik di mana kalian pengen foto yang di belakangnya ada desa dan Danau Toba!! Baguuuuus banget, kalian pilih sendiri lokasi fotonya dimana, sesuai selera! Pada akhirnya, habis nurunin bukit, kalian bakal ketemu sama beberapa restoran seafoods dan wajib buat makan di salah satunya! Restorannya di pinggir danau, jadi kalian bisa makan sambil nikmatin pemandangan Danau Toba. Tip terakhir dari gue adalah harus mastiin kalo kalian makan di restoran Halal selama di Sumatera Utara, jadi hati-hati dan semoga kalian bisa kesana secepatnya aamiin!