Toba Lake from Legend to Tourism Object

Toba Lake

This is the volcanic lake about 3,000 square meters, located at North Sumatera, Sumatera Island, Indonesia. In the middle of this lake, lay a large island called Samosir. This island is volcanic too. The folk language said, Toba from the word Loba mean stingy, niggardly or miserly. But, the legend beyond these lake and island is interesting.

The people whose live nearby this lake said, a long time ago, there live a very poor-orphan fisherman, Toba is his name. Once day, Toba was fishing at the river and got a golden fish. This fish was very beautiful. When, the fisherman touched the fish, the fish transfigure become a very beautiful woman. The legend said she was a princess and cursed become a fish. The princess as thanks for the fisherman, she agreed to married with him. With one condition, never talking about what she was…….After a year of married, they were had a boy, and they named Samosir. Samosir was very cute boy but had a very bad attitude, never satisfy about the food. He was eat and eat, again and again. Samosir also eat everything. One day, Toba knowing his boy was never stop eat, and then Toba was going mad, angry and yelling to the boy “what a fish boy…!!!”

The mother (the princess from fish) heard her husband yell. She was very sad because her husband violated the promise. She going to her son and told to Samosir to go to the higher ground and said because of samosir’s father broke the promise, she will be transfigure again become a fish once more. After Samosir reach the highest ground, the fish princess pray to the God to revive her again. After the pray, the heavy rainfall come to the earth, flooded everything except the ground when Samosir stand. The flooded become a lake called Toba and the ground becomes an island called Samosir Island.

In the fact, the lake and the island was formed from volcano eruption about 75,000 years ago, which was clustered from Mount Tambora eruption. The combination from the legend and the nature effect, make the Toba lake become a very good tourism object and of course the icon of North Sumatera tourism object.

For decades a magnet from regional and foreign visitors alike, Toba has developed into a full-featured highland resort while retaining the rustic charm and relaxed ambiance that define Toba's attraction. Toba lake formed by the folk-legend and by a stupendous prehistoric volcanic explosion, make this lake is the largest is Southeast Asia and one of the deepest and highest in the world. The drama of that cataclysmic birth persist in 500 meter cliffs dropping into the blue-green waters, Surrounded by steep, pine covered sloped, the climate is fresh and pleasant, with just enough rain to support the lush vegetation.

Samosir Island

On the other side, Samosir, the large island in the center of the lake, is the home of the Toba batak, considered -at least by the Toba Batak - as the original Batak tribe. One of the prominent ethnic groups in the Indonesia, Bataks living in distant cities will regularly return to their ancestral island. Even people not sharing the spiritual and historic connection with the island often return to Samosir, drawn by the enchanting natural beauty and fascinating culture.

Samosir Island
(photo from : samosir.co.id)

Inside the large island of Samosir, there a three megalithic sites on which bear ancient cultures and also as the witness to the glory of Batak history. The three consist of 300-year-old stone seats and benches arrayed in a circle. The first set of ruins was used as a conference area for Batak kings or Raja. At the second site, the rajas would sit in judgment of a criminal or enemy prisoner. If the accused were found guilty, the assembly would move to the third set, which features the ghastly addition of a central stone execution block. The very wonderful are, there are two lakes on the Samosir island is called sidihoni and Aek Natonang. That's why the villages called "The Lakes beyond the Lake"

The Three Megalithic Sites Inside Samosir
(photos from : samosir.co.id)

Whatever Toba and Samosir formed, whenever they formed...
Toba Lake and Samosir Island are very good landscape and wonderful tourism object.

References :
Wikipedia.org
Indonesia.co.id
volcanodiscovery.com
samosironline