"if you're looking for a peaceful place...." Danau Maninjau by asikajee

First of all, why do VT put this in North Sumatra? Lake Maninjau is in WEST Sumatra. This is a vulcanic lake, formed by a vulcanic eruption. This lake is surrounded by hills and mountains... very very beautiful. Best time to visit is april-september, you should see clear skies and magnificent sunset here. During rainy season (september-april), it is usually raining in the evening, so your chance to see great sunset is small. My pictures are taken in January 2007. I didn't get the sunset. It was raining hard in the evening when I got there. But during morning-afternon, the view was out of this world!!

Beach Inn in Lake Maninjau

People are usually came from Bukittinggi. You can take a bus from Bukittinggi (Harmoni bus), 10000 rupiahs - about 1 dollar (as in january 2007). The trip takes about 2 hours. Popular place to stay is in Bayur (around 5km after Maninjau city), where there lots of cheap homestays down the lake. My choice was Beach Inn homestay, for details pls check my hotel tips