RANAH MINANG
(Land of
Minangkabau People)
Land, Culture and
Tourism
Province of West Sumatra is one of the main
provinces in Sumatra Island, Indonesia. This region is exceptionally beautiful,
with a perfect blend of hills, mountains, valleys, and canyons. Their social
life truly unique and Minangkabau are the main tribes inhabiting this province.
Generally People of Minang is an adherent firm of Islam, however, does not mean
that no other religion living in the land of Minangkabau. They named the land
of their birth as Ranah Minang, an appellation of love. Yes, Ranah Minang is a
lovely land, no doubt.
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| Ranah Minang, Landscape & Tradition |
Minang people also have a great original architectural
art; Rumah
Gadang a superb of traditional art
building, not only interesting in the architectural form of the building but
also there is a deep philosophy inside.
In terms of culinary artwork Minang people is also fantastic, Minang people is one of the most contributor to the large family of Indonesian national food. Rendang, delicious foods made of beef was newly established by CNN as the most delicious food of the world, through a survey that they were forged.
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| Tourist Train on the Edge of Singkarak Lake |
Lake Maninjau, Lake Maninjau is another volcanic lake in
Indonesia with incredible beautiful scenery. The lake is located in Tanjung
Raya district, Agam regency, West Sumatra Province. One of the unique related
to this lake is the forty-four successive sharp bends on the road leading to
the lake, named Kelok 44. Name of the Kelok 44 was taken from the number
of hairpin bends to the location of the lake that are 44 (forty-four) pieces in
a row.
Ngarai Sianok, West Sumatra also has a canyon named Ngarai Sianok
located in the border town of Bukittinggi, a part of Agam regency. This is a
long and winding valley, outstretched from the southern border town of Koto
Gadang crossing Sianok Anam Suku village then ended in Palupuh district. Sianok
canyon has very beautiful scenery and became one of the mainstays of the
provincial tourist spot. Sianok Canyon with a ravine of about 100 m deep
stretches along 15 km with a width of about 200 m. This canyon is part of geological
symptom, a geological fault that separates Sumatra Island in half-lengthwise
(named Semangko fault). In the bottom of the canyon, there is Batang Sianok, a river
that flow along the canyon. ( ‘batang’ Means River, in Minangkabau language ).
Batang Sianok now can be forded by canoes and kayaks; there is an operator to
organize this adventure tour. On the riverbanks, we can find rare plants such
as the giant flower Rafflesia Arnoldi and some wild faunas likes long-tailed
monkeys, gibbons, hoops, deer, wild boar, leopard, and tapirs.
Lembah Harau (Valley of Harau), located in the 50 Koto district (about 2 hour road trip from Bukittinggi City), Lembah Harau is a scenic valley with granite cliffs as high as 80 feet as the walls. In this area, you can find many waterfalls, fresh air, and rural atmosphere including its daily living of Minang community one of the main tribes of Indonesia.
The City of Bukittinggi, Bukittinggi is one of the main towns in West Sumatra province, with the distance of about 2.5 hours from Padang, the provincial capital. Bukittinggi is located on a hill and built by the Dutch colonial as a fortress during Padri war. Ngarai Sianok is located on the border town of Bukittinggi, however, this city also have some other interesting tourist attractions.
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| One side of Sikui Island |
Pulau Sikuai (Sikuai Island), Tourism activities in West Sumatra is
dominated by mainland tour, however, you still can enjoy the coastal and marine
tourism. There is some interesting tourist spot in the western part of the
province. One of them is Sikuai Island this is the nearest marine tourist location
from the mainland city of Padang, only takes about 1 hour by sea travel from
the Port of Muara – Padang city. However, if you want to more serious for a beach
adventure in Ranah Minang and surrounding, then the Mentawai Islands is the
proper location, about this islands I will write detailed in my next article.
The City of Padang, the City of Padang is the capital and the
main entrance of West Sumatra province. This city is located on the west coast
of Sumatra, with a total area about of 694.96 km ² or equivalent to 1.65% of
the entire area of West Sumatra province. The city of Padang has a coastline of
84 km with about 19 pieces of small islands surrounded of the city (Sikuai Island
included).
Hilly areas can be found on the eastern and southern part of the city. Bukit Lampu, Gunung Padang, Bukit Gado-Gado, and Pegambiran Hill are the famous hilly location name.
Ethnically, the majority population of Padang is Minangkabau ethnic; of course, this is a common, because West Sumatra province is the origin area of this ethnic. However, like other cities in Indonesia, Padang also inhabited by various ethnic groups such as Javanese, Batak, Chinese and others.
This time, Padang City is preparing himself to be one of the Indonesia main tourist destination, they would also want to be a significant tourist destination in the region, with a diverse topography from coastal areas, lowland areas up to the mountainous areas, of course, Padang promising colorful variations of natural scenery just in one location. In addition to natural scenery, Padang has various unique traditions; rich with historical relics and has amazing traditional foods. However, all the values still need a professional tourist management touch to develop Padang to be the word class tourist destination.
