Parapat, IndonesiaParapat, Indonesia (28 April 2006)


Parapat, also written Prapat, is a small town on the eastern shore of Lake Toba, about 170km from Medan, in North Sumatra. Since colonial times, Parapat has been a weekend getaway and resort town for those escaping the heat and bustle of Medan.

In my opinion, although some places in Parapat, especially along the shore, is quite scenic, on the whole, it is not a pretty town. In fact, there is no good reason to remain long at Parapat. Despite being a tourist town for generations, there is actually little in terms of attractions that is available to visitors to Parapat, and tourists are well advised to proceed to Samosir Island.

I explored Parapat with a small group of AsiaExplorers members, on our way to Lake Toba. We spent a night here before crossing over to Samosir Island the following day. While in Parapat, we stayed at the Danau Toba International Cottage, a 2-star establishment which is already one of the better hotels in Parapat. It is centrally located with rooms right at the water's edge. The creative comfort was very basic. There was no air conditioning, so it was quite warm for us at night.

Our hotel is located close to the Parapat market, so it offered us an opportunity to explore and find out how the locals live. Parapat is situated on a hilly decline, and many of its houses cling to the slope, linked by the narrow hill roads. Their zinc roofs sprout a multitude of satellite dishes. There was a small number of shophouses in Parapat, but I could not find a single shop that sells guidebooks, maps or even postcards.

For want of something better to do, we chartered a boat to go out into the lake, where we enjoyed a lovely sunset view of Parapat and Samosir Island.

On the following morning, I walked along the edge of Lake Toba to explore another section of Parapat which is separated by the hills. I saw big sections of the lake overgrown with water hyacinths. There was another market on this part of town, but it lacks any particular charm to leave a lasting impression in me.

To reach Samosir Island from Parapat, we were provided with another chartered boat that took us sightseeing in different parts of Samosir Island. Otherwise, visitors can take the ferry that goes from Parapat to Tomok, one of the main villages on the eastern coast of the island.

Map of Parapat, Indonesia

Parapat, IndonesiaLarge parasols sheltering mangoes for sale at a market in Parapat, Indonesia (28 April 2006)


Parapat, IndonesiaA small lane in Parapat (28 April 2006)


Parapat, IndonesiaJl Josep Sinaga, a hill road in Parapat (28 April 2006)


Parapat, IndonesiaLocals at the pier in Parapat (28 April 2006)

Parapat in Google Street View

Jl Josep Sinaga, Parapat (Sep 2019)

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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