Samosir, or Samosir Island, is a large

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

island in

Lake Toba Lake Toba (, Toba Batak: ᯖᯀᯬ ᯖᯬᯅ; romanized: ''Tao Toba'') is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of the Toba supervolcano. The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the island of ...

, located in

North Sumatra Province North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...

on the island of

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Administratively, Samosir Island is governed as six of the nine districts within

Samosir Regency Resort in Ambarita, Samosir Regency Batak Toba House in Simanindo, Samosir Regency Tomok Market, Samosir Regency Samosir Regency is an inland regency in North Sumatra. It was created on 18 December 2003 by splitting away the western district ...

. The lake and island were formed after the eruption of the Toba supervolcano some 75,000 years ago. At , Samosir is the largest island within an island and the fourth largest

lake island A lake island is any landmass within a lake. It is a type of inland island. Lake islands may form a lake archipelago. Formation Lake islands may form in numerous ways. They may occur through a build-up of sedimentation as shoals, and become t ...

in the world. It also contains two smaller lakes, Lake Sidihoni and . Across the lake on the east of the island lies the Uluan Peninsula. The island was historically linked to the mainland of Sumatra on its western part by a narrow

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

connecting the town of

Pangururan Pangururan is a town and a district of the same name in North Sumatra province of Indonesia and it is the seat (capital) of Samosir Regency, and the largest town on Samosir Island. The area of the district is 121.45 km2, and its population at the ...

on Samosir and

Tele Tele may refer to: * Television * Tele (band), a German rock/pop band * Tele Ikuru, Deputy Governor of Rivers State * Télé, Mali, a rural commune of the Cercle of Goundam in the Tombouctou Region of Mali * Telemarketing * Telegraphy * Evening ...

on mainland Sumatra, but it was split by the Tano Ponggol Canal and bridge in 1906, which was widened in 2019. Tele consequently offers one of the best views of Lake Toba and Samosir Island. One of the most important objects on the island is a Lutheran church, and opposite it is a huge hill.

Tourism

Samosir is a popular

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beau ...

due to its exotic history and the vistas it offers. The tourist resorts are concentrated in the area. The island is the centre of the

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...

culture and many of the Toba Batak traditional houses (rumah adat) remain on the island. Most of the tourist accommodations are concentrated in the small town of Tuktuk, which is located a one-hour ferry ride across the lake from the town of

Parapat Parapat is a small town and port in North Sumatra province on the edge of Lake Toba, on the Uluan Peninsula where it forms the closest point to Samosir Island. It is the primary transit point by ferry for visitors going across the lake to Samo ...

. The passenger ferry leaves from Tiga Raja harbor every hour between 8.30 and 19.00. For those running late, there is an option to take the passenger boat from Ajibata to Tomok until 8.30 pm. A car ferry leaves the mainland from Ajibata and lands in the small town of Tomok, about a 10-minute drive from Tuktuk until 9 pm. There are also other passenger ferries and individual hotels may also have ferries available.

Gallery

File:Samosir Island - Lake Toba.jpg, Samosir Island File:Graves on Samosir. Low-res.jpg, Graves on Samosir Island File:Tano Ponggol Canal 02.JPG, Tano Ponggol Canal File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een sarcofaag op Samosir Res. Tapanoeli TMnr 10016784.jpg,

Sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

in Samosir c. 1916

References

{{Authority control Batak Lake islands of Asia Islands of Sumatra Lake Toba Populated places in Indonesia Asahan Toba basin