Parapat has developed for and with tourism. It has a huge selection of hotels and restaurants but, unfortunately, the last five years have been very quiet and many establishmnet have closed down, either temporary or for good. Most tourist are local or
from neighboring countries. Westerners normally just pass through on their way to Pulau Samosir in Lake Toba. The town offers scenic surroundings, good eating, and souvenir shopping. As it is only a 3-4 hours ride from Medan the weekends are rather lively. Especially the Saturdays where there is market day in Parapat and from the surrounding countryside. They bring in coffee, tea, ginger, clove and cinnamon. There is also a minor market day on Thursday. The town has three major parts. One area is along the highway with the bus terminal and where many restaurants are open 24 hours. The main part is on the western. Here are most hotels, the market, and the passenger boats for Tuktuk. The third part is to the south and is called Ajibata. it is administratively a part of the regency Toba Samosir. Here are the car ferry and passenger boats for Tomok. There is also a market here, but many roads have recently changed names and there is confussion in addresses. There are many souvenir shops along the road down to the market. "Antiques", hand woven blankets (ulos), carvings, T-shirts, ceramics, cheap clothes, souvenirs are plentiful. It can be cheaper to shop on Samosir, though.
There are some beaches in Parapat. Swimming, however, is much better off Samosir. The Ajibata beach beyond the car ferry harbous has been improved, but is still not very nice. The public beach on the Parapat peninsula is nice, but very crowded with food stalls, paddle boats, etc. The varied landscape of Parapat creates many nice views. One great view is from the camping ground on Dolok Bangun northof town. Also the hill Dolok Pangulu, in the middle of the town on the Peninsula, has nice views.
Out on the point of the Peninsula is a beautiful and well-kept old Dutch-built villa. The Dutch kept the Indonesian President to be, Ir. Soekarno, here under house arrest for two months in 1948. It is now a guesthouse for government people. The view over the lake is also nice from here.
Monkey Forest
Approximately 3-4 km outside Parapat along the road towards Medan is protected forest
with many monkeys, mainly short tailed macaques. It be came a popular hangout of monkeys when a local person started to feed them. He used to call teh monkey with a horn. After a while it became a popular attraction and the local government took over. Then came the economic crisis and the tourist disappeared.. The first person was asked to take over again. Today not many people visit the monkeys and they have become rather wild. They live in the area and are often visible. The location is in a sharp bend where there are both a new and an old bridge.
Batu Gantung
Once upon a time there was a king with a very beautiful. Many rich princes came to propose to her. The family of the princes chose the prince, whom the princess preferred, and invited his family to negotiate about dowry and wedding arrangements. However, the King secretly preferred another man to marry his daughter, his aunt's son, the Pariban. As the Pariban was a relative he often visited the palace and gradually he fell in love with the princess. His family was very happy to hear that. The Pariban discussed the matter with all his relatives, including the King and finally the King changed his mind and chose the Pariban for his daughter. The princess was utterly shocked, but the King did not want to change his mind again. Everyone showed up the wedding party, except the princess. They had to 
search for her and eventually she was found, The princess together with her dog and her cat turned into stones. They can today be seen as reliefs on a mountainside near Lake Toba below the monkeys forest. It can only be seen from the Lake.
Girsang I Waterfall
This waterfall is approximately 10 metres high and maybe 3-4 metres wide. It falls into a natural pool where it is nice to take a bath. Above the fall there is a forest and below it are rice paddies. It is located 12 km from Parapat towards Balige.
Lake Toba Festival
THe regency government arranges teh yearly Lake Toba Festival for one week in June or July. There are cultural performances and traditional sports, for example Solu Bolon racing (traditional big canoes).
Lagundi/Sorake wave in 1960s. Lagundi became World famous for its long and perfect wave. International competitions have been held regularly since 1993. For those who never have tried surfing there are surf instructors available. There is a nice surf observation tower in front of Dolin's. Boards for rent are available in several places. here are also board repair facilities in Sorake.
The best surfing season is normally June-July, sometimes until October. During this season the surfing is further out and surfers access through a passage in the reef called "the keyhole". Outside high season there are also times with the extra big waves, for example around days near full moon. In other months the surfing is normally done in front of the observation tower. These months are good for beginners and learners. The surf called "The Point" or "Sorake Wave" is in front of the observation tower. It is a right hand surf with long, perfect waves with very barrels. It is easy to paddle out through the natural channel, the Keyhole. In high season he waves are 6-14 feet high. "The Indicator", in front of Tolong Menolong is dangerous right hand surf breaking directly on the reef at low tide. It is suitable only for very experienced people and only at high tide. The waves are 4-6 feet high. "The Machine" fas iside the Bay has a left hand surf. If Sorake Wave is big, the Machine is also big. The waves are 4-6 feet high and only suitable at high tide. "Sobatu" (also called Deep Jungle Open) is a right hand surf with waves up to 15-16 feet breaking directly on the reef. It is only suitable at high tide and only for very experienced surfers. Pantai Walohiu has also surfing. Hilisataro and Hiliduha (one beach with two names) 10 km to the northeast of Teluk Dalam has both left hand and right hand surf. At most they become 4 feet high. The location is not hard to find, but using a surfing guide can be good idea.
Pulau Asu and Pulau Bawa are popular among surfers and are unknown to have the biggest waves in Nias, even though the waves are not as perfect as in Lagundi. The surfing season is normally between half April and the end of October. Asu has a left hand surf and Bawa right hand surf. The surfing is good in Asu when the winds come from the south and the west. In Bawa it is the opposite, i.e good when the winds come from North. The waves are tall, up to 15 feet. The waters are rather shallow and dangerous. Out of season the waves are small and less dangerous. The waves are intense and many surfboards have been consumed here. There are no surfboards for rent, except a few odd ones.
When asking surfers who have been to Pulau-pulau Batu if the surfing there is good or not, they say it is bad, but they do come back and they say for a long time! Places normally visited by surfers are: Pulau Sibolo, its west coast, Pulau Sibaranun, its southern end and its west coast, Pulau Sipika, its southern point, Pulau Makele, its southern point, Ujung Duru, southern Tanah Bala, Tanjung Tanemukinu, southern end of Tanah Bala, Ujung Hati southern end of Tanah Bala. Best surfing is from May/June to Sepetember, during the western season. In January to May there are not many good waves for surfing. There are no surfboards for rent so you would have to bring your own.
people here are the staff pf a navy post and a lighthouse. The sea is clear, but can be influenced by currents, tide and weather. Divers in Medan go here regularly and diving is good except for September to January when the waves are big. It could well be that this island has the best diving in all of North Sumatera. Pulau Berhala is well guarded and poison and bomb fishing do not occur here. The island is hilly and covereed with virgin forest, nice for small treks. There is no formal accommodation on Pulau Berhala, divers normally erect a camp on the beach.
Pulau Poncan Gadang
Pulau-Pulau Batu (Pulau Tello)
Sungai Asahan is according to professional rafters one of the best rivers for white water sports in the world and maybe the most beautiful of them all. Asahan is a tough rafting river. The dams of PT. Inalum make the water flow constant, app. 100-130 cubic meters per second. The part used for rafting have been graded to 3-4. the other parts are very dangerous. Rivers are normally graded on a scale from 1-6 where grade 1 is moving water and grade 6 is extremely high risk. Grade 4 is the highest acceptable for commercial rafting. The Asahan river was discovered as a rafting river in the beginning of the 1990ies, however not yet known by many. Asahan is a firsty class river for experienced kayakckers, but maybe too wild for commercial kayaking.
monkeys, Hornbills, Rusa deer, Barking deer and wild boar. Locals claim that there even are a few tigers in the forest. Some kilometers below Hula-huli the river goes through a very steep and narrow canyon., the so-called "Honeymoon Canyon". There is a powerful drop in this canyon. "he Honeymoon Canyon", making commercial runs through it impossible.
recommended for others than advanced to expert paddlers. The second part, called "The Hula-huli Run", starts at the bridge and goes down to Hula-huli 2 km downstream. It takes 20 minutes. It is graded 3-4. The third stretch, called "The Lower Run" starts in the end of the "Honeymoon Canyon" near Batu Mamak and goes all eh through incredibly beautiful canyons. The stretch has 2 long rapids and some shorter ones, graded 3-4. The starting pint can only be reached by walking 30 minutes. This walk leads through the jungle and via a narrow suspension bridge over the river. An alternative is to raft only the first 7 km with 2 rapids, which takes 1.5 hours. The Lower Run offers time to see the abundence of birds and monkeys alongside the beautiful jungle. Between the end of the Hula-huli run and the entry to the Honeymoon Canyon is so-called "Nightmare", a drop of 3-4 meters with a water speed of 40-50 km/hr. It is graded 6.The "Shit Creek", grade 3, is where the small river Ais Kuais enters Sungai Asahan. There is small waterfall and a nice clear pool in this area.
The river Sungai Bahorok that flows through Bukit Lawang is not big enough for rafting, but good enough for kayaking. However there are other more suitable rivers for this, there are several organizers of rafting in Bukit Lawang. Most rafting is done on Sungai Wampu. The lower part from Bukit Lawang down to Bahorok (grade 2-3) is an easy rafting nice to beginners. The first 30 minutes of the stretch has several easy rapids, nice surroundings and also a hot spring. The upper part of Sungai Wampu is in Karo land and there the river is called Lau Liang. The river goes through a deep canyon leading up to a big waterfall. The river is called Lau Liang ("Dog River"), as only a dog can survive it. This part of the river is not used for rafting though. Rafting in Lau Liang is normally done on a 3-day trip, of which 2 days are spent on the river. The rafting starts in Bintang Meriah and ends in Lemang, before the fall.
Meriah and last for 8 hours to Desa Liman. The river flows through orchards and not virgin rain forest. A longer combined rafting-trekking-jeep safari tour lasts for three days and brings you to Bohorok National Park. A part of the distance is traversed with 4-wheel drive cars along very bad roads. You will sleep in tents in the forest.
Lau Debuk-debuk
sit and let the water flow over oneself. You can walk over through the river. It is only knee deep, if it has not been raining
Sipiso-piso Waterfall
and 6 km before Tongging coming from Merek. Another more adventurous way to see the fall is to trek along the river from Tongging until the fall. It is possible to bathe below the fall. The water is clean and nice, but has passed through villages before the fall so do not drink it. From here are stairs leading up to the viewpoint. This waterfall of course has a legend, it is a long story, but in short it all happened when a dragon in the river tried to make his way to Lake Toba. During his attempts he got into a big fight with the creature that ruled in the lake. Their fight was si violent that a ravine was created. This is where the Sipiso-piso falls down today.
Brastagi is a former Dutch hill resort, 66 km away from Medan, at an altitude of 4,600 feet, is a cool and pleasant town. It is an ideal starting and ending point for travels in Sumatera as it is near the main Sumateran entry point of Medan. There are hotels of all standards, moneychangers, and restaurants serving both Indonesian and western style food, nice scenery, and very friendly and polite people. No guides and salesman will bother you when walking town.
picturesque. It is a narrow, winding road through pine forest, terraced plantations and verdant meadows in the Karo hills, with hardly any people around. On the way, at the tip of the lake, is a waterfall named Sipiso Piso (Razor's Edge). It is a tourist spot with food stalls and souvenir shops.
a tourist that had been for months, eating only fruits and vegetable and soya curd for protein.
visit such a village that is not a tourist object if one wants to see normal everyday life of the Karo people.
Bahorok is the administrative unit that contains Bukit Lawang. Indonesians normally say Bahorok when they refer to Bukit Lawang. The area of Bahorok has many plantations like cocoa, palm oil, natural rubber, oranges, etc. Bukit Lawang started as an orangutan rehabilitation center, but quickly developed into a major tourist destination of North Sumatera. Without tourist there would not be much in Bukit Lawang. Tourists come to see orangutans, it is a convenient first stop for travels in Sumatera with lots of activities, nice nature, tourist adapted food, convenient accommodation, and friendly people. Here one can get adjusted to Sumatera before onward travels. Bukit Lawang and its many restaurants and accommodation are nicely located along the clear and clean Bahorok river on the outskirts of the huge national park, Gunung Leuser. Besides
seeing orangutans, Bukit Lawang has has a long range of other out-door activities. Bukit Lawang is easily accessible and has a huge selection of losmens, hotels and restaurants that make it a very lively and touristy place. On Sundays's it's particularly crowded as hundreds of Indonesians come to picnic along the river. It is perfect for relaxing in comfort and for families. It is easy to see orangutans, even if you are in a hurry.
clouded, leopards and orangutans are found within one area. Leuser has two major river system, two major volcanoes and three lakes. The Alas river cuts the park in the western and an eastern half. The driest months are February and June/July and the wettest March/April and September to
November.455 of all recorded plant species in the West Indo-Malayan region are found in Leuser. There are around 700 animal species living in the park. Between 300 and 400 them are birds. About 8,500 plant species grow in the park, including the biggest flower in the world, Raflesia Arnoldi. Two million people depend on the area as their water resource.
Orangutan Rehabilitation
The operations is partly financed by entranced. Orangutans arriving to the center are quarantined, treated for diseases, and trained to survive to the wild. When the training is finished they are released near the center where they are fed twice daily. The diet is monotonous in order to make them start looking for other food and eventually become independent of humans. The feedings are major tourist attraction.
Lake Toba 
actually a peninsula and not an island, as it is divided from Sumatera only by a narrow man-made canal, the Pusuk Buhit Canal between Samosir and mainland, onece made by the Dutch. Samosir is a perfect place to relax and cool down. It is beautiful and scenic and very relaxing. Accommodation is extremely cheap, but food rather expensive (according to Indonesian standard). In the end it evens out compared to other major tourist destinations in Indonesia. The island is small enough for visiting everything of interest from any place you choose to stay in.
ferry from Ajibata or Parapat. One of the main inhabited areas on the island, Tuktuk has been described as Samosir's answer to Bali's Kuta Beach. This popular destination offers scenic views at very low prices. People come here to relax, enjoy the sceneries, eat well and cool down fronm tougher travelling in other areas. Culture is available on certain days and in other nearby villages anyway. Western tunes have replaced the harmonic popular songs of the well-singing Bataks. The whole little peninsula is full of restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops. 
There are a few discotheques, bars and hotels, one of the best hotel in Tuktuk is Toledo Inn.
Ambarita
performances. The market and the boat landing are 150 metres before the Museum, down to the right coming from Tuktuk. There are some nice local coffee shops here. Opposite Simanindo is the island Pulau Maulau, or more commonly known Pulau Tao. There is a restaurant on the island. The island is 800 metres from the boat landing below the 
museum but you need a boat to get there. Several boats go there from the hotels on Tuktuk. The clan Maulau owns the island according to adat (traditions), but the clan Sidauruk is living there and they built the restaurant and the hotel and changed the name to Pulau Tao. The Maulau clan protested and after negotiations an agreement was reached in June 2001. The islands belong to the Maulau clan, but is managed by Sidauruk. The proper name is Pulau Maulau.
Pangururan
springs an the mainland. The town itself is nicely located along the shore of Lake Toba. There are a few nice old colonial buildings to admire. Besides the hot springs a visit to the summit of Pusuk Buhit can also be nice.
