Danau Maninjau Travel Guide

A great place to get lost and lose one's self in is at the remote Danau Maninjau in West Sumatra. A violent volcanic eruption 52,000 years ago gave way to today's peaceful Danau Maninjau or Lake Maninjau, which sits on the lips of a stratovolcano. The ethnic tribes Maninjau and Bayur have turned the lake into a village of picturesque tree gardens, karambas (floating fishing cages), and sleepy bungalows beside rice fields and waterways that dabble as accommodations and early-morning swimming pools for the soul-searching traveler. The waft of spice trees like cinnamon, coffee, nutmeg and cardamom fill the lake and its surrounds. When not...