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West Nusa Tenggara has some beautiful beaches, one of them is Lariti Beach. This beach is quite unique because it has a split sea phenomenon. This split sea is formed due to receding sea water so that land appears connecting the east side of Lariti Beach with a small island opposite, namely Paliman Island. Lariti Beach is located in Soro village, Lambu district, Bima regency. From the center of Bima city, the distance is 48 kilometers and it takes 1 hour and 26 minutes to drive.
The land that divides the sea at Lariti Beach is 150 meters long and 7 meters wide. You can pass through this split sea at certain hours, such as 10:00 to 15:30 Central Indonesian time. Besides enjoying the sensation of a split sea, on this beach you can also play on the white sand, or feel the blue Lariti sea water by swimming. The sea waves are quite calm, making it safe to swim on this beach. The scenery on this beach is also very beautiful, especially at sunrise and sunset, so please don't miss it to capture its natural beauty.
Lariti Beach is open every day for 24 hours. To travel there, you must pay an entrance ticket fee of 5 thousand rupiah or less than 1 US dollar. Lariti Beach is equipped with various facilities, such as parking lots, food stalls, gazebos, bathrooms, and seats. For those of you who want to spend the night here, you can camp at the camping ground.
Pulo Sibandang Tourism Village was inaugurated as one of the top 50 best tourist villages in Indonesia in the 2024 Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI) on July 4. The village, formed by a collaboration of three villages -- Sibandang Village, Papande Village, and Sampuran Village -- is one of the 16 sites of the Toba UNESCO Global Caldera Geopark. Pulo Sibandang Tourism Village has a natural abundance, surrounded by the eye-pleasing blue water of Lake Toba. While traveling there, you can immediately see the fertile land on Sibandang Island, an outcome of the Mount Toba eruption. The land there is planted with various plants, such as udang mango, the small-sized mango typical of Pulo Sibandang Tourism Village.
Pulo Sibandang Tourism Village is located in North Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra. From Silangit Airport, getting to the Pulo Sibandang area only takes about 45 minutes by land. While arriving at the village, you will immediately see the expanse of the waters of Lake Toba. Besides enjoying the lake view, you can go sailing a wooden boat (solu), watch traditional dances, go trekking, and go cycling. You can also join the udang mango agrotourism. It has a sweet taste, with thin flesh. Apart from eating mangoes, tourists can also see the first mango trees, hundreds of years old, planted by the Dutch.
One of the villages on Pulo Sibandang, Papande village, is a producer of the woven cloth of Harungguan ulos. According to legend, Harungguan ulos were once only worn by kings. Harungguan ulos clothes that are woven by the community still use traditional looms and natural dyes. In Pulo Sibandang Tourism Village, you can watch people weaving Harungguan ulos.
Besides that, you can also learn the history of the Sibandang Kingdom. There are traces of the kingdom that still stands on Pulo SIbandang, such as the stone fort and Ruma Bolon which was the king's palace at that time. Some royal-era furniture is also still found in Ruma Bolon.
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North Sumatra Province has many tourism destinations both mountain and marine tourism. One of the destinations in North Sumatra is Siba Island located near Belawan City. Although it is on the seashore and takes quite a long time from the downtown of Medan or about one hour by motor vehicles, Belawan is still classified as an administrative area in Medan City with sub-district status. There are several tourism destinations in Belawan; one of them is Siba Island. This Island is located in Sei Baharu Village, Hamparan Perak District, Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra.
Initially, this location was a fish farming area, which was the main livelihood of the local residents in Belawan. However, a local resident named Syarifuddin Siba took the initiative to manage the place to be a tourist-friendly area. The island then became popularly known as Siba Island. The facilities on this island are quite complete, such as a water park, restaurant, and even a resortoraccommodation. There is also a hall room to accommodate various corporate and social events. At Siba Island, you can enjoy the rare mangrove forest scenery and engage in various water activities, such as speed boating, banana boating, or simply fishing on the calm seaside.
To reach Siba Island, you can depart from the special pier of Siba Island Resort located on Jl. Serma Hanafiah Belawan, next to Marina Restaurant. Speed boats are provided by the Siba Island management at a rate of Rp70,000 or 4,32 US dollar, for a round trip, taking about 30 minutes. During the trip to the island, you can enjoy the stunning green views, especially the mangrove forest that grows along the coast.
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For beach lovers, we recommend you to visit Sugi Island, the Maldives of Indonesia. The island shares a maritime border with Singapore and has exclusive resorts with 90% of the building built over water. Sugi Island is located in the Riau Islands. To travel there, you can go to Batam and ride on a ship from Pancung Sekupang Port. Sugi Island is only 2 hours away from the port.
As soon as you arrive on Sugi Island, you will see rows of overwater bungalows. You can enjoy the Telunas Beach view from your bed during your stay there. The main attraction on Sugi Island is Telunas Beach. Clear blue water and pure white sand lay brilliantly on the expansive beach. You can do various activities on Telunas Beach, such as swimming, kayaking, or playing in the sand.
Besides playing around the beach, you can also explore villages or visit Air Hitam Waterfall. To visit the Waterfall, you must travel through a mangrove forest. The waterfall is not that big, but it has a uniqueness. The water looks yellowish since it contains minerals from trees. From above, the water looks black. It is because of the rocks that have been deposited for a long time. You can try to play in the water and capture the waterfall’s uniqueness through your camera lens.
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Nirup Island is located in the southwest of Batam Island. Part of its coastal area is covered with dense mangrove forests. On the other side, trees typical of tropical forests grow thickly, which is a habitat for wildlife, such as monkeys, monitor lizards and seabirds.
Nirup Island also has a fairly long coastline. The island, which also has a natural stretch of sand, makes it a great place to hold various beach sports activities, such as beach volleyball and beach soccer.
With the topography of the island, if you visit this island, you can put up a tent and spend the night here. If you want to do snorkeling, Nirup Island can also be a favorite place. Coral reefs thrive here, as well as marine habitats such as various types of fish and other marine life.
Nirup Island is actually located in bay-like waters, in its northern part adjacent to Pucan Island. Because the island is flanked by a cluster of islands, the waves and wind that hit the island are relatively calm, so it is not dangerous if you want to swim or do other activities. From the west of Nirup island, you can also freely see Pemping island, which is inhabited by several fish families
To go to Nirup Island, from Batam city you have to go to the ferry port in Sekupang. From there you have to take a boat to Belakangpadang District. From Balakangpadang, continue your journey by renting a boat to Nirup island. The boat rental price depends on your agreement with the boatman.
The journey from Balakangpadang to Nirup takes about 20 minutes. Before going to Nirup Island, make sure you bring your own food, as there are no restaurants on the island. If you want to stay overnight, there are no hotels on the island. You can set up a tent on the beach. Also make sure you have brought your complete camping equipment.
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Rangi cake or also called sago rangi cake is one of the legendary Betawi traditional cakes. This cake is made from a mixture of starch and grated coconut which is baked in a special mold on a small stove and covered so that it cooks quickly. Not many people know that Rangi cake is an abbreviation for digarang wangi . Digarang means the cake dough is cooked without oil on a wood-burning stove. While wangi means fragrant
This cake is made from a mixture of grated dried coconut with palm sago. What you have to pay attention to is that the starch must be palm sago, so that the cake is chewy and delicious to eat. So to make it you just mix all the ingredients for the dough, such as sago flour, coarsely grated coconut, water, salt, stir well until the dough is crumbly. Once mixed well, put the mixture into the heated Rangi cake mold. Cook for approximately 15 minutes using low heat until cooked evenly. There is no need to turn the cake upside down because later the cake will cook perfectly by itself. To give it a sweet taste, the top is smeared with brown sugar which has been thickened with starch.
A portion of Rangi cake is usually sold in a row size. The cake mold is thin, but wavy at the bottom. This Rangi cake is most delicious when eaten warm. When the texture of the cake is still crispy, soft and the brown sugar is still melted well. The outside of this cake tends to be rough because of the grated young coconut in the dough. When it's cold, the cake will be a little tough and the sugar will also become stickier. A cup of hot black coffee or tea will further complement the sweet taste of this sago rangi.
Like traditional snacks in general, sago rangi is also sold using mobile carts. Even though it is small, the equipment in the cart is quite complete, from the stove to the cake mold and storage.
For those of you who love beach tourism, this time we recommend you one of beaches in Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia, namely Surumanis beach. This beach is quite unique, because the beach has a waterfall that flows into the sea. The beach is located in Pasir village, Ayah sub-district, Kebumen regency, Central Java province. The distance is about 40 kilometers from downtown Kebumen. The entrance ticket price for this beach area is Rp12,500 per person. The tariff includes parking fees. For visitors who want to camp in this beach area, you have to pay Rp15,000 or 1 US dollar per person.
Surumanis Beach is beautiful with clean brownish black sand. The length of the Surumanis Beach line is about 600 meters. You can play on the sand or swim in the sea. This beach also has a hilly topography, making you feel satisfied because you can feel two different tourist atmospheres, namely hills and beaches in the same place. Here, you can also explore the hills as the access is quite easy.
Surumanis Beach also provides adequate facilities, such as a large parking lot, information center, toilets, restaurants, and prayer rooms. In addition, there are also game rides, camping ground, and several instagramable photo spots. If you want to spend the night, this beach also has an inn or cottage.
Photo credit: jadesta.kemenparekraf.go.id
If you are on a trip to South Sulawesi, try visiting the Balleangin Tourism Village, one of the tourist villages listed in the top 50 Indonesian Tourism Village Awards (ADWI) 2024. Indonesian Tourism Village Awards is an award-giving event for tourist villages based on assessment criteria from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. Balleangin Tourism Village is often dubbed a hidden gem that offers a unique and enchanting tourist experience in South Sulawesi. One of its unique features is that it has the second-largest karst cluster landscape, after South China.
Balleangin Tourist Village is located in Balocci District of Pangkajene and Islands Regency. From the town center of Pangkajene, it can be reached in about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Balleangin Tourist Village is located in a karst cluster, so it has many tourist attractions such as Taman Batu, or "Park of Rock" which is 5 to 15 million years old. Around the area, you can go trekking and take selfies with the unique karst rock landscape. It is also the oldest ancient painting in the world, estimated to be 45,500 years old, and is a witness to ancient human civilization. The painting provides a deep understanding of the life and art of prehistoric humans.
Balleangin also has many waterfalls. You can visit the waterfalls to enjoy the fresh water and its cool natural weather. You can also go along the Batange River with river tubing activity. The expanse of rice fields and flowing rivers are one of the main attractions to enjoy and feel the village life. You can enjoy the beautiful village scenery by exploring it using an ATV. To spend the night there, don't worry, there is Zulu Park or Qafwan Resort. If you spend the night there, you will experience quality accommodation with a comfortable touch of nature.
Lake Lau Kawar is located at the foot of Mount Sinabung, in Kutagugung Village, Namanteran District, Karo Regency, North Sumatra Province. The lake is surrounded by mountains, and covered with tropical rainforest timber trees. This area is a Leuser Ecosystem Area (KEL) with an altitude of 2,451 meters above sea level. With a distance of about 70 km from downtown of North Sumatra Province, you will find the atmosphere of a cool climate with temperatures from 16 to 17 degrees Celsius so that this area is classified as fertile.
Topeng ireng or known as Dayakan is a traditional art that has been thrived in the Magelang Regency area, Central Java for a long time. Topeng Ireng or Dayakan is a form of new creation folk dance. The name Topeng Ireng comes from the word Toto Lempeng Irama Kenceng. Toto means to organize, Lempeng means straight, Irama means tone, and Kenceng means loud. Therefore, in Topeng Ireng performances the dancers line up straight and are accompanied by loud and energetic rhythmic music.
Topeng Ireng dance is a form of traditional art performance that combines Islamic religious propagation and Pencak Silat. Not surprisingly, this dance is always accompanied by upbeat music and songs with Islamic verses. In addition to the propagation of Islam, this dance performance also describes the life of rural communities living on the slopes of Merapi Merbabu.
Topeng Ireng art is believed to have been developed in the community on the slopes of Merapi Merbabu since the Dutch colonial era. After that, the art of Topeng Ireng performance grows. When Muslims build a mosque, before the dome is installed, it will be paraded around the village. The procession will be followed by the entire community around the mosque with dances accompanied by tambourines and verses of praise. In its journey, the art developed into the art of Topeng Ireng.
Topeng Ireng dance has simple movements. There are no complicated gestures, because the main point of this dance is cohesiveness. The more dancers participating, the more beautiful the collaboration that is created. The dance also comes from modified Pencak Silat movements. This dance movement is not monotonous. From time to time new innovations are always made in every Topeng Ireng performance.