We recently spent a week in Kerinci with friends. We visited some of the highlights, had an incredible time and came home exhausted but very happy.
Jen’s Highlights
- Beautiful, natural surroundings
- Incredibly friendly and welcoming locals
- Tigers live here… Eeek!
Bayu’s Highlights
- The drive there – long and exhausting, but totally awesome
- Food, food, food!
- Bamboo rafting on Danau Lingkat
The Road to Kerinci
We left Padang early in the morning on the motorbike, loaded up with ‘essentials for adventure’ (clothes, a camping stove and Bayu’s hammock), and hit the road with two of our friends. The drive was beautiful, but with so many sights to see along the way, we didn’t actually arrive at our destination until the next morning (we didn’t drive through the night, but we did stay at the house of our friends sister when it got too late for us to keep going).
The drive took us through Solok and Solok Selatan. The countryside is spectacularly beautiful, and our first stop off was at some tea fields in Solok to enjoy a cuppa and some locally grown strawberries. If you have been to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, Solok is surprisingly similar, minus the tourist hustle and bustle.
We continued our journey south through Solok, the road takes you past Lake Singkarak, which offers yet more outstanding views, and has some lovely little guesthouses on the waterfront, before winding its way to Solok Selatan.
In Solok Selatan we stopped off at the exceptional Saribu Rumah Gadang. ‘Saribu Rumah Gadang’ means ‘one hundred Rumah Gadang (traditional Minangkabau houses)’, and while I doubt that there are in fact a hundred, the skyline is packed with the horned roofs of the (often over 100 years old) traditional houses. It was a great place to stop, as well as a brilliant photo opportunity. Soon after this, we reached the boarder with Jambi.
Many of the roads through Kerinci are lined with flowers, and some of the villages we passed had beautifully looked after public gardens (a rarity in southeast Asia). Eventually, looming in the distance, the sight of Mount Kerinci came into view. The peak of Kerinci is the highest point in West Indonesia, and the areas surrounding it are noticeably cooler than in lower-land West Sumatra. If you plan to visit Kerinci, and you really should, bring a jumper for the evenings.
We spent the night just outside of Sungai Penuh, the capital of the region, before completing our journey early the next morning.
Our final destination was the small village of Lolo Kecil, tucked away in the middle of vast Cinnamon tree plantations, in the family home of one of our travel companions.
The journey could have taken considerably less time (about six hours non stop), but we were in no hurry and had a very relaxed, very fun drive to Kerinci.
Daily life in Kerinci
One of the great things about staying with locals is the opportunity to experience and enjoy daily happenings. In Lolo Kecil there is a thriving English Language School, run by a local woman (actually, our friends’ sister). This means that many of the local children can tell you their names and hobbies, and everyone is excited to see a western face in the hope of improving their language skills.
Sitting out with the locals in the late afternoon, or evening. at one of the warungs and snacking on ‘ampek ampek’ or koropok with curry sauce and watching the world go by was one of my favorite things to do in this little village.
There is an abundance of fruits and vegetables in Kerinci, due to the cooler climate, and a distinct lack of fish (particularly noticeable if you come from largely coastal West Sumatra) on the menu. Many people here have their own ‘garden’ a fruit/vegetable growing allotment, and many people own cinnamon trees. Did you know, Kerinci is where the majority of all consumer cinnamon is grown on the planet? Any trip through Kerinci will provide you with the sight of huge sheets of cinnamon drying out in the streets.
Danau Kaco and other sights
One of the most impressive, and actually smallest, points of interest in Kerinci is Danau Kaco. We stopped off first at a small tourist office on the way there to see a friend. On the walls of the office were some old and rather battered looking photographs of the lake, as well as a number of other points of interest. To be honest, my first thought was, ‘what an awful Photoshop job..’ The water in the images was the brightest blue that I have ever seen, and it would have taken some convincing to prove to me that it was real.
Fortunately, no one had to convince me as, shortly after we left the office, we arrived at the car/bike park and set off on foot for the lake.
The walk took us about 2 hours (expect it to take longer.. we, stupidly, raced), however it is not for the feint of heart; the walk is through jungle and involved a fair amount of climbing, scrambling, wading through water (leeches), and crossing half rotten log bridges, over fast flowing water. To be fair, it was the wrong time of year for us to go, being monsoon season and all.. by the time we reached the lake we were exhausted and had been drenched by numerous sudden downpours.
However, the journey there was worth it. I can vouch for the fact that the images of the lake have not been Photoshopped – even on an overcast, rainy day the lake is luminously blue – I imagine almost blindingly so on a clear day. It is 19meters deep, and there are a number of sunken tree trunks visible in the deep and shoals of fish enjoying the water; it wouldn’t look out of place in a science fiction novel.
We decided to have a dip. The water is really cold – so cold that when I got out my lips had turned blue. I was unwell for the next few days, and because of that, we were unable to explore any of the more challenging sights in Kerinci – this time.
Don’t be put off going; outside of monsoon season (from around April onward), I imagine that the water is refreshingly cool. If you find yourself visiting in the rain, avoid going for a swim – stick to feeding the fish instead!
Entrance to the area cost about 5,000 IDR per motorbike, and a woman growing vegetables charged us a further 15,000 IDR per bike to watch bikes and helmets.
A couple of days later we went to Danau Lingkat for some bamboo rafting. There is an information board at the lake, written in English, which states that tigers live in the local area. Intrigued, I asked a man at the lake. He confirmed that yes, there are tigers in the local area and that two weeks earlier he had seen a mother with her cub not far from where we were standing.
I’m mentioning this because I find myself completely amazed by the fact that I live in a place where wild tigers still roam. I feel incredibly blessed, but in equal measure, I hope I never meet one.
Currently a small house is being built on the edge of the lake, specifically for tourists. It would be a great base from which to explore the rest of the local area; and with the opportunity of spotting wild tigers outside, what’s not to love?
The bamboo rafts at the lake are used by local fishermen. You’re welcome to take one for a ride, but please be respectful and if someone turns up to work – bring it back!
As I have already mentioned, I got sick and so more adventurous plans were cancelled, however, with the highest peak in West Indonesia, and a number of smaller peaks to trek, adventure is definitely to be had in Kerinci, and I hope we get a chance to experience these in the not too distant future.
However, I have to say that taking a laid back and relaxed approach to our time in Kerinci was fabulous. I gained a real insight into life in the region, made some great new friends and I can strongly recommend a visit, even if mountain climbing isn’t your thing.
The drive home
On the way home 
we opted to head towards Jambi before turning off towards Padang at a later point, and the views were even better than we could have imagined. Lakes and mountains and a swallow migration made the journey home perfect (if not incredibly exhausting)!
Before leaving Kerinci, we bought some of the local specialties, such as cinnamon syrup (yum!) and locally produced ‘Nur’ coffee – not to be missed.
Bayu and Talua both deserve medals for the driving involved in this trip; but I know they’d both do it again in a heartbeat!
Jen is an English girl who found herself in Sumatra one day and never went back. A wife, mother, traveler and book worm, she has lived in Padang long enough to speak the language and unearth plenty of useful hints and tips for the weary traveler…
wah…keren…jadi pingin….