Travel Guide Nias

Located off the west coast of Sumatra, 125 km from Sibolga, Nias is planted on the Indian Ocean just above the equator. Covered with hills, swamps, rivers and valleys, the island is 100 km from north to south and 50 km wide.Its beaches with coconut trees, its «Hawaiian» waves and its «Polynesian» bungalows have made Nias reputation where tourism has developed thanks to surfers who have discovered here (near Teluk Dalam, in Pantai Sorake, also known as the bay, Teluk Lagundri) a better spot than Kuta in Bali, and less dangerous than Silungblanak in Lombok. However, this island is not just a beach, but it's a great place to meet other tourists than the perfect beach. The niassaise culture is famous among curators of the first arts museums. She gave birth to beautiful megaliths. The Niassais, who practiced heads and human sacrifice until the 1930 s, would be established here for almost 5 000 years. The island was under Dutch influence in 1914.The fortified villages of Nias are remarkable by their large houses on stilts and their loudspeakers, which are now often missing.The local specialty of the obstacle jump (2 m high and 1,5 m wide) was designed to train combatants to attack an enemy village. If you have the chance to see this show, it's really incredible to be able to jump over such walls of stone!If you wish to organize surf trips on other islands such as Asu, Bawa or Hinako, contact Sumatran Surfariis: www.sumatransurfariis.com.