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The island of Sumatra is 1,800 kilometres long for Northwest to Southeast. It is the sixth largest island in the world, slightly smaller than the neighbour island Borneo. There are more than 50 million inhabitants in Sumatra. The main cities are Palembang, Medan, Padang, Percut Sei Tuan and Aceh. Sumatra’s name comes from Sumadra, the ancient capital of Pasai kingdom in the North of the island. Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean, the island has a very advantageous geographical position.
In the South, Sumatra is separated from Java by the Sunda strait; In the North, the Strait of Malacca is a natural border between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Because of this strategic location, Sumatra has been over centuries a meeting point and a political and economic place of exchange. Chinese and Indians were the first to settle in Sumatra, then Europeans tried to control this strategic point, essential stop to reach Eastern Asia from Europe. Today, Sumatra is the main shipping route for the 4 most populous countries in the world: India, Indonesia, Japan, and China. Every year, more than 50,000 ships pass through the Strait of Malacca, this is 20 to 25% of global maritime transport.
Thanks to its location, Sumatra’s biodiversity is amazing. Volcanoes, national parks, untouched beaches, the landscapes you will see during your holiday in Sumatra are breath-taking. Sumatra is set on the ring of fire. The Bukit Barisan are a mountain range South of Sumatra. There is the highest point of Indonesia: Kerinci volcano. North of the island, is Toba Lake, the largest volcanic lake in the world. This lake is the consequence of an eruption 70,000 years ago.
Sumatra is also well known for the diversity of its rainforest, there are many different tropical plants and flowers varieties. There are also endemic species in Sumatra and thanks to its geography Sumatra is the perfect place for orang-utans, rhinos and tigers to live.
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