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O nce limited to those with an uncanny spirit for peril and excitement, Sumatra is slowly joining the ranks of Indonesian islands that are famous for their bountiful opportunities for vacationers. Show-stopping scenery, volcanoes and orangutans dot the landscape of this isolated corner of the world, not to mention more than a few indige- nous tribes. Quirky and wild though it may be, sticky Sumatra is no longer just for daredevils. The Indonesian city of Medan was a convenient launching point for our weeklong trek. We quickly made our way to the charming hamlet of Tuk Tuk, located on the shores of Lake Toba in the higher altitudes of Sumatra’s interior. The climate is decidedly more agreeable, a wel- come alternative to steamy Medan. We boarded a jubilantly ragtag boat and drank in the views stretch- ing out before us: placid waters and green-draped cliffs encircling an immense lake. The largest volcanic lake of its kind in the world, Lake Toba was formed 75,000 years ago in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in Earth’s history. So cataclysmic were the effects that the human population dropped dramatically in the years following, and we are thought to have evolved from the small batch of survivors who made it through the long volcanic winter that ensued. www.groovekorea.com / March 2014 82 DESTINATIONS Edited by Shelley DeWees (shelley@groovekorea.com) An adventure in northern Sumatra Story and Photos by George Kalli Monkeys and machetes