Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 231

of the sights, hotels, restaurants and
shops that serve the tourist trade are on
this street or close by. his is one of
Sumatra's most pleasant towns in which
to spend a few days, boasting a range of
restaurants and hotels and a plenitude of
attractions in the surrounding area,
which includes the ra esia reserve at
Batang Palupah , beautiful Ngarai Sianok
Canyon , spectacular Harau Valley and the
enormous palace of Pagaruyung .

around 100m deep, with a glistening
river wending its way along the bottom.

Koto Gadang
Just beyond the western edge of the
Ngarai Sianok Canyon lies Koto Gadang ,
a small Minangkabau village of
silversmiths. hough linked by occasional
oplets (15min; Rp2000), it's a scenic walk
from Bukittinggi. From Jalan Tengku
Umar continue along up and over the
top, passing the Japanese tunnels on your
left as you descend the canyon. Continue
along through the U-bend in the track
and over the bridge, to where you will
find a bamboo warung and a footpath
that leads up the canyon. he trail crosses
a suspension bridge and climbs to the
opposite ridge along the Great Wall of
Koto Gadang (free), a curious, kilometre-
long miniature of China's most iconic
monument, opened in 2013. After taking
in the views looking back across the
canyon, continue along the road another
kilometre to reach Koto Gadang.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
A few hundred metres to the north of the
clock tower, Fort de Kock (daily 7.30am-
6pm; Rp10,000) was built by the Dutch
in 1825. here's little left of the original
structure but some old cannons and parts
of the moats. he fort is linked by a
footbridge over Jalan A Yani to the park,
Taman Bundo Kanduang, which has a
depressing zoo and a Minangkabau
museum (same hours; Rp2500) housed
in a beautiful rumah gadang constructed
in 1934.
Much more pleasant is a stroll around
Panorama Park (7.30am-5.30pm daily;
Rp5000), perched on a lip of land
overlooking the sheer cliff walls down
into Ngarai Sianok Canyon, the best
sight in Bukittinggi town by far,
especially just after sunset when bats fly
overhead. Beneath the park stretch
1400m of Japanese tunnels (daily
8am-5pm; Rp5000) and rooms built by
local slave labour for ammunition storage
during World War II. You can venture
down into these dank, miserable depths,
although there's nothing really to see. he
Ngarai Sianok Canyon is part of a rift
valley that runs the full length of Sumatra
- the canyon here is 15km long and

4

Batang Palupuh
Sometimes spanning a full metre across,
Ra esia arnoldi is the largest flower in
the world, blooming only a few days each
month with remarkable red-and-white
colouring and a smell akin to rotting
meat. One of the most accessible spots in
Sumatra to see this rare and extraordinary
flower is the enchanting village of Batang
Palupuh , 13km north of Bukittinggi
(Rp6000 by regular local buses from
Pasar Bawah). Enquire here for a guide
(Rp50,000 per person) to lead you into
the hills to find a ra esia.
Still more elusive is the Amorphophallus
titanum , locally called “ bunga bangkai ”,

THE MINANG HIGHLANDS
The gorgeous mountainous landscape of the Minang Highlands features soaring rice
terraces and easily accessible traditional culture. The highlands around Bukittinggi are the
cultural heartland of the Minangkabau (Minang) people. The Minang are staunchly
matrilineal, one of the largest such societies extant, and Muslim. The most visible aspect of
their culture is the distinctive architecture of their homes, with massive roofs soaring
skywards at either end (representing the horns of a buffalo). Typically, three or four generations
of one family would live in one large house built on stilts, the rumah gadang (big house) or
rumah adat (traditional house), a wood-and-thatch structure often decorated with fabulous
wooden carvings.