Visit us on Pulau Banyak Barat, the still hidden part of Pulau Banyak with Haloban as seat of the district.
Discover the daily life of the villages and enjoy the surrounding islands.
Category Archives: Nature
Pulau Banyak
A paradiese at the end of the world
Pulau Banyak is for sure one of the most beautiful destinations on Sumatra. The area is surrounded by pristine, white beaches and uninhabited coral islands. You can go for small jungle trips on Pulau Tuangku and Bangkaru, Ujung Lolok on Pulau Tuangku is a great spot for surfing and you can snorkle everywhere around the islands.
With an area of 123 square miles (319 square km), the group lies north of Nias and 18 miles (29 km) west of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean.
The islands Pulau Banyak lie within the Aceh Singkil Regency in Aceh Province, and are divided into two districts: Pulau Banyak District and Pulau Banyak Barat District (Western Pulau Banyak). Pulau Balai is the seat of the Pulau Banyak District, and Haloban is the seat of the Pulau Banyak Barat District.
The islands vary in their land cover; most are sandy with limited vegetation, while the larger islands have deep rainforests and are fringed by intertidal mangroves. The fringing coral reefs are habitat to diverse species, including green and leatherback sea turtles, pelagic and coral fish, and varieties of octopus, lobster, and other sealife. The weather is tropical; August to January are the rainy season, followed by a dry season from approximately February to July.
Once if you have arrived to Sumatra, Medan you can take a shared or privat car to Singkil (Contact: Darmawan’s Phone: 0062 (0) 812 8431 4851, 0062 (0) 813 77219667 or Satiman’s Phone: 0062 (0) 822 9410 7162), from where you can reach the islands by boat. There are two villages with accommodation possibilities: Balai and Haloban and you will find bungalows on the uninhabited islands around. Sikandang, Tailana, Palambak and Bangkaru have operated bungalows, on the other islands you can find camping possibilities but for that reason you have to have a contact.
Contact possibilities:
- Reka’s Phone: 0062 (0) 822 7334 0892, Whats App: 0043 676 6490 319
- Herli’s Phone: 0062 (0) 852 7692 2913
- Email: smile.theworldsmiles@gmail.com
- Satiman’s Phone: 0062 (0) 822 9410 7162
- Satiman’s Email: sberutu@gmail.com
For further information according traveling around Sumatra on general visit Satiman’s homepage: http://www.sumatra-tour.com
Interest of visiting – a list of the best known islands:
- Pulau Tuangku
This island is the biggest of Pulau Banyak with three villages called Haloban, the seat of the Pulau Banyak Barat District (Northern End), Ujung Sialit, the Christian village and Suka Makmur. You can search for jungle experiences around Haloban, staying in the South called Ujung Lolok you will find yourself at one if the best surfing spots of Sumatra.
If you prefer to stay in a village in the calm Haloban you will find accommodations. You can use the village as a base for your daily trips around Pulau Banyak.
On Pulau Sikandang you will find a dozen of bungalows. The atmosphere there is great and the surrounding see is just wonderful.
- Pulau Tailana
This beautiful uninhabited island is very close to Haloban and is the seat of the Telekomsel Tower, which deliver the phone and internet signal for this area.
One of the most beautify spots but indeed it is very difficult to compare the islands and make a ranking. You can do a daily trip from Haloban and enjoy this scenic island like Robinson Crusoe without disturbing by anyone. There is also camping possibility on this incredible beautiful place (for that contact Mr. Anhar on Whats App: 0062 (0) 852 7771 1108)
Haloban – Homestay
Haloban, the still hidden fishing village, is the second most important place (after Balai) of Pulau Banyak, the seat of the Pulau Banyak Barat District (PBB) and it is also my home. If you would like to come to the islands but you prefer to stay in a village my house is welcoming you, I have a small but clean guest room. It will be a simple homestay and from here you can make daily tours even overnight trips with camping possibilities to everywhere around Pulau Banyak. (See Activities around Tailana).
There is also a losmen (Indonesian Guest House) in Haloban and you will find small food stalls and some stores to buy your daily needs as well.
If you arrive in Singkil there is every second day a boat from there directly to Haloban. It takes around five hours to get there. Actually Haloban is the closest village to Pulau Tailana. You can find transportation from Balai to Haloban as well but it could be difficult, better to call Herli or me before you arrive.
You can contact Herli or me if you are heading for Pulau Banyak and Haloban.
Contact:
- Herli’s Phone: 0062 (0) 852 7692 2913
- Reka’s Phone: 0062 (0) 822 7334 0892, Whats App: 0043 676 6490 319
- Email: smile.theworldsmiles@gmail.com
Haloban is the most important village already merged with Asantola on the biggest island of Pulau Banyak which called Pulau Tuangku, it is as mentioned above the seat of the Pulau Banyak Barat District (Western Pulau Banyak) with a population of around 1500 persons. The major sector of the local economy is fishing but it already has a high school. Actually, this village owns Bangkaru, the turtle island and Pulau Asok.
Homestay
Summer 2017 I renovated a small house furthermore extended it with a new kitchen and washing room. It is still an Indonesian style apartment and it only has the average standards of the village, which means amongst others no flush toilet, but I was focussing on cleanliness and brightness and it was important for me to make the it spatial.
Washing room
The living room
Bedrooms
The kitchenThe homestay offers you full service and can also help you to plan and organize your trips.
So if you would like to be part of the Indonesien life, welcome home!
Visit Bangkaru
The second biggest island of Pulau Banyak ’99’ islands is Bangkaru, the turtle island. Every night throughout the year you can see green turtles laying eggs on the marvelous beaches of Bangkaru Nationalpark.
Bangkaru is for sure one of the most special places on Sumatra. The Island is a desert island, there is only one cottage (pondok) built up by the government for the rangers, who take care and protect the turtles.
I heard, ten years before there were nearly on every island turtles and the locals say, you could get lobsters even at the toilet in the villages. The business was booming until the eco-system couldn’t catch up with the mass fishing any more. The province Aceh woke up, sent rangers to the last turtle paradise to save this treasure of nature. But one thing is remained completely untouched by the people: the island itself. The reason is funny, the locals believe Bangkaru is a place of ghosts, so they never came to log trees and never killed the animals on the Island. I was there this summer (2015), I couldn’t see any ghosts but a real jungle with giant plants.
If you stay on Bangkaru you will stay together with the rangers. Real hard outdoorsmen, which means they also know how to cook like heaven…
Night by night they are observing the eggs laying turtles and if is necessary, which happens ever and anon, they protect them as well for the fishermen who come to steal the eggs – ever and anon.
Mr. Usup is one of the brave rangers. There is no phone signal at the Island – about the internet is no need to speak. So the guys are really alone with the nature. And if something happens, it is Usup who is running up the mountain, which takes two hours, to be able to contact the outside world.
The pondok is big enough to have some dormitories for us visitors.
As I came to Bangkaru, my friend Langlang Buana (he is a speed boat driver) took me there.
The most comfortable, straightest and easiest way to get to Bangkaru is to contact Darmawan (Tel.: 0821 6645 7040, Email: dmawan_ skl76@yahoo.com). He speaks a great English so you will enjoy a very informative trip and he is also a really cool man; it will be a great experience with him. You will find our Darmawan on Facebook as well under Dar Mawan. He is also Director of CV Pulau Banyak Travel, so wherever you would like to travel by car on Sumatra, he can help you.
How much does it cost to get to Bangkaru? If you are a group it costs around one million rupiah per person, if you are a couple the price is three million for you two. And if you are alone, life is always an adventure…
Why is it so expensive? It is special, that is for sure one of the main reasons. The organizer pays permission for you as well. On the other hand the infrastructure is not given, too. Everything, the food, the drinks, medicaments, everything is from the mainland. Last but not least there is one more exciting reason behind the price: it is a bit difficult because of the waves to enter the island. You need for sure a speed boat and an experienced driver as well. He has to catch the right wave and so you will surf easily, safe and quickly to the welcoming beach of Bangkaru. Enjoy.
About Tailana
Pulau Tailana is one of the stunningly beautiful islands of the remote Pulau Banyak situated about 30km west of Aceh Singkil at the east cost of Sumatra in the Indien Ocean. Pulau Banyak (lot of islands) is a cluster of many mostly uninhabited islands with ginclear waters, white beaches and vast quantities of palm trees.
Tailana’s crystal clear, calm water is home for corals, lobsters and small fishes -the big ones are already on the market. The small tropical island is indeed a great spot for snorkling and relaxing. It belongs for sure to the last Beauties of the world.
Prices on Tailana
Single: 100.000Rp
Double: 125.000Rp
Triple: 150.000Rp
Facilities: 125.000Rp per person which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, tee&coffee all the time, drinking water, fruits, electricity and laundry possibilities.
It means:
If you come alone: 225.000Rp per day/night
If you are two of you: 375.000Rp in total per day/night
If you are three of you: 525.000Rp in total per day/night
Bungalow on Tailana
Interior design
Canteen
Everywhere dill around the cottages
Also the kings visit this place on foot…
Activities on Tailana
- Just relax…
If reality makes you feel prepossessed - Play volleyball
We are ready - Kayaking
It is not so far but far enough to the next island - Snorkling directly around the island or nearby
Between the sun above and the corals under you is your skin… - Fishing
The fishes are not akways willing but often - Surfing à la Tailana
*wuhuuu* - Cocking and eating
Happy non-birthday
…and who ordered lobster today? - Enjoy the sunset…
How to get to Tailana
Wherever you are, Medan, Bukit Lawang, Banda Aceh, Pulau Weh, Ketambe, Padang, Bukittingi or Lake Toba we can help you to find transportation to Singkil, which is your stepping stone to get to Pulau Banyak:
You can call Mr. Darmawan in Singkil directly, he has shared and private cars around Sumatra:
Darmawan’s Phone: 0062 (0)821 66457040
Darmawan’s Email: dmawan_ skl76@yahoo.com
Or you just contact the island directly by calling Mr. Mali: 0062 (0)813 60991595.
From Singkil you have different possibilities to come to Tailana:
- The old common way, which can take a very long time is to go to the harbour in Singkil and go by public boat to Pulau Balai, which is the first island in Pulau Banyak from Singkil. The cargo ships are leaving everyday except holidays between 9 o’clock in the morning and two o’clock in the afternoon – and we never know exactly when. The cruise takes around three to four hours and costs around 30.000Rp. If we know, you are on the way to Balai, somebody (mostly Erwin) from our team will waiting for you at the harbour. From Balai it takes around one and a half hours to come to Tailana by chartering a boat, it costs around 150.000Rp per person.
- Twice a week there is a ferry from Singkil to Balai (Tuesday and Saturday). It costs 25.000Rp, it leaves at 11 o’clock in the morning and it takes around three and a half ours.
- You can go first to Haloban which is the closest village to Tailana. This is the cheapest way! But only every two days goes a boat from Singkil to Haloban. It costs 50.000Rp. (Read more about Haloban above.)
- You can charter a speed, which goes directly to Tailana. It’s always better to leave in the morning, it takes between one and a half and two hours and costs 2.000.000Rp.
Harbour in Singkil
Contact Pulau Tailana
Manager: Mr. Mali
Mr. Mali’s Phone: 0062 (0) 813 6099 1595
Reka’s Phone: 0062 (0) 821 6569 9220
What’s app: 0043 676 64 90 31
Email: smile.theworldsmiles@gmail.com
On Facebook there is a group called Pulau Tailana, you are always welcome to join it.
Pulau Tailana