Introduction to Parapat, ID

Situated at the point where the trans-Sumatran highway touches the eastern shore of Toba, PARAPAT is a town split in two. There's the rather tawdry resort, crammed with hotels and souvenir shops and, set on the hills away from the lake, the bus station, bank and telephone office. Buses arriving in Parapat drive through the resort to the ferry terminal before heading back to the bus station. You can get a minivan to and from the bus station at any time for Rp1000.

The rates at Parapat's Bank BNI, for example, on Jalan Sisingamangaraja, are far superior to anything offered on Samosir, and the cost of calling home from one of the wartels or Parapat's Telkom office, on the back road between the bus station and the quay, is fifty percent cheaper than from Samosir. The twice-weekly (Wed & Sat) food markets by the Samosir jetty are lively and diverting, but there's little reason to linger in town.

With over sixty hotels in town, there's plenty of accommodation to choose from, though only a few places at the budget end of the market. Of these, Charley's, right by the ferry terminal and next to the market at Jl Pekan Tiga Raja 7 (tel 0625/41277; under $5), is by far the best. In the mid-range, Hotel Wisata Bahari, Jl Pulau Samosir 3–6 (tel 0625/41302; $10–15), does the job; otherwise try Natour Parapat, Jl Marihat 1 (tel 0625/41012; $25–40).

Information by Rough Guides

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