Holiday place in aceh part #1 (TAKENGON/GAYO)

Takengon is a remote town in the middle of the north Sumatra highlands. It is famous for its fish and coffee and for being close to the beautiful Laut Tawar Lake, which is well worth a visit. Some people consider the lake being one of the highlights in northern Sumatra with its charming fishing villages and clear mountain water. Also Takengon as a city is a relaxing place to be, consisting of a small but lively city center with a huge market selling all kind of goods. Due to the remote location of the city there are few tourists which means that the standard of the hotels is typcial indonesian.

Notice that Takengon is a part of the partly sharia law governed Aceh-province. Alcohol and drugs are strictly prohibited.

Get in
By bus:

By arriving from south you have to get a minibus in Kutancane with a stopover in Blankenjeren. The buses depart in the early day until about 11:00. Ask at the bus station in Kutancane. In Blankenjeren you might be able to catch the last bus departing further north to Takengon, if not there is a shared taxi service between Blankenjeren to Banda Aceh which makes a stop in Takengon, departing at about 16:00-17:00 every day. Ask at the bus station, in the station house they might not be able to help you as they provide service for their own companies, but the restaurants/shops nearby might help. By arriving from the north you either can go directly from Banda Aceh or from Bireun. There is a shared taxi service departing in the early morning or late evenings from Banda Aceh.

Get around
By taxi:

There is a taxi service in the city. Most of the taxis are based on motorcykle, they take you basically all over the city very cheap.

See
Laut Tawar Lake,

http://yopiefranz.com/
walk to the lakefront to see the fishing villages. Starting in the morning you can walk all the 25 kilometres to the other end. If you go on a Sundays, you will have company, as the whole region goes to the lake to party and to relax.

Do
Takengon market, a famous place for gathering. It is big and charming, with a wide selection of items available.
Coffee places, sit down at a coffee place to watch all the people.

Buy

https://s2.bukalapak.com/i
Coffee, the area is famous for the Takengon Sumatra Coffee. You can buy the coffee at the market and in small stores.

Eat

http://kantin-a12.tk
Fish from Laut Tawar, you can find small street food restaurants at the bus station. They cook fairly good indonesian food, make sure you eat the fish which is delicious.