Pulau Nias Favorites

Favorite thing: Ever since 1975, the year a trio of wandering surfers discovered South Nias legendary point break at Lagundri Bay, this island has become the jumping-off point for some of surfing's most exotic wave-searching expeditions. Indeed, Nias and Lagundri Bay particular, is to a surfer what Alaska is to a snowboarder .

Every good waverider wants to, at least one time in his life, ride The Point here.

Before Nias was discovered by surfers, this island was only known to a handful of serious travellers and to archeologists who went there to study the island's people and their ancient megalithic traditions.

It's not a big island (at 130 kms long and 45 kms wide, it's a bit smaller than Bali) but its terrain (rugged), people (500.000) and long isolated culture have combined to make this a very unique island.

The island of Nias provides another item in your cultural plate with its distinct culture. The villages of Bawomataluo and Hilisimaetano are curious places to visit, where you can see performances of traditional war-dances and thrilling high jump sports, i.e. people making dangerous leaps over 2 meters high stones. Typical scenes are dancers clad in traditional costumes with bird feathers on their heads, a hall for the Chief of tribe built on wooden logs with stone chairs weighing up to 18 tons. The unforgiving power attacking the shore seems to have bred the same qualities in the people, whose militaristic culture has fascinated anthropologists for decades. (Thanks to Yeremia Sarumaha from Pangkalan Kerinci)

Fondest memory: The huge waves, the people, the food, the architecture...