KONTAN.CO.ID - North Sumatra will hold the Lake Toba Festival in Sipinsur and Bakkara Sub-district in Humbang Hasundutan District on Dec 6-9 this year.

"The location is vast and offers a view of Lake Toba," Elisa Marbun, head of the tourism and culture office, noted here, Saturday.

The festival will feature various art and cultural performances, including a competition centering on ethnic dance forms, to be organized in cooperation with the Defense Ministry.

The organizing committee will promote the festival in five other provinces to be decided later.

Prior to the festival, an Xpedition Trail Mania, or Xtrim, will be organized to cover areas with natural scenic beauty in Humbang Hasundutan, and some 700 motorcyclists are expected to participate.

"Humbang Hasundutan has very challenging areas. Hence, many people have registered for it," she said.

Lake Toba has been designated as one of the 10 priority tourist destinations selected alongside the Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuhan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru in East Java, Seribu or One Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Morotai in North Maluku, and Tanjung Kelayang in Bangka Belitung.

Lake Toba and Samosir Island, which is located in the middle of the huge lake, offer a complete tourism package encompassing beautiful scenery, unique Batak culture and traditions, and intriguing history.

The ancient lake has been formed by a steep-walled caldera produced during the Toba volcano's eruption, the largest known volcanic eruption on the planet in the past two million years. The powerful eruption, an extremely rare event, is called a supervolcanic eruption.

When viewed from space, the Toba caldera is one of the most striking volcanic craters on Earth, measuring 100 x 30 kilometers.

Editor: Yudho Winarto