Sumatra: Bukittinggi > Harau

S D
12 minutes ago
2 min read

May 7-8 2025 |

Section 2 of my West Sumatra tour. After 2 days in Bukittinggi, it was on to Harau Valley, a brisk 90-minute ride. The place is spectacular, has a decent tourism scene, and will probably be overdeveloped soon, so it's well worth the short jaunt from Bukittinggi.

The ride from Bukittinggi is not the most exciting in the world. It's a fairly busy 2-lane highway (part of the Padang to Pekanbaru route), lots of trucks, buses and minivans, and the odd bullock cart. There didn't seem to be any major POI along the way that I recall. Things change on the final 20 minutes off the main road, when you enter the Harau Valley.

I arrived around noon, booked a room at X on Agoda. It's a well-rated, old-school bungalow joint, I was the only guest. The views outside were awesome.

I rode further up and around the valley until I hit dirt road. Then It started raining and didn't stop for the rest of the day, so I was basically house-bound. It wasn't easy to find a place to eat dinner (off-season?), and it was impossible to find a beer. So it was early to bed.

The next day, I was up early, and the rain had stopped, so I had a chance to ride around a bit more. I did a loop heading out that took me by one side of the valley, where there are many guesthouses. The views were awesome up here.