Bukittinggi

Bukittinggi sits at around nine hundred metres among the West Sumatran volcanoes and is the cultural centre of the Minangkabau, whose society is matrilineal in a way that has attracted attention for a century and a half - property and clan membership pass through women, houses belong to the women of the lineage, and men traditionally leave to seek their fortune elsewhere under the custom of merantau, which is why Minang restaurants are found across Indonesia and Malaysia. The town's landmark is the Jam Gadang, a 1926 clock tower whose roof has been changed twice with the political order. Around it are the Pasar Atas market, the Sianok canyon at the town's edge, Japanese wartime tunnels, the Fort de Kock and a zoo, and the Rumah Gadang house museum.

History

The town grew from five villages that formed a marketplace, and in colonial times it was called Fort de Kock, after the Dutch outpost founded here in 1825 by Captain Bauer and named for Hendrik Merkus de Kock. The first road to the west coast was built between 1833 and 1841 through the Anai Gorge, in 1856 the first teacher-training college in Sumatra opened here, and a railway to Payakumbuh and Padang was built between 1891 and 1894 (Wikipedia, Bukittinggi).

What's there

• The Jam Gadang - the 1926 clock tower whose roof changed with each change of rule.
• A matrilineal society - Minangkabau custom where property passes through women.
• Sianok canyon - the rift valley cutting in at the edge of the town.
• Pasar Atas - the highland market, the commercial centre of the region.

When to go

All year; drier May to September. Two days.

Things to know

The town is congested and the market area is chaotic. The zoo at Fort de Kock has drawn welfare criticism. West Sumatra is conservative; dress accordingly.

Nearby

Lake Maninjau is west; the Harau valley and Pagaruyung are east.

Key facts