Lake Singkarak

Singkarak covers about a hundred and thirty square kilometres in a depression on the Sumatran Fault between Solok and Padang Panjang, which makes it one of the larger lakes in Sumatra, with bare hills coming down to the shore and villages along the road that circles it. Its distinctive inhabitant is the ikan bilih, a small fish endemic to this lake and nowhere else on earth, netted from the shore and dried or fried whole as a Minangkabau delicacy; stocks have fallen sharply from overfishing and from a hydroelectric diversion that altered the outflow, and management measures have been argued over for years. The Tour de Singkarak, an international cycling stage race, runs around it each year. The railway line along the eastern shore is part of the old Ombilin coal route.

What you actually see

• A fault-basin lake - a hundred and thirty square kilometres between bare hills.
• The endemic bilih - a fish found in this lake and nowhere else, netted from the shore.
• A shore road and railway - the circuit and the old Ombilin coal line.
• The Tour de Singkarak - the annual international cycling race round the lake.

When to go

All year; drier May to September. A day.

Honest expectations

The bilih is under real pressure and eating it is not uncontroversial. Facilities round the lake are basic. The hills are largely deforested, which is not the postcard image.

Nearby

Solok is south; Bukittinggi and Sianok are north; Sawahlunto is east.