Lake Toba (Danau Toba ), on the island of Sumatra in
Indonesia , is the largest volcanic lake in the world. Samosir island, in the lake, is an island within an island. It is located at North Sumatra .
Lake Toba is an immense volcanic lake covering an area of 1,707 km 2 (1,000 km 2 bigger than Singapore) with an island in the center. Formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption some 70,000 years ago, it is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. Some studies say it might have been associated with causing previous ice age/climate change and the largest human population bottleneck ever. Genetic estimates suggest that there were only a few thousand individuals that survived the catastrophe. The island in the middle - Pulau Samosir - was joined to the caldera wall by a narrow isthmus, which was cut through to enable boats to pass; a road bridge crosses the cutting. Samosir island is the cultural centre of Batak tribe who are mostly Christians nowadays.
Lake Toba was perhaps once more popular than it is nowadays, but for many it remains a firm fixture on the Banana Pancake Trail. It is a great laid back place to chill out for a few days after jungle trekking etc. The location is very popular with Chinese tourists around Chinese New Year, when availability drops dramatically and accommodation costs skyrocket. In its effort to promote tourism, government has greatly improved the infrastructure.
Now, Lake Toba is unhealthy for swimming due to excess of fish feeding, mainly for locations near fish floating net cages.