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BATUSANGKAR |
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Accessed via Padangpanjang, the largest town in the Tanah Datar
Valley is BATUSANGKAR , 39km southeast of Bukittinggi and served by
frequent buses (90min). The Minang court of the fourteenth to nineteenth
centuries was based in the valley, the gold and iron mines of ancient
times the source of its riches. The entire area is awash with cultural
relics, megaliths and places of interest, and to explore it fully takes
more than the limited time available on the one-day Minangkabau tours
from Bukittinggi. The most worthwhile tourist destination in the area is
Pagaruyung (daily 7am-6pm; Rp1000), the reconstructed palace of the last
Raja Alam of the Minangkabau, Sultan Arifin Muning Alam Syah. The palace
was reconstructed using traditional techniques some twenty years ago,
the woodcarving alone taking two years to complete. The building
comprises the traditional three storeys - the first for official
visitors, the second for unmarried daughters and the third for meetings;
the rice barn at the front would traditionally have held food to help
the poor and the palace mosque is in the garden, with the kitchen at the
back.
Batusangkar's tourist office is at Jl Pemuda 1 (Mon-Thurs 8am-2pm, Fri
8-11am & Sat 8am-noon; tel 0752/71300), and the accommodation all
clustered fairly close together on the same street: Pagaruyung, Jl Prof
Hamka 4 (tel 0752/71533; $5-10); Yoherma, Jl Prof Hamka 15 (tel
0752/71130; $5-10); and Parma, Jalan Hamka (tel 0752/71330; $5-10), all
have a range of basic but adequate rooms and restaurants attached.
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