Mentawai Island Offers Great Barrel Swells

Mentawai Islands, World Famous  Surfing Spot

One of the most popular attractions in Sumatra and even in Indonesia is the Mentawai Islands, these islands are known to have amazing natural beauty of the ocean and become one of the destinations for adventure tourism, cultural tourism and marine tourism. Mentawai Islands is a regency located in West Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Mentawai Archipelago consists of 213 islands with 4 main islands inhabited, namely Siberut Island, Sipora Island, North Pagai Island, and South Pagai Island, which are mostly inhabited by the Mentawai Tribe. Mentawai Regency is divided into 4 sub districts and 40 villages and has its capital in Tua Pejat. 

Interesting Things in the Mentawai Islands

The geographical position of the Mentawai Islands off the coast of West Sumatra gives its own advantages for the development of extreme sports tourism. Its location directly facing the Indian Ocean grants the Mentawai Islands consistent waves throughout the year. No wonder the Mentawai Islands are a famous place for surfing (surfing) for Indonesian and foreign citizens. When April-August coincides with summer holidays in Europe is the best time to surf.

In that season, the waves in the Mentawai Islands can reach 7 meters high and this is the most sought after by surfers. In fact, the waves in the Mentawai islands - by various surfing organizations - are the third best in the world after Hawaii and Tahiti. Of the 400 surfing spots, 23 of them have international scale waves. These areas include in the areas of Nyang-Nyang, Karang Bajat, Karoniki, Pananggelat and Mainuk (Siberut Island), Katiet Basua (Sipora Island) and North Pagai (Sikakap Island).

Every year, the Mentawai Islands are appointed as organizers of the World Champions Surfing Series, which is scheduled every August. With frequent events like this, the Management and the Regional Government held several supporting facilities for the comfort and safety of surfers. The supporting facilities are Hotels, Resorts, Restaurants, Bars and 60 Exclusive Wave Spot that can only be used by a maximum of 10 people.

How to get to the Mentawai Islands

If using the air route, there is now a pioneering flight connecting the Minangkabau International Airport, Padang, with Rokot Sipora Airport, Sipora Island.Air travel can be taken for 35-45 minutes by using the airline Susi Air. The flights served by 11 passenger propellers are only served 3 times a week (Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday). Access to Mentawai can also be reached via sea travel. From the port in Padang using KM Mentawai Fast fast boat. This fast boat only takes about 3 hours. Departure schedule is every day, morning from Padang and afternoon from Sipora. This passenger ship can accommodate around 250 passengers.