Western Part of Sumatra: The Beauty of Indonesian's Exotic Nature in Pariaman

Most of the people, when they hear the word 'Indonesia', they often frowned. But, when they hear Bali, in unison they will answer 'Yeah, I know Bali'. Or, some people might react like, 'Oh, I've been to Bali before'.

This is, my friend, what we called an irony.

They know Bali, but they don't know that Bali is a part of Indonesia. They don't know that they visited Indonesia, they only know Bali, the island of gods.

There's no one to blame on this matter, but the government. They often pay less attention to tourist attractions. Even, in some places, there's no tourist attraction at all. How could people want to visit a city if there's no intriguing place to go to?

As for Indonesia, she has already gifted by God such as beautiful islands, exotic nature, diverse animals, even friendly citizens that can be one of the reasons why tourists feel safe when they travel here. All those aspects are enough to be the reasons why Indonesia is such a visitable country. But again, that's not enough. We need a lot of works to make that dream come true.

Speaking of beautiful islands and diverse animals, there's this region in West Sumatra that offers a godly scenery with its cute little animals, turtles. Pariaman is the name of the city that is also a home to the beautiful beach called Pantai Penyu. 'Penyu' is an Indonesian word for 'turtle', so basically Pantai Penyu means the Turtles' Beach.

As implied by its name, it is a home to many species of turtles. Some of the species are Penyu Hijau or Chelonia mydas and Penyu Sisik or Eretmochelys imbricate. They also have a hatchery place where they incubate the eggs of the turtles and wait until they hatch to be baby turtles.

(Penyu Hijau or Chelonia mydas (Sourse: Personal Documentation))

(Penyu Sisik or Eretmochelys imbricate (Source: Personal Documentation))

Aside from enjoying the beautiful scenery of the open sea that directly faces the Indian Ocean, the tourists can also have the opportunity to release the baby turtles into the sea. They only have to pay for Rp5.000,- or less than a dollar per baby turtle to be able to experience this occasion.

(The Baby Turtles (Source: Personal Documentation))

There is nowhere to enjoy this special occasion other than in Pantai Panyu, Pariaman. You only have to be there to enjoy the scenery and the experience. Moreover, near the beach, the visitors can also visit a mangrove forest, but it's too bad that the mangrove forest has not been really active since the Corona Virus Pandemic.

But, that's not an excuse to not visit the heavenly beach. This is not Bali, but Pariaman in West Sumatra, surely it offers different things with the ones that Bali has. It will certainly be a whole new experience to those who visit it.

After strolling around the beach and releasing as many turtles as you want (in a reasonable number of course), the toursits can also buy the iconic traditional snack of the city, which is ladu arai pinang. It has a crunchy texture and has been the specialty of the city since forever. There are a lot of people sell it around the city, in the market, super market, even on the side of the road. So, make sure that you experience the taste of it.

In the end, this place is totally worth visiting. The tourists got many things to do while in this city. Another good thing is, the city is only 2 hours from the capital city of West Sumatra province, Padang. Whenever you land on Padang, you can go directly to the Pantai Penyu to get the whole new experiences. What are you waiting for? Come to Pantai Penyu and release your very own Penyu!

By any chance, for those who want to visit Pantai Penyu and create their own experience, you can watch our video on YouTube LINK TO OUR DOCUMENTATION VIDEO 

Thank you much and start your journey in West Sumatra!