This island offers the sensation of a natural aura, though impressed isolated from the bustle of human civilization, but you do not need to worry because the island is still there for the cellular signal, and can still communicate with the outside world via the Internet .

Underwater scenery can also be enjoyed with the naked eye. You will also be a visitor can directly observe the lives of sea turtles, and other animals found in Pulo Batee.

Wooden fishing boat was stranded on top of houses after the Tsunami struck. Many domestic and foreign tourists visiting the ship on top of the house every day. In the area there are also other objects, such as fishing tours, fishing villages, and a number of domestic industries that support tourism sector.

The Ship on the house is a mute witness to the history of natural disasters of earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004.

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Pristine and untouched rainforests are hosts to an immense Biodiversity of more than 170 mammals, 320 birds and 190 reptiles and amphibians.

7 mayor river systems are floating from the heart of the Leuser Eco System to the east and west coast of Sumatra.

Several volcanoes are bedded within the Bukit Barisan mountains.

Among the 10.000 plant species recorded in the West Indo Malayan Region, appr 45% can be found in this Eco System. Several eco systems can be found within the parks borders: beach forest, swamp areas, low land rainforest, alpine areas and mountain forest.The rainforests are very dense and progress on ground is difficult and slow. Especially the Tiger and Leopards are very shy and rarely to be seen. Views of primates, maquaqes, birds, reptiles, insects are frequently. Maquaqes and Thomas Leaf Monkeys are permanent guests near our lodge at Kedah, which is situated under huge rainforest giants.

Mammals Sumatran Tiger and Rhino, Sumatra Orang Utan, Elephant, Clouded Leopard are the most spectaculous species, living in these pristine rainforests. Other primates like Siamang, Thomas Leaf Monkey, and several species of Maquaqes are very common all over the area. Slow Lori, Golden Cat, Deer, Ozelot, Porcibine, Squirrels, Sunbear are difficult to spot, but living in our areas of activity.

Birds Especially along the Alas river there is a big variety of birds, such as many species of Hornbill, Pheasant, Parrot, Eagle, Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Owl, Wodpecker. Nevertheless there are also many kinds of birds in the jungle, but due to very dense vegetation it is more difficult to watch them. To sight birds you should bring a pair of binoculars. Generally you will see birds on all our trekking and expedition trips very frequently.

Reptiles and Amphibians Both groups are highly represented in the Gunung Leuser Eco System. Among the most famous are several species of Python, the King-Cobra, Black Cobra, Banded Krait, Sumatra Pit Viper, Mangrove snake, many species of Frog, Turtle, Lizard, Iguana. Usually snakes are very shy and flee, whenever they get aware of human beings. Whenever you spot snakes, do not disturb them or do not approach. Crocodiles can still be spotted at lower Alas area.

Flora Gunung Leuser Eco System is host to an unbelievable variety of more than 8.000 plant species. Among them are Giant Trees, Palms, flowers, Orchids, Mangrove Trees. Rafflesia and Amorphophallus are very common on our tours, however, very seldom you can find the flowers. We will pass graceful Bamboos with heights up to 18m. Our guides will inform you about plant-life and fruits in the jungle.

]]> http://aceh.net/gunung-leuser/feed/ 0 http://aceh.net/aceh-tsunami-museum/ http://aceh.net/aceh-tsunami-museum/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:57:05 +0000 ibakri@aceh.net http://aceh.net/aceh-tsunami-museum/

The Aceh Tsunami Museum, located in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, is a museum designed as a symbolic reminder of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami disaster, as well as an educational center and an emergency disaster shelter in case the area is ever hit by a tsunami again.

The museum is a 2,500 m² four-story structure; its long curving walls covered in geometric reliefs. Inside, visitors enter through a dark, narrow corridor between two high walls of water — meant to recreate the noise and panic of the tsunami itself. The museum walls are adorned with images of people performing the Saman dance, a symbolic gesture dedicated to the strength, discipline and religious beliefs of the Acehnese people.^[2] From above, the roof resembles a tidal wave. The ground floor is modelled on the kind of traditional raised Acehnese houses that were best equipped to survive the tsunami.

The building acknowledgess both the victims, whose names are to be inscribed on the wall of one of the museum’s internal chambers, and the surviving members of the local community.

In addition to its role as a memorial for those who died, the museum also offers a place of refuge from future such events, including an “escape hill” for visitors to run to in the event of another tsunami.

Exhibitions at the museum include an electronic simulation of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, in addition to photographs of victims and exhibits featuring stories from survivors of the disaster.

Ratusan ekor kuda setiap tahun ikut memeriahkan even pacuan kuda tradisional yang dibuka di Lapangan Blang Bebangka, Pegasing.

Pacuan Kuda Tradisional yang merupakan event resmi Pemda Aceh Tengah diikuti oleh empat kabupaten (Aceh Tengah, Bener Meriah, Gayo Lues and Bireun), sekaligus melibatkan berbagai kuda lokal dataran tinggi Gayo dan kuda “Astaga” (hasil perkawinan silang antara kuda Australia dengan Gayo).

Arena pacuan kuda menggunakan lapangan Blang Bebangka dengan panjang lingkaran trek 1.000 meter. Kuda-kuda yang akan dipertandingkan meliputi empat kelas berdasarkan tinggi tubuh kuda.

Event pacuan kuda menjadi bagian budaya masyarakat dataran tinggi Gayo yang selalu digelar setiap bulan Agustus setiap tahunnya, yang diiringi dengan berbagai atraksi dan permainan rakyat lainnya, seperti sepak bola, bola voli, lomba lari, bola keranjang, sepak takraw, panjat tebing dan balap mobil. / AcehTourismAgency.com – Dinas Pariwisata Aceh

Pulau-pulau di kawasan Pulo Aceh :

* Pulau Benggala
* Pulau Breueh
* Pulau Nasi
* Pulau Keureusek
* Pulau Batee
* Pulau Bunta
* Pulau U
* Pulau Sidom

Pulau yang berada di pesisir Aceh, berbeda dengan pulau² sebelumnya yang ukurannya kecil, kali ini sebuah Pulau yang lumayan besar dan sudah dikenal lama oleh masyarakat Aceh dan luar Aceh, walau imagenya agak jelek, diakui atau tidak, begitu mendengar kata Pulau Aceh orang langsung teringat pada Ganja, pulau ini sebelum Tsunami memang dikenal sebagai penghasil ganja dan katanya (katanya lo) ganja pulau Aceh lebih bagus mutunya dari ganja² ditempat lain. Ketika darurat militer di Aceh (tahun 2003) pulau Aceh kembali mendapat image yang kurang baik, pulau ini dipersiapkan sebagai penjara untuk para anggota GAM, proyek pembangunan penjara yang mungkin akan menjadikan pulau Aceh sebagai Nusa Kambangan ke-2 ini gagal setelah Tsunami dan disepakatinya perjanjian damai RI-GAM. Dulu pulau Aceh juga ditakuti oleh pendatang karena Malarianya.

Untuk mencapai pulau Aceh, anda bisa berangkat dari Pelabuhan Ikan Lampulo atau ulee lhee- Banda Aceh, menggunakan perahu motor perjalanan bisa mencapai 2 jam, terletak di sebelah Timur Laut pulau Sumatera dan bersebelahan dengan pulau Breuh (Kota kecamatan Pulau Aceh terletak di Pulau Breuh) dan pulau Sabang membuat pulau ini berpotensi sebagai tempat tujuan wisata, namun sampai sekarang belum terlihat keseriusan pemerintah dalam hal ini Badan Pengusahaan Kawasan Sabang (BPKS) dalam menggali berbagai sumber daya alam di pulau ini. Masayarakat Aceh juga menyebut pulau ini dengan Pulau Nasi, sebutan itu mungkin berhubungan dengan tetangganya pulau Breuh (dalam bahasa Aceh artinya beras).

Bagi anda yang gemar wisata bahari, pulau Aceh tidak akan mengecewakan anda, pantai dengan pasir putih dengan mudah di jumpai disini, namun bila anda ingin menyelam untuk melihat terumbu karang harus membawa peralatan sendiri. Disini juga anda bisa berkemah dengan bebas, namun perlu diingat pulau ini terkenal dengan Malarianya walau sekarang sudah jarang terdengar, namun membawa obat anti malaria bukanlah tindakan salah.

Bagi Anda yang hobi memancing, anda bisa menyewakan perahu milik nelayan di kawasan Lampulo dengan harga berkisar Rp. 250.000 – Rp 300.000 per hari untuk mengunjungi pulau Aceh sambil memancing, pasti sangat mengasikkan karena anda juga bisa mengelilingi pulau Aceh dan Pulau² kecil disekitarnya.

Banda Aceh. Tears, prayers and colorful paper flowers on Sunday marked the seventh anniversary of the devastating tsunami that left large swaths of desolation on the coast and some 170,000 dead in Aceh province.

More than 6,000 people packed a golf course in Lhok Nga, Aceh Besar district, just outside the Acehnese capital, together with provincial authorities.

Thousands paid their respects at mass graves of tsunami victims and prayed for the dead.

Celebrations were held in several of Aceh’s districts, especially those on the western coast, which were hit the hardest by the monstrous waves of Dec. 26, 2004.

Many among the thousands at Lhok Nga could not withhold their tears when a woman read out a poem on the disaster, which was later followed by a prayer session led by a local cleric.

Among those in attendance were a number of Japanese nationals — teachers, students and NGO activists — who took with them 5,000 paper flowers, known as shinsai mirai no hana , or flowers of the future, on which Japanese children had jotted down their hopes, encouragements and prayers.

One of the yellow flowers read “Let us rise together” in Japanese, written by You, an elementary student from Kagaya.

Dozens of children who survived the tsunami helped “plant” the flowers at the site.

“We are planting them here to give the people and the children of Aceh the spirit of hope,” said Ryo Nishikawa from the Japanese NGO Co.to.hana, which organized the sending and planting of the paper flowers.

The same group also brought paper flowers from Japan for last year’s ceremony.

Lhok Nga, some 18 kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh, was one of the regions in Aceh Besar that were flattened by the tsunami. Only one mosque was left standing after the waves had swept the area.

Nishikawa said the group would also gather paper flowers containing messages from the children of Aceh to bring back to Japan and deliver them to the children who survived the March 11 tsunami on the northeastern coast of Japan.

“The flowers and the words of encouragement from the children of Aceh will be distributed to the towns that were hit by the disaster, so that people will think about earthquakes, and ways to anticipate them,” Nishikawa said.

Aliya Humaira, 8, from Cadek in Aceh Besar, wrote a message of love for her own family. She lost all of them to the tsunami.

“I love papa, I love mama, I love Kak Icha, I love Bang Kiki,” wrote Aliya, who now lives with her grandmother in Medan in neighboring North Sumatra.

Aliya’s grandmother, Khamariya, said she brought the girl to Aceh every year to attend the commemoration so that she would not forget her family.

Takashiro Ito, who led a delegation of Japanese teachers visiting Aceh to learn about post-tsunami recovery, said Japan had received plenty of support and encouragement from Indonesia when the country was hit by the quake and tsunami in March.

He also told of his own experience in Kesennuma, one of the coastal cities hit hard by the Japanese tsunami.

“There were a lot of Indonesians working on tuna fishing boats, and when the tsunami took place they did not sail to sea. They gave out the food they had prepared for their journey to the survivors of the tsunami,” Ito said.

He added that he wanted to return the favor by giving some of the Indonesian fishermen a blanket. However, he said, “they said there was no need for that and to give it to others who needed it more.”