Visit Nias in August: International Surf Competition and Ya’ahowu Cultural Festival

This August make the island of Nias in the Indian Ocean your destination choice. From 6 to 8 August 2016, all district governments together with the people of Nias have joined hands to present the highlight of their 2016 Calendar of Events, which is filled with a cultural festival called Ya’ahowu and the staging of the International Surf Competition.

Nias is already well-known worldwide for its unbelievable rolling surf barrels, -the darling of surfers, and the earliest discovered living Megalithic culture in the Indonesian archipelago, which still thrives on the island until this very day.

These and other exciting cultural performances will be shown during the festival at Gunung Sitoli, that include the amazing famous barefeet high jumps over piles of stone, a mock battle , and other  unique and colorful traditional ceremonies of Nias. And for a more modern touch there will also be fashion shows and a culinary bazaar for all to enjoy.    

At the same time the exciting International Surf Competition will be ongoing at Sorake Bay and Lagundri Beach.

The Festival will be closed with popular Indonesian singers and 1,000 lanterns released into the sky.

As part of the province of North Sumatra, the island is reachable by regular flights from the Kualanamu International Airport of Medan, capital city of the province to the Binaka Airport at Gunung Sitoli. While Sorake Bay is only some 15 km from Gunung Sitoli. There are surf camps available there for surfers. Medan receives flights from Singapore, Malaysia, Jakarta and other major cities in Indonesia.