To Barus We Travel and Pilgrimage in One Package

PARIAMAN, POTRETKITA – Travel and pilgrimage are packaged in one package, right? This is interesting if you visit Barus in Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra Province, an old town directly adjacent to Singkil, Naggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) Province.

Makam Papan Tinggi

For the people of Padang, Pariaman, West Pasaman, Agam, Padang Panjang, and Tanah Datar Regencies, the distance to Barus is not too far. It only takes about 15 hours to penetrate the distance of about 500 kilometers. For a long time, Muslims from these areas have made pilgrimages to Barus.

In the past, visiting Barus was packed just for a pilgrimage. It was also limited to the Tomb of Papan Tinggi, the place where Tuan Sheikh Mahmud is buried. Now? With better access to transportation facilities, you can also make pilgrimages to hundreds of tombs of scholars who brought Islam to the islands of the archipelago in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, or in the first centuries of the Hijri calendar.

There is also the Tomb of Mr. Syech Machdum and the Mahligai Cemetery Complex. There are hundreds of graves of ulama and followers of Tuan Syech Machmud in the two old cemetery complexes.

After the pilgrimage, it's time for you to spoil your eyes. The beautiful beaches around Barus are not to be visited. At one point of the beach, there is a monument in the shape of a globe which was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo two years ago. The monument was named the Zero Kilometer Monument of Islamic Civilization Entering the Archipelago.

Shaped like a globe with a dot that reads: NEW. This monument is proof that it is true that Islam first entered the archipelago through Barus, namely during the 7th century AD Caliph Umar Bin Khattab. Much earlier than Walisongo took part in Java in the 14th century.

In Kota Barus, there is also a bridge named JEMBARAN HAMZAH AL-FANSHURI, 100 meters long and 10 meters wide. The beautiful bridge when viewed from the Papan Tinggi Tomb Complex is phenomenal, and it is hoped that it will become a new icon of Barus tourism. The bridge connects Barus District with Andam Dewi District.

Why Hamza Al-Fansuri? He is the pride of the people of Barus and Indonesia. Al-Fansuri is the first poet in the Malay world who is very famous. He was the greatest Malay Poet of the 17th century, the Sufi poet of no equal. He also raised Malay so that it became the language used in international communication which in scientific studies is called the lingua-franca.

To commemorate the greatness of Al-Fansuri, his name was attached to the name of the beautiful bridge.

The bridge of Hamzah Al-Fanshuri

Pilgrimages and tours in one package, you don't have to bother. One group is sufficient for a maximum of six people. We will pick you up to a meeting point in the cities of Padang, Padang Pariaman, West Pasaman, Pasaman, Agam, Tanah Datar, and other district cities, according to negotiations with our team.

One group is in one Avanza minibus or similar. But if the number of congregation members exceeds two groups, we can go together using minus the Elf type or the medium bus. For now, the conditions in the areas that are passed are still mostly orange zones and yellow zones for Covid-19 transmission, it is not recommended that you go with a large group. One group of six people is enough!

It should also be noted that until now, Kota Barus is still in the Green Zone, a sub-district that is always monitored to be safe from the transmission of the Corona Virus in Central Tapanuli Regency.

What about accommodation and consumption? There are no luxury hotels in Barus. But you can be facilitated to stay at an inn, mess, or hotel with standard facilities equivalent to a one-star hotel. The costs that you will incur are already included in a travel package that we pack.

As for food, which is very sensitive for Padang people, when traveling to North Sumatra, with our team, it will not be a problem. Culinary with unique, good, and halal flavors will be enjoyed during the trip. Lunch, for example. You can enjoy a variety of processed freshwater fish with typical Mandailing Natal (Madina) spices at Panyabungan, accompanied by a unique and phenomenal portion of Takar Coffee.

Dinner can be enjoyed in Sibolga City or in Tapian Nauli Village. If the choice falls to Sibolga, then the menu that can be enjoyed is a variety of menus made from marine fish caught by fishermen in the vast Indonesian Ocean. The cook and manager are natives of Padang Panjang City, West Sumatra Province.

But the choice can change, if you want to enjoy an unusual taste. Our dinner at Tapian Nauli Village. There is also a cool culinary made from fish as well. There are also other seafood menus. It's just that, the spices used are typical of the Batak land, which makes an extraordinary delicious sensation on the tongue when tasting it. For example, Batak onions, sambuang, kincuang, and others.

While in Barus, you are also guaranteed to get halal culinary dishes made from sea fish, accompanied by delicious coffee blends typical of Tanah Barus.

Three days spent on pilgrimages and tours here will not be enough, if you want to enjoy all the charms of Barus and Central Tapanuli, plus Singkil in Aceh which is also the landing point of the first Islamic carriers to the archipelago.

Tugu Nol Kilometer Peradaban Islam Masuk ke Kepulauan Nusantara

There is a team that can be contacted to consult, make travel plans, facilitate, and guide you to Barus. Try contacting email musriadi@rangtalu.net or using chat on the whatsapp application at 081363119119.(translated by google from Bahasa Indonesia to English)