Sibolga is a city and a port on the west coast of North Sumatra

North Sumatra

North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.- Geography and population :...

 province, in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. It is located on the western side of North Sumatra, facing the Indian Ocean and is a transit harbour to Nias island. It was hard hit during the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

.

History

Poncan Ketek Island (Small Poncan Island) in Sibolga Bay was once the location of a fort. British, Dutch, French and American traders passed through here. It is thought Stamford Raffles

Stamford Raffles

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"...

 passed through before he moved to Bengkulu

Bengkulu

Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...

 in south Sumatra. From Bengkulu

Bengkulu

Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...

 Raffles, after relinquishing the Port to the Dutch, established the trade port that became Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.

Transport & tourism

Ferries from here service the outlying islands to the west, Simeulue

Simeulue

Simeulue Regency is a regency in the Aceh province of Indonesia. It occupies the whole island of Simeulue , 150 km off the west coast of Sumatra, with a population of 80,279 ....

 and Nias

Nias

Nīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago....

, as well as the rest of Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. Sibolga has attractions of its own in terms of its historical background, beaches and coral gardens in a sea dotted with islands. Sibolga is a step off point for trade and passenger boats to Nias Island.