Explore WEST Sumatra

West Pasaman is one of the districts in the province of West Sumatra, Indonesia. This area was formed from the expansion of Pasaman Regency based on Law No. 38 of 2003 dated December 18, 2003, with the district capital at Simpang Ampek. In general, the topography of West Pasaman Regency is flat and slightly undulating, while hill and mountainous areas are only found in Talamau sub-district and Gunung Tuleh sub-districts. West Pasaman Regency has 11 sub-districts and 19 villages.
One of the districts in West Pasaman Regency is Koto Balingka District. Based on its geographical position, Koto Balingka District has territorial boundaries, namely, to the north it is bordered by Ranah Batahan sub-district, to the south by the Indian Ocean, to the west by Sungai Beremas sub-district, to the east by Lembah Melintang sub-district. (Quoted: /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabupaten_Pasaman_Barat)
Koto Balingka District covers an area of 340.78 km2 and is located 8.77 meters above sea level and is crossed by 18 rivers. This sub-district has the potential for marine tourism whose beautiful beaches are not inferior to Air Bangis beach in Sungai Baremas sub-district or Sasak beach in Ranah Pasisie sub-district. In fact, this sub-district has a green tourist attraction in the form of a lake plus games. The following are tourist objects in the Koto Balingka sub-district:

1. Sikabau Beach

When talking about marine tourism in West Pasaman, in general people often visit Air Bangis Beach and Sasak Beach as their tourist destinations. Due to its location which is not far from the capital city of Simpang Ampek and more adequate facilities compared to other beach tourism in West Pasaman.
In fact, there is a lot of potential for marine tourism in West Pasaman, one of which is Sikabau Beach. The location of this beach is located in the village of Sikabau. Access to Sikabau beach, until now is still quite difficult, it also makes Sikabau beach seem to be forgotten by tourists. This possibility is why this beach is not well known by tourists.

Source: tanjung official/screenshot/youtube.com.photo

To get to this beach, you can use a own vehicle from the capital of Simpang Ampek until you arrive at the Sayur intersection in the village of Ujung Gading. From here the journey continues through oil palm plantations owned by the company and residents, with rocky road conditions for approximately 1 hour to arrive at Sikabau beach. So the total trip you take is about 2 hours drive from the capital city of Simpang Ampek.

However, precisely because people rarely know about this beach, it still looks very natural. It has gentle waves so it is safe to swim at low tide. Rows of coconut and cypress trees make Sikabau Beach even more beautiful. Moreover, because the location is still empty of visitors, it is a good spot for fishing because there is also a mangrove forest which is a nest for various types of reef fish.

Source: orbitmetro.com.photo

                Source: kompasiana.com/adtuankumudo0168/photo

Source: wisato.id/wisata-air.photo

Source: kumparan.com/amalinaistiqfar/photo

If you continue walking along the beach towards the river, you will come to an estuary with clear water. The estuary is usually used by tourists who visit for fishing. Indeed, there is a fishing spot here which is known for its many fish. Apart from fishing, fish seekers catch fish by shooting fish arrows or casting nets and thankfully no one catches fish by bombing or spreading poison in this estuary area. Most of the catch is directly eaten there. Grouper, mullet and milkfish are abundant in this coastal waters.

Source: tanjung official/screenshot/youtube.com.photos

Source: H & F Sikabau/screenshot/youtube.com.photos

This beach is very pleasant when explored by outboard motor boat. There are boat rental services that will take you along the river estuary, rows of mangrove forests and on small islands in Sikabau waters.

Source: rangtanjuang89/screenshot/youtube.com.photos

Not far from the beach area there are watermelon plantations owned by local residents. Residents there also sell watermelons from their gardens directly to visitors. If you want then you can buy it because it tastes sweet and fresh.
Not only that, according to local residents, in the morning you can see dolphins swimming and jumping off the beach, no wonder because this beach is directly facing the Indian Ocean.

2. Indah Parik Lake

It turns out that lakes are not only found in Solok and Agam, because there are also lakes in West Pasaman. The lake whose surface area is unknown is located in the village of Parik. From the city center, it is 30 minutes away by car. The expanse is quite wide, the water is clear and has various species of freshwater biota fish.
This lake is located in an oil palm plantation area. Access to it is rather difficult because it is still a dirt road. This tourist attraction has not been managed properly. Visitors must bring provisions if they want to linger in this beautiful place because there are no traders selling. In addition, there are no tourism support facilities or other facilities.
You can bring fishing equipment here because the lake is rich with fish or if you like mountain biking, you can try the track to the location of the lake.

Source: jelajah sumatera/danau indah pasaman barat sumbar/screeshot/youtube.com.photos

3. Peridon Sport Center

The Sport Facilities Center (Peridon Sport Center) in the village of Lubuk Manggis Aek Nabirong is increasingly being visited by tourists and the local community.

Why not, now in Peridon tourism which is managed and funded by Najjar Lubis himself, he has built a number of tourist facilities. He is a businessman from the village of Lubuk Manggis. The facilities that have been built include cave tours, water parks, swimming pools for training for students and the general public, beautifully lined fish ponds, white water rafting, motocross circuit arenas, sports fields, canoe rowing locations, rock climbing arenas and people’s markets.

It is also equipped with facilities such as performing arts, prayer rooms, meeting places, baths and toilets as well as lodging and employee residences. The facilities there are still under development in this fairly large location.

It was built to improve the achievements of athletes in the Pasaman area as well as being a tourist attraction. To support the athletes’ training, 25 permanent rooms have been built as accommodation for the athletes.

Source: prodeteksi.com/2022/01/photos

West Pasaman is a maritime area which has a beach of approximately 100 km long. In this case, there are investment opportunities for the development of the marine sector, such as shrimp, seaweed and other marine potentials. If Airbangis Port is developed into an ocean port, marine tourism on Sikabau Beach and other tourist attractions in Koto Balingka will definitely be more advanced.