You need time to explore the vast mountainous island of Sumatra

Mountainous, thickly forested and utterly huge, Sumatra can take weeks (or months) to get around.

The pleasant hill-town of Bukittinggi is a fine place to start your exploration. Jungle trekking is popular in this area, or if you have more time, head out to Pulau Siberut, where locals in loincloths can teach you to sharpen a spear and go pig hunting. Organized trips to Siberut last around 10 days, including a day to get there and back. The entire island is seemingly one big swamp and the only way around is on foot through the muck. Evenings are spent pleasantly in the long house.

Back on dry land, head north to check out Danau Toba, a spectacular crater lake, or Bukit Lawang where orangutans clamber through the trees.

Just off the northern tip of the island rests tiny Palau Weh, a low-key island that offers great scuba diving.

Much of northwest Sumatra was devastated by the 2004 tsunami and it could take years before cities and towns are fully recovered.