Third day is Gundaling Hill

Gundaling Hill is a 1575 meter hill in Berastagi. As Berastagi itself is already 1300 meters above sea level, the height of Gundaling hill is only about 200-300 meters above the town. From the top of Gundaling Hill, one can get a panoramic view of Berastagi, although often the souvenir stalls on Gundaling Hill block the otherwise marvellous view.

There is a park on Gundaling Hill, with statues of - I suppose - local heroes including Pawang Ternalem and a mountain princess called Beru Patimar. From Gundaling Hill, you can catch good views of the two live volcanoes in Berastagi, Gunung Sibayak and Gunung Sinabung. Of the two, the taller, cone-shaped Gunung Sinabung is particularly impressive.

I did not realise how close is the hotel I was staying and Gundaling Hill until I took a coach up the hill from our hotel. Horse riding is available on the hill, and I discovered that I could ever ride a horse from my hotel to the top of the hill.