Bandar Lampung

At the very southern tip of Sumatra, Bandar Lampung has been welcoming travelers fresh from Java and Jakarta for centuries. Once divided into two distinct towns – landlocked Tanjungkarang and coastal Telukbetun – the place has since boomed with business and industry to become one large cityscape in its own right. The setting remains fantastic though, thanks to the peaked hills and the encroaching rollers of the Indian Ocean along the shore. The area known as Tanjungkarang buzzes with life and bazaars; enterprises occupy every nook and cranny and malls thrum with shopping locals. Meanwhile, Telukbetung is a little more relaxed, home to salt-washed Buddhist relics and walking streets along the edge of the Sunda Strait. Bandar Lampung tour guides often lead excursions out to see the fascinating Thay Hin Bio Temple and the curious monument to the destructive eruption of Mount Krakatau. There are art markets, butterfly farms and traditional villages to visit as well!