Nias is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was part of the famous Hippie trail of the sixties, particularly travelled by surfers, which lead to Bali. Some have argued that the waves at the southern beach of Sorake are much better than the ones in Maui. It has been the site of several international surf competitions in the past, particularly before the 1998 Indonesian Reformation Movement.

Administratively it was a Kabupaten of the Province North Sumatra. It was recently split in 2003 into two Kabupatens, Nias Utara (Northern Nias) and Nias Selatan (Southern Nias). The Island's northern capital is Gunung Sitoli. The main tourist/surfing area is Lagundri Bay, close to the town of Teluk Dalam, on the southern tip. Enclosed by the beaches of Lagundri and Sorake, the bay has both left and right-hand breaks. Turtles can often be seen swimming below the surfers as they wait for waves.

Since the 1998 Reformation, transport links on and to the island have become poor. Internally, the road system is in a very bad condition. Externally the air and ferry links are unreliable. There are two ferry terminals (Gunung Sitoli and Teluk Dalam) and an airport (Binaka, near G. Sitoli [1] http://www.fallingrain.com/icao/WIMB.html ) on the island, serviced mainly from Sibolga and Medan respectively. However, local ferry companies regularly go out of business (or sink), so only one terminal may be active at any given time. Commercial air travel is equally unreliable.

The predominant local religion is Protestant Christianity (practiced by slightly more than half the population), having been visited by German Missionaries about 200 years ago. Some have cited local culture as one of the few remaining Megalithic culture in existence today, a culture some experts say is fast disappearing.

At the 26th of December, 2004 the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake struck a few kilometers north of the island, creating tsunamis as high as 10 meters. Death toll resulting from the incident has numbered 122 dead and hundreds more rendered homeless.

External links

• Nias Island Website http://www.niasisland.com
• Nias Info on SurfingSumatra http://www.surfingsumatra.com/NiasInfo.html