It was a long time indeed and finally, we meet again to talk about the beauty of Indonesia, our beloved country. In the previous articles, we mentioned some information about the cultures of Indonesia such as the Sundanese language and the Javanese arts. But this time, let us relax a bit to an exclusive island located on the Western side of Indonesia called Bintan island.
Related topics:
- Underrated cities in Indonesia which have paradise
- Royal Palace in Indonesia
- Traditional house of North Sumatra
- Traditional foods in North Sumatra
Bintan is a small island located inside Riau administrative area. The capital, Tanjungpinang, also located on the same island. Bintan is actually the biggest island out of 3.000 islands that included inside Riau area. Usually, the tourists are coming here for the Bintan Resorts. But, there are other things you must do in Bintan island, such as:
1 – Bintan Island
The first one as an opener in things you must do in Bintan island is the Bintan island itself. It looks so big from afar and clearly visible from far away. The trip to the Bintan island is also a great experience because you can witness the beautiful scenery on the location from the port of Riau to the Port on Bintan island.
You know, at first, Bintan island was built by two different countries, Indonesia and Singapore, in order to bring profit to both countries, and also strengthen the bond between those two. They built the first Bintan Resort on 23 thousand hectares of lot on Bintan. Since then, more than a hundred thousand tourists coming every year.
Location: Bintan, Riau Island, Indonesia
2 – Lagoi
And there’s also another location located in Bintan called Lagoi. Lagoi is an exclusive tourism area that tourists can visit. It’s all okay if you want to enter it. The area is dominated with green vast areas with firest and hills. And it has beach areas as well, which is always be in the top of mind.
As you may know already, Bintan has some of the best International Resort that always be favorites. Lagoi is also accommodating them with choices of the resort that also combined with the natural aspects, which can be a really interesting experience. It can be a perfect stress reliever, especially for workers who have a lot of struggles.
Location: Lagoi Island, Bintan, Riau
Related articles:
3 – Lagoi Beach
Lagoi is located on the border between Indonesia and other countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. There’s also a location called Lagoi beach, which also known as a little Singapore back then. Before today, they used to do any transaction around Lagoi Beach with Singaporean Currency, Singapore Dollars, despite its location in Indonesia.
The beach is known as a nice tourism spot today, but it was a place for trade and market back then. The location of those two countries is in fact so close by the beach. You can clearly see them if the weather clear enough. The beach is also decorated with beautiful granite stones that give a different atmosphere to the location.
Location: Lagoi Island, Bintan, Riau
4 – The White Sands Island
Crossing the sea from Bintan island area, you can come to the island with the white sand carpet called as it is, the White Sands Island. The island has a form of a long stick, with a round area at each corner that also function as small ports for boats to come and go. You can see how beautiful it is from the picture.
However, the location of White Sands island is not that far from Bintan. You only need to take a boat for only 15 minutes with a decent speed. Usually, the people will go there from a village nearby called Teluk Bakau village. The activities that can be done here are almost the same, like snorkeling, swimming, and also diving.
Location: White Sands island, Bintan, Riau
5 – Senggarang Island
The other unique thing about Bintan is the islands. You can find some islands around Bintan, like the island mentioned before, then Penyengat, and this island called Senggarang. The unique thing about these islands is culture. In Senggarang, you can find the thick Chinese culture shown by the arts from the locals.
They built the big Chinese gate to greet the travelers coming in. This island looks more developed with the asphalt road and electricity, even though the situation around is still really calming. Aside from the gate, you can also witness the Chinese culture by visiting the Chinese temples, and the Chinese God Statues.
Location: Senggarang, Bintan, Riau
6 – Penyengat Island
Another one in the things you must do in Bintan island is Penyengat Island. This island has a long history of Islam, especially during the struggle of Riau Sultanate when facing the colonials in the 18th century. On the island, there stands the Sultan Riau Great Mosque that shining the whole island with its bright color.
However, you can visit this island which is not that far from Tanjung Pinang city by using a small motorboat called Pompong. It’ll take only 15 minutes.
Location: Penyengat, Bintan, Riau
See also:
7 – Crystal Lagoon
One thing you should visit in Bintan, thing that can’t be missed, is the one and only Crystal Lagoon. This lagoon is 6,4 hectares of the pool located by the sea. From the air, you can see how wonderful it looks. It has a crystal clear water that comes from processed sea water. That’s why the color is so clear.
However, to fill the whole pool, about more than a million liter of water needed. That’s a huge amount of water, so it’ll take a while when they want to clean the pool.
Location: Bintan, Riau
8 – The Bintan Mangrove Forest
Just like in Jakarta, or maybe the Eastern natural areas like Lombok and Papua, you can also find a mangrove forest in Bintan. Its function is clear enough, to prevent the abrasion, so the strong waves directly from the sea will be halted and slowed a bit. Aside from serving as a protector, it’s also being a refreshing tourism area for the tourists.
They can explore the whole forest by using a motorboat. You’ll have a chance to meet the local inhabitants as well like snakes, monkeys, and rare birds.
Location: Bintan, Riau
9 – Pasir Busung Hill
It’s not common to find a desert area in Indonesia, except from the two phenomenal locations, Bromo and Pasir Busung Hill. This place was not originally planned to be a tourist location. At first, they used the area for Bauxite mining zone. But some time after its abandonment, the hill became an interesting location to visit.
As you may see, the point of interest from this location is the desert. But, there’s also the huge sand hills can be found there as well.
Location: Pasir Busung Hill, Bintan, Riau
10 – The Blue Lake / Danau Biru
Do you remember the Star Lagoon in Bali? You can find a similar thing in Bintan, in a location called Danau Biru or the Blue Lake. Just the same as Pasir Busung Hill, The Blue Lake was once a mining area but closed later due to some conditions. It’s not actually closed, but not that actively operated, especially when the tourists started to come in.
The holes, the results from the sand mining process are filled with the water from the ran. Thus, the Blue Lakes were created.
Location: The Blue Lake, Bintan, Riau
11 – Trikora Beach
The beaches in Bintan are mostly decorated with natural stones. Aside from the first beached, Lagoi, that mentioned earlier, there’s another one called Trikora Beach. Even though the name is a bit similar to the one location in Jakarta, but they are truly different. Trikora beach in Bintan has something that can differ it from others.
That thing is the granite stones that located all over the beach. Even though it doesn’t look that safe, but it’s truly magnificent.
Location: Trikora, Bintan, Riau
12 – Panglong Hill
Another hill in the things you must do in Bintan island is called Panglong Hill. Now, it’s a beautiful attraction with the bluish lake in the center of the location. The blue lake doesn’t exist naturally. It’s the result of, again, mining process. They used to mine granite stones in the location, creating a big hole in the center.
After a long time passing by, the hole has covered the water and creating a beautiful lake we can see today.
Location: Kijang Kota, East Bintan
What may interest you:
13 – Treasure Bay
The center of Bintan island when you can do anything you want till your heart contended. Yes, many tourists would love to visit the Treasure Bay located in Lagoi. All the experience you can get in here is, well, treasurable. Thing like doing watersports like paddle boarding and others, plus chilling in the pool.
It’s almost like vacationing in Bali, but even better.
Location: Sebing Bay, Lagoi
14 – Mount Bintan Waterfall
And the last one in things you must do in Bintan island is to visit the natural attraction called Mount Bintan Waterfall. The water is coming from Mount Bintan located nearby. And the water is so fresh, way fresher than processed ocean water. You can always visit Mount Bintan Waterfall anytime you want.
The place is really quiet, calming, and highly refreshing.
Location: Bintan Buyu, Bintan
