One of the best things to do in North Sumatra is hiking up the volcano Mount Sibayak. It’s an active stratovolcano, which spits out gasses and vapor. Don’t expect to see any lava here, but it’s still an awesome experience and the hike up is easy and beautiful! Plus, it’s really easy to do on your own as a day trip. No tour needed!
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission when you click on them, at no additional cost to you. It just helps to keep this site running. I only promote products and services I really recommend and always give my honest opinion about them.
Table of Contents - How to hike Mount Sibayak Volcano without a tour
Where to stay to hike Mount Sibayak?
The best place to base yourself if you want to hike Mount Sibayak is Berastagi. From here you can take a tour, public bus, or rent a scooter to get to the trail. You can even walk from town if you want, but that does make it a fairly long hike.
We did a day trip from Medan ourselves and rented a scooter there to get to Mount Sibayak. I don’t recommend this, however, as it’s quite far and the traffic is crazy. Not only is the whole way to Berastagi really busy, but it’s also very chaotic in an “it’s-everyone-for-themselves-and-rules-are-meant-to-be-broken” kind of way. So it’s not a nice and enjoyable ride there, it’s very stressful and frankly, dangerous. Plus, Medan doesn’t offer much for tourists and you can find transport from Berastagi to other places in North Sumatra without having to travel back to Medan. So there is no reason to spend more time here than necessary.
So don’t do what we did, but make your way to Berastagi by bus and spend 2 nights here so you have the whole day to explore the volcano.
How to get to Mount Sibayak?
In order to get to Mount Sibayak, you’ll first need to make your way to Berastagi. There is transport available from the city of Medan, the airport and other touristic locations like Bukit Lawang and Lake Toba.
Getting to Berastagi from Medan airport
There is a bus that takes you from the airport to the Amplas terminal. From here you can take a bus to Berastagi. The schedule of the bus to Berastagi is not very reliable though. So if your flight arrives late in the day, you can give it a go and see if you can make it to Berastagi the same day. There is some accommodation available in the area. You can also take the airport train to the city center and spend a night here.
Getting to Berastagi from Medan City
Unless you are really committed to renting a motorbike and driving to Mount Sibayak from Medan, go by bus. If you are staying in the center, you can either get a Grab (like Uber, but works with motortaxi’s too) to the terminal, or a green bus. This is the option I found online. When we asked locals for recommendations, they advised us to get a Grab to the Jamin Ginting Flyover (a viaduct) and take a bus to Berastagi from there. We passed this place on the motorbike and did indeed see buses to Berastagi parked there.
The reason we didn’t follow this advice, is because we had to come back to Medan the same day. They told us that as long as we left before 10 am we should be fine, but it didn’t sound too convincing. So we rented a bike to make sure we’d be able to make it back.
Getting to Berastagi from Bukit Lawang or Lake Toba
If your first destination in North Sumatra is Bukit Lawang or Lake Toba, it’s also possible to travel directly to Berastagi from these locations. Do note that you will need to take the tourist van if you want to travel directly. If you want to take local, public transport you will have to travel via Medan. Make sure to leave early as it’s a long way to Berastagi and schedules are not very reliable. So take an early bus to Medan to have the best chance to find a but that goes to Berastagi.
How long does it take to hike up Mount Sibayak?
Well, this depends on where you start from and which path you take. If you go by public transport, you need to hike 4 km to the registration office/parking area (or 7 if you want to walk from town). If you rent a bike/book a Grab, you can drive up here.
From the registration office (which was closed when we were there) there are two paths you can take. The shortest one takes about 1 hour to hike to the top (not including picture stops 😉). The path is easy and quite straightforward, so it’s even good for beginners and children.
Do I need a tour or guide to hike Mount Sibayak?
No, you don’t need a tour or a guide. There are many agencies offering tours however, so it’s definitely possible to join a tour if you prefer. Agencies seem to all organize sunrise tours though, so it can potentially get quite busy. We arrived at about 10 am in Berastagi and crossed only a hand full of people on the mountain. So even though we didn’t get to see the sunrise there, it was still a very nice experience as we had the mountain to ourselves most of the time. So I would recommend doing it this way actually. But if you really want to see the sunrise here, you can also just wake up early and make your own way here at that time.
What do I need to bring to hike Mount Sibayak?
Well, most importantly sturdy shoes. The path is quite rocky. Sneakers are sufficient, but hiking boots are even better if you have them. Mount Sibayak is about 2200m high, so it can get a bit chilly here even during the day. So it’s best to bring a light jacket, that also protects against the wind and rain if you have it. Otherwise, a thin sweater will do as well.
Also, bring plenty of water and some snacks. It’s easy to just wander around the area, and you don’t want to have to go back down just because you’re out of water/hungry.
Your phone with an offline hiking map as there is no signal most of the way. Mapy.cz is very handy as it shows the trails Google doesn’t. So download the map of the area on your phone before you go.
And lastly, don’t forget your sunscreen and a hat. Even though it can get cloudy up there, the sun is strong.
The Hike up Mount Sibayak
So, as explained above, the hike is really easy to do on your own. Either get the bus to the terminal or drive to the parking area marked on the map below by motor/Grab. It’s technically possible to drive all the way to the base camp, but the road is steep and in really bad condition so I wouldn’t attempt it. It’s better to walk and keep your eyes and ears open for monkeys!
The path is mostly clearly marked, but I recommend having an offline map downloaded on your phone anyway. Better save than sorry. Plus, the trail from the lake to the top (viewpoint) is not as clearly marked, so it’s good to have a map to confirm you’re on the right track👌.
From the parking area, you can either follow the path up, past the registration office for the short trail or follow the sign to the hot springs for the longer trail. We opted for the short one to get up. At the end of the sealed road, you will see some houses, a small shop, and bathrooms. Follow the sign to the left to the gravel road to reach the lake.
From here just follow the path. It’s also marked by orange and white/red ribbons, so it’s easy to confirm you’re on the right track. If you suddenly stop seeing them, check your map!
Keep following the path and enjoy the beautiful views on your way up.
Once you reach the area pictured below, you’re almost at the lake, you just need to get to the rim. This area is also very beautiful and impressive though, so don’t rush through it. Spend some time listing to the sound of the vapor that’s being pushed out of the vent and just soak up the beauty of the place.
From here, the path is not so clearly marked anymore, but it doesn’t matter so much there are multiple ways to get up. Just make sure you go there from the ribbon in the bushes, passing fairly close to the geyser.
From here you can already see the lake. I was surprised to see that many people wrote in the lake with stones, so I guess it’s possible to get down, but we didn’t try. We just spend some time here taking pictures before heading to the viewpoint.
From the lake it’s a short way to the viewpoint. There are 2 ways going left, make sure to take the upper one. The other one goes around. Keep an ear out for the many monkeys you can hear from the forest below!
Our original plan was to hike down and around the other way. But when we were at the top more and more clouds where coming in and they looked like they could potentially carry rain. The shorter trail is supposed to be easier than the longer one, and even though it was an easy trail, it looked like it could get quite challenging when wet. Also, the clouds were coming in from the other way and it looked like most of the other trail would have views over a town, so we decided to hike back the same way we came. We really loved this path so no problem to do it again ☺️
Food Tip: You’ll probably be hungry after your hike! Boeloeh Cafe & Resto has really nice food, nice atmosphere and the owner is super nice. He loves to come over and have a chat with guests (provided it’s not too busy of course) and speaks great Engish. The restaurant si a bit outside of Berastagi, but if you have rented a scooter for the day, it’s close enough.