Padang, a city in West Sumatra, has made a name for itself as the fastest-growing destination among international travellers visiting Indonesia. This was revealed in the annual “New Horizons” report from digital travel platform Agoda.
Agoda releases New Horizons 2025 every year to compare booking data from the last two years. It also looks at destinations that have experienced the highest increase in interest, both in domestic and international travel.
Released annually, this list aims to identify the destinations with the highest increase in both domestic and international travel.
By comparing accommodation booking rankings in the previous two years. Padang, West Sumatra, has been recognized as the top new destination among inbound travellers.
Agoda‘s Senior Country Director in Indonesia, Gede Gunawan, said the list also revealed that Banjarmasin is the most popular destination for Indonesian domestic travellers.
While Beijing, China became the international destination with the biggest surge in popularity among Indonesian travellers.
“I am very happy to see the increasing popularity of Padang. It proves that the efforts of Agoda and many others in the Indonesian tourism industry to promote secondary destinations have paid off. At the same time, it is exciting to see the growing interest of Indonesian travellers in Beijing,” said Gede Gunawan, as quoted from Kumparan.
The top ranking achieved indicates that Padang City is increasingly recognized as an attractive tourist spot in the eyes of the world. Not only natural destinations but also culture, history and a variety of culinary destinations that spoil the taste buds.
The selection of Padang City as the top destination is thanks to the cultural richness of Padang City, one of which is due to the legendary story of Siti Nurbaya and Malin Kundang which is very famous, as well as easy access to transportation.
Padang Tourism Destinations: Lubuk Hitam Waterfall
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With Padang being crowned as top place to visit, there is one tourist destination that you can go to. Waterfalls are one of the tourist spots that are quite numerous in the landscape of West Sumatra.
One of the famous ones is the Lumbuk Hitam waterfall which can be enjoyed while traveling from Padang to Bukittinggi.
In the city of Padang, it turns out that there is also a waterfall spot that can be a natural tourist destination. Located in the North Teluk Kabung village, Bungus Teluk Kabung (Bungtekab) sub-district of Padang city, this waterfall is known as the Three Level Lubuk Hitam waterfall.
This waterfall has three levels of height, each at the lowest level is about 1 meter high, then at the second level has a height of about 2 meters, and the third level which is at the top has a height of about 10 meters. Uniquely to reach each waterfall, tourist must take a different level of difficulty path.
How to get to Lubuk Hitam waterfall
To reach this waterfall spot, you can drive 25 kilometres south of Padang City. Travel time to the location of this waterfall is 30-minute drive. To reach this location, visitors can use private vehicles or public transportation to the Bungus area.
To be able to enjoy the view at Lubuk Hitam waterfall, visitors only need to pay an entrance fee of IDR 5,000.
Visitors who use vehicles, when arriving at the entrance gate, can park their vehicles in the gate area.
From the main road, the journey continues with trekking for approximately 30-45 minutes through paths, small rivers, and lush green forests.
