Kutacane is the capital of Southeast Aceh Regency of Aceh Province.

Understand

A fairly big city with about 100,000 inhabitants built next to the main road going through the north Sumatra. It is a place where people, roads and transportation meets.

The ATM in Kutacane does not serve foreign cards as of 1 April, 2024, regardless of what you might have heard elsewhere. Bring enough cash with you!

Get in

By bus: All buses depart from the market. At the market there are several different bus companies. Ask around to get the best price.

• From the south: There are several buses leaving from Medan every day, taking about 6-9 hours depending on weather and traffic. There are also buses from Lake Toba and various different locations east and south from Kutacane.
• From the north: There is one main road leading north passing Ketambe, Blankenjeren and Takengon. However there few if any buses going further than Blankenjeren. The buses to Blankenjeren leave daily between 9-10 o'clock and take about 4-5 hours. There are many minivans going to Ketambe and different other villages leaving about twice an hour. It takes about an hour to get to Ketambe.

By plane: Ketambe has a small airport which serves two destinations (Banda Aceh and Medan several times a week for a cost of about 300 000 - 500 000. In late December 2011 there was a plane crash with the same or a similar company on northern Sumatra though.

Get around

By foot or taxi. You can find small taxis everywhere.

See

The market is basically the only thing worth seeing. It is quite impressive.

Eat and drink

Go to small restaurants, enjoy some coffee and typical Indonesian food. There are no western cafés.

Sleep

There are several hotels for travelers looking for a place to stay for the night. The standard is bad lacking proper toilets and showers. A room is about Rp60,000-100,000. Stay here only if you have to.

Go next

• Ketambe: A small and charming village well worth a visit.
• Takengon: Kutancane is basically just a stop on the road to Ketambe and Takengon.