Lampuuk Beach Tourism which has Recovered from Tsunami Trauma -When the tsunami occurred, the beach which was approximately 15 kilometers from Banda Aceh was one of those that experienced quite serious damage.
Lampuuk Beach was one of the tourist attractions in Aceh Besar before the 2004 tsunami occurred. This beach is always busy with visitors, both from Banda Aceh, Melaboh, or other areas. With white sand and shady pine trees, this place is an ideal place to relieve fatigue.
When the tsunami occurred, the beach which was approximately 15 kilometers from Banda Aceh was one of those that experienced quite serious damage. Hotels on the beach and residential areas around it were destroyed by huge waves.
More than half of Lampuuk’s residents died in the disaster. The trauma of the tsunami threat makes people reluctant to come to this beach, apart from the large number of fallen pine trees and debris left by the tsunami. This made this beach closed to tourism activities.
However, gradually this beach recovered. Approximately a year after the tsunami, tourism activities on this beach were busy again. In the post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction process, the management of Lampuuk Beach was integrated with several other tourist attractions in Aceh, such as Pulau Weh , Lake Laut Tawar, and the Takengon Plateau.
This has a positive influence on efforts to restore the image of Lampuuk Beach as the favorite tourism destination in Aceh. Not only local tourists, the many NGO activists and foreign volunteers who stop by for beach trips, especially surfing, have also boosted the popularity of this beach. Currently, Lampuuk Beach tourism can be said to have recovered as before the tsunami.
There are four entrance routes that visitors can take to get to different sections of the beach, namely Babah Satu, Babah Dua, Babah Tiga, and Babah Empat. Each entrance is named sequentially according to its position, from the southernmost to the northernmost.
The paths that many local visitors generally take are Babah Satu and Babah Dua. Foreign tourists usually come from the Babah Tiga route. This location is usually used for surfing activities or just relaxing and enjoying summer holidays.
Along with the improvements made, this beach has also been equipped with various tourism facilities, such as banana boats . For visitors who want to stay overnight, there are also various accommodations available from guesthouses to cottages , with rates varying according to the services and facilities desired.
Apart from that, on the beach side, visitors who want to fill their stomachs can also easily find stalls selling seafood menus . These stalls offer various grilled fish dishes, such as rambe fish, grouper, pomfret, shrimp, squid, and others. This delicious grilled seafood is suitable to be enjoyed as a meal when gathering with family or friends. More complete with fresh young coconut ice.
Another activity that can be done when visiting this beach is visiting the turtle conservation. Located in Babah Dua, turtle conservation can be a vehicle for educating children about environmental conservation.
Although mass activities around turtle conservation are only carried out at certain times, visitors can find a number of hatchlings or young turtles housed in a small pond on one side of this area. These hatchlings will be released into the sea when they are deemed capable of surviving in the wild.