Located 8kms North West of Nias, a hop skip and a jump from civilisation sits a tranquil and idyllic paradise known as Asu. Its small population welcome you with open arms to their tropical paradise surrounded by palm fringed, white sand beaches and crystal clear ocean you can only dream of. Welcome to Puri Asu Resort, North Sumatra.
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Asu, meaning ‘dog’ is part of the Hinako Island archipelago and home to some of the best waves in Indonesia. Considered by many as the place to be for year-round surf due to its location and South facing direction.
Puri Asu Resort is a beautiful beachfront property with immediate access to the islands only jetty. This makes for easy access when going to and from a variety of waves within the region.
The Villa style accommodation is exceptionally high-end when you consider its distance from any local building material supply or readily available tradesmen. The resort started from humble beginnings, with just 1 large shared dorm style accommodation capable of housing up to 8 guests. In the past 5 years however, the resort has grown and have since added 6 large villas, each with their own en suite. They are also fully air conditioned (the only accommodation on the island with this feature). There is a large kitchen and restaurant/bar as well as a huge lounge room for watching movies or battling it out with your mates in a game of pool. To top things off, there is a private yoga/gym retreat perfect for bending out any kinks from a long day surfing or to exercise, in the rare chance the surf is flat.
Surfing is certainly the focus during your stay at Puri Asu Resort, but the overall experience far outweighs your sole focus for the length of time you choose to stay (most do 7-10 days). The fishing gear, dive gear and the resorts fleet of boats resembles that of a large scale resort in the Maldives. A large 400hp surfing and diving machine ploughs through the ocean with absolute ease. A smaller 200hp all-rounder does most of the surf transfers and then there are 3 tender boats capable of seating around 8 surfers each for surf transfers to waves nearby…. like Asu. On top of all this horse-power and variety, is the 3x Jet Skis that are on standby at any time during your stay. Whether you feel like being towed into some bigger sets or you simply can’t paddle back out after too many waves during your trip, the staff with simply help you back to the take off zone with your own WSL style, jet ski assist.
The surfing…where to begin.
The main break of Asu is located approximately 1km from the resort (3mins) in a tender boat. It’s a long walling left hander with plenty of power and consistency. It can handle anything from 3ft-20ft but is best surfed at 6-8ft when it hits the reef nicely and peels along into an eventual deep water section. It can barrel off the takeoff and then about 100 metres down the line.
Of all the waves in the Hinakos, Asu is probably the most well-known and therefore most frequented by other surfers. However, crowds here are minimal. Due to the travel getting to Asu as well as the small amount of accommodation available on the island. You can surf sessions with 20 people out and still get waves or you could surf by yourself for hours and come back to the resort absolutely ruined! (note: this is where AC comes in handy)
20-25mins from Asu heading South, you will find waves such as the 3 Bawa’s. Bawa, Mini Bawa, Bawa lefts & Barrel Machine.
Bawa ALWAYS has a surfable wave. If Asu is flat, Bawa will be 3 or 4 ft and really fun. However if Asu is 8ft+ Bawa will be huge and for a hell-man wanting to be towed in only. Mini Bawa is similar but a lot more open to the elements and shifty, it rarely gets surfed.
Barrel Machine, speaks for itself and although the stars didn’t quite align on this trip, the potential we witnessed was enough to make you want to come back just to get a chance to surf it! Think mini Teuhupoo without the consequence if you fall off.
Approximately 40-50mins in a direction we don’t want to disclose are 2 more absolutely amazing waves and some of the best I’ve ever surfed. Very remote and rarely surfed, meaning you will surf them by yourself 90% of the time.
One is a perfect left-hander that barrels from the take off and again on the inside. It handles anything from 2ft-6ft but any bigger and the take off begins to pinch and shut down.
The other, a right hand outer reef break with a steep and deep take off for the advanced crew only. But the second section offers an easy takeoff into a fast but makeable wall and plenty of sections to hit. Both these waves are surfed best when Asu is around the 8-10ft mark and winds are either really light or anything from the East.
The best thing about all of these local waves, is that its all included in your Puri Asu Resort package. The luxury of their huge fleet means you are always surfing the best available wave on any given day OR you are surfing well within your comfort zone on waves that offer something for everyone. Puri Asu Resort is the only accommodation on the isand that offers these services and after seeing it pay dividends during this trip, I would NOT recommend anywhere else on the island for your Asu Adventure.
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If you are interested in scoring epic, uncrowded waves just like me then send us an enquiry and we will handle it all. From the logistics getting you there and back, as well as everything in between.
7 night packages start at around $300 per night, per person with 10 night packages slightly discounted to $275 per night, per person.