Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto

From the vibrant city of Padang, it was a half day drive tour on one of the most dangerous roads in Indonesia to the town of Sawahlunto. Along the way, I saw old colonial cement plants, sampled many fusions of Indonesian and Dutch dishes in a local restaurant which is opened for almost a century, drank tea from a former Dutch tea plantation. Dutch industrial heritages on exploiting natural resources from Sumatra are everywhere. When I reached Sawahlunto, area of Ombilin Company Town to be precise, it was already dark, so I directly went to stay and sleep at the heritage Ombilin Hotel, the only hotel during colonial for government officers and important company guests.

Next day early morning I walked around the town to see main component of company town such as Santa Barbara Catholic Church and Co-Operative Building which are just opposite the road, both are built in Nieuwe Indische Bouwstijl or Dutch Indies Style that can be seen in many Indonesian old town quarters in Java. The Assembly Hall (Societeit Glück auf) is in ruinous state after fire damage. On the main road of market area, few buildings are worth to visit for its unique architecture, Comedy House and Pek Sin Kek House, both are built in the so-called Sino-Portuguese style, similar to those shophouses in Malaysia and Singapore. On the hill next to market area is the old Sawahlunto Train Station which is now a museum that displayed old steam trains, the historic …

Tucked deep within the Bukit Barisan mountains, Sawahlunto may not ring a bell to many, but it is a city that is well worth a visit. The two-hour drive from either Padang or Padang Panjang is not short of wonderful sceneries including those offered by Kerinci Seblat National Park, the island’s largest nature reserve.

The detection of coal in Sawahlunto is attributed to the Dutch colonial authorities' efforts to explore and exploit the natural resources of Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies) for economic gain. The attempts by geologists and prospectors in the mid-19th century led to the discovery of significant coal deposits in the region. The coal obtained was found to be of superior quality and the valley, suitable for large-scale mining. 

The seemingly endless supply of coal from the site contributed to the industrialization and modernization of the Dutch East Indies and the Netherlands. It powered machineries, railway networks, and ships that played crucial roles in transportation and trade operations during the colonial era. They invested heavily in developing it as a mining town equipped with some of the most advanced technologies of the time, demonstrating a most complete knowledge and technology transfer from Europe to the East.

While deep-bore coal mining in Sawahlunto is no longer as commercially significant as it was during the peak of the industry, declining in the latter part of the 20th century due to the depletion of coal reserves and changing economic conditions, the city was able to preserve …

Site visited in August, 2019, Just a few weeks after inscription. Nice surprise. I managed to see 2 components out of 3: coal storage facilities located in Padang (port of Emmahaven), and mining town Sawahlunto.

Initially visited those storage facilities in Padang – area is not marked by any means – you should use location from a website (exact coordinates 0°59'28.7"S 100°22'51.6"E). Site consists of warehouses, infrastructure and different machineries connected with coal. The whole site looks as unused and a bit neglected for some time but is still fenced – the only access is from western part of Jl Tj. Priuk road. As for August 2019 the site looks as completely unprepared for mass tourism but you can visit all places at your own risk – some areas are not very secure. The site can be reached from Padang central area (around 7 km) by Go Jek or by local public transport (minibuses).
 
Sawahlunto itself is a small mining town located some 2 – 3 hours from Padang. You can easily use public transport (regular buses are from Jl Dr. Sutomo road), approximately hourly during the day.

The city looks prepared for tourism. There are several hotels (different standard), homestays (there is an office that gather all homestay offers – they can call and reserve such a place for you – standard also different), restaurants, museums, tourist information center – there is a decent map of the area with information in English.
 
Places not to …

The City of Sawah Lunto, around 3-4 hrs from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, is actually quite a small town. It is an easy day trip starting from Bukittinggi and ending it in Padang (with a close detour to another TWHS, Nagari Sijunjung).

Visited the Goedang Ransum (mass kitchen for the labourer) Museum and one of the Coal Mine. It's really worth to see how the city was alive because of the coal mining exploitation from the Dutch period, how a big deal it was during that time. I must say it is cool experience.

Highly recommended.