Tapian Tabiang Barasok and Simarasok are representing West Sumatra at the 2026 Wonderful Indonesia Awards.

Tapian Tabiang Barasok Tourism Village in Bukittinggi City has captured widespread attention on Indonesia's national tourism stage. This destination, located along the edges of Sianok Canyon, has secured a spot in the Top 30 Best Villages and Tourism Villages of Indonesia at the 2026 Wonderful Indonesia Awards (WIA), also referred to as the Indonesian Tourism Village Awards (ADWI).

Alongside Tapian Tabiang Barasok, Simarasok Tourism Village from Agam Regency also successfully brought West Sumatra into the national top 30 list. Both destinations passed a full series of verification, curation and assessment stages before the Ministry of Tourism announced the results via official Wonderful Indonesia Awards channels.

From this pool of 30 qualified destinations, the upcoming selection phase will narrow the list down to the 15 highest ranked national tourism villages.

For West Sumatra, this achievement by Tapian Tabiang Barasok and Simarasok serves as concrete proof that community-rooted tourism destinations can compete fairly against tourism villages from all other regions across Indonesia.

"Praise be to God, this success comes from pentahelix collaboration, most crucially the full effort of local residents and tourism activists, with support from academics. Tapian Tabiang Barasok and Simarasok outperformed dozens of nominees within West Sumatra, and hundreds more at the national level," stated West Sumatra tourism practitioner Mochammad Abdi.

Guarding the Smoking Cliffs Along Sianok Canyon

Tapian Tabiang Barasok is situated in Lapau Batu, Bukik Apik Puhun Urban Village, Bukittinggi City. The name Tabiang Barasok literally means Smoking Cliff, a reference to the daily natural phenomenon where fine mist or low cloud cover blankets the entire valley and cliff faces of Sianok Canyon.

Visitors do not only travel here for the natural scenery. The site is also regularly used for various outdoor activities including field training, corporate gatherings, glamping and outbound team building programmes.

However, the true strength of Tapian Tabiang Barasok extends far beyond its scenic views. Behind this destination lies consistent, active participation from the local community, covering every aspect from on-site management to development of the surrounding local economy.

According to Abdi, Tapian Tabiang Barasok holds enormous potential for further development, and is well positioned to become one of Bukittinggi's flagship tourist attractions.

Community Based Tourism as Core Competitive Advantage

The community-led tourism model stands as one of Tapian Tabiang Barasok's greatest strengths. Local residents are not passive bystanders, but are directly involved in building, operating and preserving this destination.

"Their Community Based Tourism system is exceptional. This is real, tangible local participation. For years they have worked collectively through mutual cooperation to build and maintain this site. Local customary leaders donated the land, which was then fully entrusted to the local Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis)," Abdi explained.

This spirit of collective work has also opened opportunities for local micro, small and medium enterprises around the area. Visitors can find a range of local products at the site, from traditional hand embroidery, national-style caps, to locally farmed and roasted coffee.

"We hope this national achievement will lift the community's spirit, that all their hard work has finally been recognised. Tabiang Barasok met every single one of the 10 assessment indicators set by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism," Abdi added.

These ten assessment indicators cover village institutional structure, site management, tourist attractions, local economic impact, community participation, public facilities, accessibility, homestay availability, partnership networks and digital adoption.

Once On The Brink Of Permanent Closure

Tapian Tabiang Barasok's placement in the 2026 WIA Top 30 carries even greater significance, as this destination recently survived an extremely critical period.

Tabiang Barasok Tourism Awareness Group chairman Anton Sutan Rumah Panjang, local community elder Andrizon Datuak Sampono Batuah and neighbourhood head Roby Saputra all expressed the overwhelming pride felt by Lapau Batu residents over this result.

For them, reaching the national top 30 is far more than just an award. It is validation of every struggle Lapau Batu residents have undergone since 2024 to manage this destination completely independently.

"To be honest, we still can barely believe we qualified for WIA. There has been so much sacrifice from Lapau Batu residents ever since we started this work in 2024. We managed everything on our own. Many public figures promised us assistance but none ever delivered. This result proves that Tabiang Barasok was worth every bit of our fight," Anton stated.

This struggle reached its lowest point after a major hydrometeorological disaster hit West Sumatra. At one stage, Tapian Tabiang Barasok came extremely close to ceasing all operations permanently.

But the local community refused to abandon the site. Sustained visitor interest and growing media coverage for the destination helped keep it alive through this crisis.

New Hope For Tapian Tabiang Barasok

This national achievement has also opened new hope for the destination's future development. After this long period of independent grassroots management, local residents are now anticipating formal support from the regional government.

"We appreciate the Mayor of Bukittinggi visiting Tabian Barasok recently. The city government has promised up to one billion rupiah in assistance for next year. Tabiang Barasok deserves this support. At the end of the day, this achievement brings honour to the entire city of Bukittinggi," Anton said.

For the people of Lapau Batu, this journey is far from over. Securing a spot in the national top 30 only presents the next challenge: to keep improving the destination, and prove that community-led tourism management can build truly competitive, sustainable tourist destinations.