Lempur Village is located on the border of Kerinci Seblat National Park. It has secondary forest which has 5 beautiful lakes. Given the remote location, the village and the lakes are off the beaten track for foreign travelers. From Padang, which is the easiest and closest to reach the village takes about 8 hours drive. Yes along the ride you wil not get bored as it will be passing enchanting view such as Lakes, Tea Plantations, Hills, Lush Forest.
Lake Lingkat
I have to say that Lake Lingkat is very beautiful and my favourite one, from the bank of the lake we can enjoy the lush green forest. It is very peaceful to drink tea or coffee and chit chat with one or two friends, especially when the weather is good. The lake can be accessed by car or motorcycle or you can walk from Lempur to reach this.There is a house located at the lake which offer drinks and foods. In the morning there will be many Dendrocygna in the lake.
Lake Nyalo
This lake can be accessed by walking about 1 hour from Lake Lingkat. The lake is not accessible to the lake edge as surrounded by swamp. It can be enjoyed from about 200 meters radius.
Lake Kaco
This lake is located deeper in the forest, recommended to start trekking in the morning as it takes about 3 hours hike from the street to the lake location. You will be passing secondary forest and on rainy season there will be many leches. To reach the lake please be prepared with comfy shoes with socks, raincoat and snacks and water. As the path is not so easy, recommended to be accompanied by local guide from Lempur Village. You can also camp at the lake ans it says that the lake is beautiful to be seen under the shimmering moonlight. Kaco in local language means mirror, as the water is crystal clear resembles mirror. There are two other lakes located in the village area,yet both can only be accessed by trekking: Lake Kecik and Lake Duo.
Cinnamon and Coffee
Lempur has wide area of cinnamon plantation, owned by locals. Not to mention that Kerinci has 85% of the world cinnamon. The cinnamon tree is very easy to be acknowledge as it has red color on the young leaves. Cinnamon tree takes about 10 years until the bark is ready to be harvested. Along the street of the village you can see this activities of drying the cinnamon bark. ANd sure the village smells very nice. Another commodity of this village is coffee bean, usually while waiting until the cinnamon ready to harvest they plant other commodities, such as coffee, tobacco and vegetables.
Payo Rice
This kind of rice is very unique as it can be cultivated once a year. And before planting the rice paddy the whole village will make a party which is called Kenduri Sko. The taste of the special rice from this village is very nice and the price is higher than normal rice. The village plant the rice concurrently. The endemic rice species is currently on research to make the planting time shorter and can be harvested 3 times a year. Due to the rarity and long harvesting time, the rice can not be easily found in market. Visiting Lempur village, you must walk at the vast payo rice field.
Friday Traditional Market
Every Friday, there will be a traditional market in Lempur Village, sellers gather and sells various goods along the street, from vegetable, local food, chicken, clothing and any daily needs.
Cylindrical Rock
There are cylindrical stones with similar shape found in Kerinci. In Lempur there is one located in the middle of rice field. All those stones assumed to be made by ancestors who lived in Kerinci to worship gods, and spirits. the one in Lempur has the shame of big phallus with perfect circles on its end. This remain shows that the area has been resided since ancient period.
Lempur Mosque
There are two old wooden mosque located in the village. Each is decorated beautifully with colorful carvings. Now both mosques are not used anymore for praying but for studying the Holy Qoran. The roof has two levels and in the past the roof was made of leaves.
Lemang Pitcher Plant
The food is made of sticky rice which is stuffed into pitcher plant. The sticky rice might be not so special, but the pitcher plan wrap makes the food strangely unique. This food is not easily found everyday. You will find many on Kendury Sko party.