The Nias of Indonesia is one of the most consistent surfing travel destinations in the world. Its main break is located in the front door of Nias Keyhole Surfcamp. The perfect right hander at Sorake bay on the island of Nias was the first world class wave discovered in the Sumatra region.

The April 28 earthquake has blessed Nias region, rising the hide tide mark and improving wave barrel quality, as the waves pick up any swell size and surfable on all tides. The broad exposure towards the vast southern Indian Ocean provides these majestic islands with remarkable consistency and quality all year round.

The indicator is just above the main break of Nias. It also goes off on its day as you can see on the right side from the lounge of NiasKeyHoleSurfcamp. The wave grinds down a section of reef. At a low tide, you can choose to surf the outside section which can occasionally offer some alternative on a northwest wind. At a high tide though and on the right swell, the indicator can offer perhaps some of the thickest, fastest, and hollowest tubes in the world.

The Machine is only 5 minutes’ ride by motorbike from NiasKeyHoleSurfcamp. The Machine is one of the fastest down the line left-hand barrels in the world. After the 2005 earthquake, the reef was lifted. You can hit this spot on the high tide when it’s big at the point of Nias. Low tide is good but you might get a mouth full of reefs. It is a long tube and once you come out, it is an easy paddle back out.

The 8 Frame in Hiliduha village is one of the most high-performance waves in the Nias Islands. The wave itself starts breaking in way too left and right over the reef. It has fantastic left and right barrels. It is located close to Rockstar. The distance from KeyHoleSurfcamp is around 15 kilometers. Access to the break requires 20 minutes’ drive by car or motorbike. You can’t really tell if 8 Frame is breaking unless you take a closer look. If you’re not paying attention, the take-off can be quite challenging.

It is a world class left hander which can produce an epic 5 – 10 seconds barrel, depending on swell and wind direction. WaloHiu is located in the north of NiasKeyHoleSurfcamp. Access to the break requires a 30 minutes’ walk in the jungle or 15 minutes by boat. Left of WaloHiu is a beautiful long left-hand point which peels down the line offering a perfect open workable face for big carving turns or hunt out the inside barrels for a perfectly shaped peeling left located deep in the Bay of Walo which starts to work on larger swells. You can cruise down the line or hit the lip over and over again.

Sobatu is a thick barreling right punctuated by a shifting line-up. Sobatu is a sizable right-hander that is known as one of the big wave spots in the Niasisland. Located a bit north from Nias point, the distance from NiasKeyHoleSurfcamp around a 20 minutes’ walk into the bay or a 15-minute boat ride.Sobatu has a very large playing field and a few different take-off options including a few rights when it is small. Sobatu isn’t known as a barreling wave unless it has some serious size. When it is big enough, it will look more like Hawaii. When it looks like that, Nias point is a much better option. The ideal size to surf Sobatu is when small Nias is head-high to double overhead. In any medium swell size, getting caught inside is a certainty.

Rockstar is one of the most high-performance waves in Nias. Located on the south side from NiasKeyHoleSurfcamp, it is only a 10 minutes’ ride from 8 Frames point. Distance from Nias Keyhole Surfcamp is a 30 minutes’ ride by car. The wave itself starts breaking in a compact area over the reef. If you’re not paying attention, the take-off can be quite challenging depending on the swell direction. However, once you’re on your feet, you’ve got a really fun semi-backwashing wave to carve, pull in, or boost on. Even though it’s soft a lot of the time with a medium tide, you’ll have a blast.

It is located off Lagundi bay. From NiasKeyHoleSurfcamp to this wave requires a 5 minutes’ ride by motorbike just before the Machine. It starts working when Nias point gets big over 5 feet.