The best-known and most visited of the villages around Berastagi is Lingga, a few kilometres northwest of Kabanjahe. There are about half-a-dozen traditional houses here with characteristic soaring thatched roofs topped with cattle horns. To get here, take a yellow KT minibus from Berastagi (7000Rp, 45 minutes). Some only go as far as Kabanjahe, so check first if you’ll have to change.
Some of the houses, such as the rumah rajah (king’s house), are occupied (by several families) and are in good condition. Others, including the sapo ganjang (house for young unmarried men), are unused and in various stages of decay. There may or may not be someone around to charge you for looking at their exteriors; ignore the enterprising ticket man if he offers to show you the inside of one of the houses for 50,000Rp; approach the inhabitants directly if you wish to take a peek.
