Kerinci is the long upland valley running down the spine of central Sumatra, hemmed in on every side by the Bukit Barisan range and dominated by Gunung Kerinci — at 3,805 metres the highest volcano in Indonesia. The valley sits inside Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra's largest, a critical refuge for the dwindling Sumatran tiger and one of the last strongholds of the Sumatran rhino. Tea plantations stretch across the valley floor, smallholders grow some of the country's best coffee and cinnamon, and a network of small Kerinci villages clings to the slopes.
The caldera lake at Gunung Tujuh, the "Seven Mountains Lake," is the most scenic spot in the region — a glassy crater lake at 1,950 metres, the highest in Southeast Asia. Mount Kerinci itself is still very much active and trail access has been suspended several times in the past two decades for elevated activity, most recently around the 2009 and 2018 eruptions. The regional capital Sungai Penuh is the practical base, with the climbing villages of Kersik Tuo and Pelompek further north towards the trailheads.
This is one of the wilder corners of Sumatra. The roads from Padang or Jambi are long and slow, the rain is heavy outside of the August-September drier window, and the wildlife — gibbons, hornbills, the occasional siamang — is best heard from a forest camp at dawn. Allow at least four or five days to make the journey worthwhile.