IndonesiaIsland

Nias Island

5,125 km² of land in the Indian Ocean.

GunungsitoliTeluk DalamLahewaOnolimbuLotu

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

5,125km²

Area

341km

Coastline

measured on a simplified outline

374m

Highest point

788,132

People

30°C

Warmest sea

May

399km

To the mainland

When to go to Nias Island

Best for the beach from January to May.

The sea is warmest in May (30 °C) and coolest in November (29 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

29°28°26°

Jan26

30°29°27°

Feb23

30°29°27°

Mar28

30°29°27°

Apr28

30°29°27°

May24

30°29°27°

Jun22

30°28°27°

Jul25

30°28°27°

Aug27

29°28°26°

Sep27

29°28°26°

Oct28

29°28°26°

Nov29

29°28°26°

Dec28

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

Nias Island is an island in Indonesia. It covers 5,125 km², with 341 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 374 m. About 788,132 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 399 km away.

Getting there

Binaka Airport (GNS)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at CGK airport (Jakarta)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
FerriesGunungsitoli - Sibolga
399 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire at CGK airport (Jakarta)Discover CarsSee

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Nias Island.

2beaches
2viewpointsLighthous and good a view on the bay.
2lighthousesTanjung Mbaa Lighthouse
1ferry terminalsGunungsitoli
1marinas
13named peaksGunung Bawojuho, Gunung Bolombawo, Gunung Bawofarono and 10 more
2ruins and archaeological sitesTetegewo Megaliths, Hilli Gowe/Tuheo Gulo Megalitic Site
13hotels, guesthouses and apartments
33restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Nias Island in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Nias Island, each with its own numbers.

2beaches and covesCoastya
12mountainsPeakyas
1lakeLakeyas

Largest lake
0.34km²
Danau Sitefato
according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
30.1°C
Teluk Siaba
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

2 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

Teluk Siabacove30.1°C
Teluk Sawaulucove30.1°C

Open Coastya ↗

12 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

Bukit Sisobabale
Mountain Bawofarono
Gunung Lelematsyua
Hili Lologogo
Hili Bawodesolo
Bukit Daodao
Bukit Fawulu
Bukit Malawo

4 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

1 lakes

on Lakeyas, the lake atlas

Danau Sitefato0.34km²

Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 132 m above the sea. 77 % of it is below 200 m.

35 %0–50 m
42 %50–200 m
21 %200–500 m
2 %500–1,000 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Nias Island5,125 km²

Crete8,286 km²

Cyprus9,282 km²

100 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

Gunungsitoli136,707 people
Teluk Dalam25,780 people
Lahewa24,485 people
Onolimbuno census figure
Lotuno census figure

Month by month

The weather on the island.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon high (°C)	28	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	28	28
Night low (°C)	26	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26
Sea (°C)	29	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	29	29	29	29
Rain (mm)	220	180	234	226	190	168	206	223	259	311	332	275
Wet days	26	23	28	28	24	22	25	27	27	28	29	28
Sun h/day	6.0	6.3	5.8	5.4	6.0	6.0	5.7	5.3	4.7	4.4	4.3	5.3
Wind (km/h)	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	12	11	12	11

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	+0.7	+0.4	+1.0	+0.7	−0.2	+0.1	+0.5	+0.6	+0.8	+0.6	+0.5	+0.5
2021	+0.2	+0.2	+0.2	+0.4	+0.5	±0.0	±0.0	−0.2	+0.4	+0.6	+0.2	+0.4
2022	+0.4	−0.1	+0.1	+0.7	+0.1	−0.3	−0.1	±0.0	−0.1	−0.2	−0.2	−0.6
2023	−0.3	−0.6	−0.3	+0.1	−0.1	±0.0	±0.0	+0.2	+0.2	+0.2	+0.3	+0.4
2024	+0.4	+0.6	+0.2	+0.8	+0.3	+0.6	+0.7	+0.4	+0.7	+0.8	+1.1	+0.6
2025	+0.4	±0.0	−0.3	+0.1	−0.2	+0.2	+0.3	+0.3	+0.4	+0.7	+0.2	+0.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Fatele, the NIAS War Dance (Sumatra, Indonesia) — Alain Secretan (a.k.a. ASITRAC) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Unnamed Road, Kabupaten Nias Selatan, Sumatra Utara 22881, Indonesia - panoramio (5) — Snshiny · CC BY-SA 3.0

Unnamed Road, Kabupaten Nias Selatan, Sumatra Utara 22881, Indonesia - panoramio — Snshiny · CC BY-SA 3.0

Baju adat Nias — Melvianus Gulo · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

Simeulue Island

Indonesia1,741 km²556 m240 km away

Siberut Island

Indonesia30,812 km²147 m305 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, population	Wikidata (Q505707) · CC0
Outline	Natural Earth · public domain
Sea temperature	NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
Climate	NASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D model	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Towns	GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls	Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

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