Accessed via Padangpanjang, the largest town in the Tanah Datar Valley is BATUSANGKAR , 39km southeast of Bukittinggi and served by frequent buses (90min). The Minang court of the fourteenth to nineteenth centuries was based in the valley, the gold and iron mines of ancient times the source of its riches. The entire area is awash with cultural relics, megaliths and places of interest, and to explore it fully takes more than the limited time available on the one-day Minangkabau tours from Bukittinggi. The most worthwhile tourist destination in the area is Pagaruyung (daily 7am-6pm; Rp1000), the reconstructed palace of the last Raja Alam of the Minangkabau, Sultan Arifin Muning Alam Syah. The palace was reconstructed using traditional techniques some twenty years ago, the woodcarving alone taking two years to complete. The building comprises the traditional three storeys - the first for official visitors, the second for unmarried daughters and the third for meetings; the rice barn at the front would traditionally have held food to help the poor and the palace mosque is in the garden, with the kitchen at the back.

Batusangkar's tourist office is at Jl Pemuda 1 (Mon-Thurs 8am-2pm, Fri 8-11am & Sat 8am-noon; tel 0752/71300), and the accommodation all clustered fairly close together on the same street: Pagaruyung, Jl Prof Hamka 4 (tel 0752/71533; $5-10); Yoherma, Jl Prof Hamka 15 (tel 0752/71130; $5-10); and Parma, Jalan Hamka (tel 0752/71330; $5-10), all have a range of basic but adequate rooms and restaurants attached.