Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh is the capital and largest city of Aceh province at the northwestern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia, where the Aceh River reaches the Andaman Sea. The city covers about 61 square kilometres and is a semi-enclave surrounded by Aceh Besar Regency. The Sultanate of Aceh made it a royal capital in the early 16th century, and the first part of its name comes from the Persian bandar, meaning port. Called the porch of Mecca because hajj pilgrims once stopped here by sea, it resisted the Dutch in the long Aceh War that followed the declaration of war in 1873. The Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 devastated it, destroying most of its buildings and killing many thousands of residents, and the peace with the Free Aceh Movement that followed brought aid and rebuilding. The 2020 census counted 252,899 residents, and the climate is tropical rainforest.