Cot Ara – small settlement in Kecamatan Kuta Blang, Kabupaten Bireuen, Aceh Province
Cot Ara is a small settlement in Aceh Province, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra. Administratively, it belongs to Kecamatan Kuta Blang, which forms part of Kabupaten Bireuen. Based on its coordinates (5.2480845, 96.83376), the settlement is situated in the North Sumatra region, near the main highway running between Banda Aceh and Medan. As no independent, settlement-level encyclopedic source is available specifically about Cot Ara, the following description of the environment is based on verifiable data pertaining to the broader administrative unit, Kabupaten Bireuen.
General overview
Cot Ara belongs to Kecamatan Kuta Blang, which is one of the kecamatan in Kabupaten Bireuen. Kabupaten Bireuen itself became an independent administrative unit on October 12, 1999, when it was separated from the former Kabupaten Aceh Utara. The kabupaten's capital is the city of Bireuen. The region possesses strategic geographic positioning: it lies along the main highway between Banda Aceh and Medan and is surrounded by three neighboring kabupatens – Kabupaten Bener Meriah, Kabupaten Pidie Jaya, and Kabupaten Aceh Utara – functioning as a transit traffic hub. This transportation advantage shapes both the kabupaten's economic life and the accessibility of smaller settlements, including villages within Kecamatan Kuta Blang. Based on its coordinates and knowledge of the broader environment, Cot Ara appears to be a small, agriculturally-oriented rural settlement, though concrete data on this point is not available.
Real estate and investment
No separate real estate market data specific to Cot Ara is available. In the context of the broader region, Kabupaten Bireuen, it can be stated that the kabupaten functions as an active transit zone in northern Sumatra, which generally maintains moderate commercial and residential property demand in areas along the main highway. For Aceh Province as a whole, the real estate market stabilized following the post-2004 tsunami reconstruction period and has demonstrated gradual but measured development over the past decade. Under general Indonesian regulations, foreign nationals cannot acquire full ownership rights (Hak Milik) to property; they may only obtain limited-duration usage rights for specific purposes (such as Hak Pakai), which is a fundamental consideration when making investment decisions. Rural properties in Kecamatan Kuta Blang typically command more modest prices than properties near larger cities or tourist destinations, though no verifiable, specific dataset on this is available in the sources.
Safety and security
No independent public safety statistics or news sources specific to Cot Ara are available. Regarding the broader region of Kabupaten Bireuen and its historical background, it is important to note that the kabupaten was one of the primary bases of the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) movement in the early 2000s, and martial law was declared in the area from May 2003 onwards. Following the peace agreement concluded after the 2005 Helsinki peace talks, the situation gradually normalized, and the kabupaten returned to ordinary civilian administrative governance. Currently, Aceh Province is generally considered a region of stable public security within the Indonesian context, although local regulations based on Islamic law (sharia) establish distinctive social norms that apply throughout the province. For Cot Ara, as a small rural settlement, no sources are available to support claims of public safety conditions either more favorable or less favorable than the general regency-level situation.
Tourist attractions
No verified sources documenting named tourist attractions in Cot Ara are available. Regarding the broader area of Kabupaten Bireuen, available sources highlight the region's historical significance: on June 18, 1948, Kabupaten Bireuen briefly served as Indonesia's second capital when, as a result of Dutch military aggression, the Republican Emergency Government (PDRI) relocated its seat from Bukittinggi to Bireuen. This historical fact is a defining element of the kabupaten's identity. The city of Bireuen itself, the kabupaten's capital, serves as the commercial and transportation center of the region and, as such, is likely relatively accessible from Kecamatan Kuta Blang, where Cot Ara is located, though no verified data on the exact distance is available. Aceh Province's generally recognized natural and cultural assets – including Acehnese traditions, local cuisine, and North Sumatran landscapes – provide the regional tourism context, though their direct connection to Cot Ara cannot be confirmed from sources.
Summary
Cot Ara is a small settlement belonging to Kecamatan Kuta Blang in Kabupaten Bireuen, Aceh Province, in northern Sumatra. The kabupaten, positioned along the Banda Aceh–Medan main highway, serves a transit role in the region and has been characterized by stabilized administrative and social conditions since the 2005 peace process. As no independent data source is available specifically about the settlement itself, detailed settlement-level description is not possible. Understanding the region is assisted by the general characteristics of Kabupaten Bireuen – its transportation positioning, historical background, and Acehnese distinctiveness.
