930 m above sea level, the city has a cool climate with temperatures between 16.1° to 24.9 °C.

Bukittinggi used to be known as Fort de Kock and was once dubbed as 'Parijs van Sumatera'. The city was the capital of Indonesia during the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PDRI). Before it became the capital of PDRI, the city was a centre of government