Face to Face with an Orang Utan in Sumatra.

If you want to see an Orang Utan in the wild, you have to go to Gunung Leuser National park in Sumatra!

Only a few places in the world still have orang utans in the wild. Impressive great apes with their long arms, intriguing eyes and reddish brown hair that have something sweet about them. Orangutans can be seen in the wild on Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia and you can spot them on Borneo in Malaysia. They are threatened with extinction for two reasons: Bushmeat and logging. Oil palm plantations and forest fires have reduced the habitat for the great apes and poachers hunt for their meat, unimaginable. Orangutans that you encounter as a traveler are semi-wild or wild. The semi wild Orang Utans are often kept captive by humans as pets. But luckily there are also good people so that fortunately many have been liberated and can now face a good life in the protected Guning Leuser National Park.

To come face to face with an Orangutan, we traveled with a reliable guide to the jungle of Bukit Lawang on Sumatra. We have booked through Bukitlawang Jungle trekking, which is highly recommended! You can choose to do the tour for 1 day or more, depending on what you want. We prefer the 2day, 1 night tour because its very special to sleep in the middle of this monkey jungle.

The Jungle trekking

We did jungle trekking for 2 days with an overnight in the Jungle. It brings you deeper into the Gunung Leuser National Park with one sleepover in our jungle camp plus the magical rainforest sounds will wake you up.

By day 1 you enter the National Park, please follow our guiding rules. You will hike around 2-3 hours each morning and afternoon with a snack and lunch break, constantly looking for wildlife and passing fantastic scenic spots in the rainforest such as beautiful hidden waterfalls and natural pools. Your guide will tell you many amazing and interesting facts about local flora and fauna,or the medical use of some plants,or the history of the national park.

Late afternoon on Day 1 you will arrive at the campsite close to a river where you have time to swim in fresh and clear river water and relax and enjoy a cup of tea/coffee whilst the team will prepare a night camp and an amazing jungle dinner with an open campfire. And one of the highlights of our tours....fall asleep and wake up to the magical sounds of the rainforest!

The next day after breakfast you can do a 2 hours trek again or stay and relax at the camp - if you want. After lunch you will walk to the river point where our jungle taxis are waiting for you to bring you back to Bukit Lawang village. Don´t miss this fun....the traditional tube-rafting down the bahorok river!

What to bring:

• suitable walking shoes

• big bottle of water

• insect repellent

• suncream

• day backpack

• some long and thin clothes for the nights and a sweater

• long socks against leeches

• raincoat

• flipflops or sandals

• change of clothes

• swim wear

• torch of headlamp

• towel

• toilet paper

• sleeping bag

Costs:

€80 per person. This is included lunch/ dinner on Day 1/ breakfast and lunch on Day 2, fresh fruit and snacks, certified englisch speaking guide and porter fees, the permit into the jungle, camping equipment ( tents, sleeping bags if needed, moskito nets, mattresses), and cooking team.