Gunung Leuser National Park covers 7,927 km² in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. This tropical rainforest is one of the last places on earth where critically endangered orangutans live in the wild. Seeing these great apes has been on my bucket list for ages, so over the Easter long weekend, JJ and I finally made orangutan trekking happen!

ARRIVAL DAY – FRIDAY

Our flight arrived in the North Sumatran capital city of Medan at 8:30 AM. We made our way to Aryaduta Hotel by taxi to store JJ’s surfboard until we returned from our trek. At 10 AM a driver picked us up for the 3-hour journey to Bukit Lawang village.

On arrival in Bukit Lawang, we were met by the friendly team from Sumatra EcoTravel who walked us through the village to their tour office/accommodation.

The 5-roomed EcoTravel Cottages property offers panoramic views over both the Bohorok River and the rainforest – a welcome sight for travel weary eyes! First, we sat down in the riverside dining area for welcome drinks and a briefing on the following day’s itinerary.

After the overview of our 2-day “hello jungle” trek, JJ and I were shown to our room. Because we’d flown overnight from Sydney to Medan (via Kuala Lumpur), we were knackered. An afternoon snooze was necessary and the bed in our Jungle View Suite was just so darn comfortable 🙂

When JJ and I woke up from our power-nap we decided to go for a wander along the Bohorok River. There were so many groups having fun tube rafting down the river, we couldn’t wait to get going ourselves!

EcoTravel happy hour was back at the cottages at 4 PM. During happy hour we got to meet our guide Antonio and the 6 others we’d be trekking with. After a couple of refreshing cocktails, we walked 5 minutes downriver to Eronio Restaurant and Art Shop. JJ and I shared a chicken curry and spicy sambal eggplant – both were delicious. Throughout the meal, we were entertained by cheeky long-tailed macaques. The naughty monkeys were jumping from rooftop to rooftop and raiding kitchens.

Next, it was time to sort out our gear and turn in for an early night. Check out everything I packed for this trip here.

DAY 1 – SATURDAY

Breakfast was at 7 AM, JJ and I both chose the EcoTravel Cottages ‘Butterfly’ option; coffee, fruit, toast and omelette. Energised for the day, we finished organising our trekking bags, then handed the rest of our luggage and room key in at reception. Everybody was ready and raring to go by 8:30 AM.

Antonio led us along a path 5-10 minutes upriver until we came across a small dinghy. This was the spot where we’d cross the river and head into Gunung Leuser National Park.

The first point of interest that we saw was the disused Bohorok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Here Antonio explained how the rehabilitated animals would be gradually introduced back into the wild, by having their daily feeds reduced until they were completely self-sufficient. Although the rehabilitation centre no longer operates and controlled feeding has stopped, many orangutans remain in the area.

After this brief explanation, we started on the trail to the old feeding platform. The path was fairly easy going as we adjusted to the jungle’s heat and humidity. Along the way, we met a troop of curious and very cute Thomas’s langurs.

As we approached the feeding platform, there were a lot of other tour groups crowded around. We caught our first glimpse of an orangutan, but to be honest I had mixed feelings about the experience. Although it was amazing to finally see one of our hairy ginger cousins in person, the number of human visitors didn’t seem to be regulated at all. There were easily 50 other people there, many of them shouting, smoking or using flash photography – not cool. I was anxious that the rest of the trek would be as loud and busy.

It turned out that most of the people we saw near the old feeding platform were weekend day trippers. Once we’d left that area, we had several other orangutan encounters that were way more peaceful. Even coming across an aggressively protective mother called Amina was less hectic. Amina is so notoriously bad-tempered that she features in a song!

(To the tune of Jingle Bells)

Jungle trek, jungle trek
In Bukit Lawang
See the monkeys, see the birds
See orangutan

Jungle trek, jungle trek
In Bukit Lawang
See the monkeys, see Amina
Everybody run!

I loved every minute of the rest of the trek and really enjoyed the company of everyone in our group. The terrain after the feeding platform got gradually more challenging (muddy, slippery and steep), so I guess it makes sense that we wouldn’t see as many people.

7 Hours after setting off from Bukit Lawang, our group arrived at the rainforest campsite. We all changed into swimmers and jumped in the Bohorok River to cool off. A couple of big ass monitor lizards swam past us which was an unexpected treat!

It started raining quite heavily so we all headed to the shelter of our tents to wait out the storm. Antonio brought us a pot of coffee and some biscuits to enjoy while we chatted excitedly about everything we’d seen that day. It wasn’t long before the rain stopped and the group was called into the camp kitchen for a candlelit dinner.

Satisfied and exhausted, we fell asleep to a soundtrack of frogs, cicadas and the fast-flowing river.

DAY 2 – SUNDAY

Day 2 had a pretty chilled start. Our group relaxed around camp, wildlife watching and enjoying a breakfast of coffee, fruit and sandwiches.

At around 10 AM we crossed the river for a short hike to a nearby waterfall. When we returned from our swim, there was time for a light lunch before getting ready to leave the national park. All our stuff was carefully packed into waterproof bags for the exhilarating ride back to Bukit Lawang by tube raft.

That afternoon JJ and I checked back into EcoTravel Cottages and made the most of our last happy hour there. We drank to celebrate an awesome and very memorable jungle adventure. I highly encourage anyone interested in orangutan trekking to book through Sumatra EcoTravel, their team are wonderful and take excellent care of the environment.

Later, we had a lovely dinner at The Waterstone restaurant with an American couple we’d met during happy hour. Waterstone was opposite the place we had dinner on our first night in Bukit Lawang (Eronio) and I can recommend both restaurants for tasty Indonesian food.

DAY 3 – MONDAY

The next day, after breakfast, a driver took us back to Aryaduta Hotel in Medan and JJ was reunited with his surfboard. After a night in Medan, we were off to the island of Simuelue. Read the post all about our Sumatran surf and yoga retreat next.

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