We had decided before we left New Zealand that while we were going to try and be as flexible as possible with our plans, there were some ‘must do’s’ that we weren’t going to compromise on, even if it was a little pricey or out of the way. Seeing Orangutans in the North Sumatran jungle was definitely one of those.
We’d heard about Bukit Lawang and figured this would be our best bet for viewing the magical creatures. Bukit Lawang is a small village on the edge of the jungle, which used to be home to a feeding platform in the jungle. The feeding platform/centre is now closed, but several of the Orangutans don’t venture too far from where the centre once was. Although wild, as they’re familiar with humans this makes getting close to the apes possible.
Getting there
We flew to Medan in Sumatra from Denpasar in Bali via Lion Air, as this was the closest airport to Bukit Lawang. Medan really has nothing going for it, despite being the second largest city in Indonesia. We’re going to be honest here and tell you we splashed out on a nice hotel, Grand Swiss-Bel Hotel and planned to see nothing of the city while we were there. Terrible I know, but wait ‘til you go there.
We booked our Jungle adventure day trek through Bukitlawang.com and paid approximately 70 pounds each. The main draw card to this website, was they also provided return transfers from Medan to the jungle, a three hour drive each way, which would be difficult to arrange via taxi or private car.
We were collected at around 6am in the morning from our Medan hotel and driven to Bukit Lawang. The drive alone was an adventure enough. Monkeys, villages, crashed trucks, school kids, palm trees, markets, you name it, we saw it.
1 Day jungle trek
We opted just for the one day jungle trek given we’re not overly keen on hiking (one of us in particular), and also we didn’t have that much time to spare here. It turned out we got more than our money’s worth with the one day and were relieved we weren’t sleeping under the stars.
Once we arrived at the village of Bukit Lawang, we met our guide for the day, who was awesome. Although we were expecting others in our group, it was just us, which meant we had a personal guide and the trip was easily tailored to suit us. Not only was our guide a hoot, he taught us a thing or two about the jungle, had us eating leaves and termites, leaving us wondering if we were going to die and so kindly kept us filled up on fruit.
Once we set out and it was only about 10 minutes before we came across our first group of monkeys in the rubber trees, at least three kinds too. But lets be honest, we didn’t come for the regular monkeys.
About thirty minutes in, we got lucky. Two female Sumatran Orangutans and two babies in the same area. So it was another guide’s group that found them, and we suddenly realised we were far from the only tourists in the jungle, but there was enough swinging and playing in the trees for everyone to get their photos. We stopped here for about half an hour and took in the amazing creatures. I’m just going to say, it was incredible, but when one of those things comes down for a closer inspection of you…it’s kinda terrifying. They’re big and scarily human-like.
We thought we couldn’t really top this experience, and because there’s no guarantees you’ll see any apes on your day in the jungle, we were content to continue on our hike, take in the scenery and amuse ourselves with ‘Thomas’ monkey’s and other ‘Cheeky monkey’s’ (those were the technical names our guide gave them).
But. After a few more hours, we came across a mum (Sandra) and her baby and it was just us. This was actually one of those moments in your life you’ll never forget.
As sad as it was to leave the possibility of seeing any more Orangutans at the end of our day, the raft ride out of the jungle made it ok. By raft, I mean two inner tubes strung together with rope and 4 people carefully balanced on top. No we didn’t die, but maybe it felt like we might a couple of times down the river. It was awesome and the end to one of those incredible days you will never forget.
Would totally recommend the company we booked with and hope your jungle experience is as magical as ours. We sweated. We rafted. We saw Orangutans. We survived the jungle, even if the Bali pants didn’t.
Indicative itinerary from Bukitlawang.com
6am: Your driver will meet you at your hotel/other point in Medan, and you will drive to Bukit Lawang.
9am: Arrive in Bukit Lawang. You may join with other guests on the trek staying locally, there won’t be more than six people in your group, and we won’t delay them for you, so if you arrive later, you will trek on your own.
9:15am (approximate): Walk to the entrance to the national park, near the Ecolodge guesthouse.
9:30am (approximate): Enter into the national park, trek through the jungle, keeping an eye out for wildlife including of course orangutans.
10:30am: Stop for variety of tropical fruit (depending on the season), such as pineapple, passion fruit, bananas, rambutan and tangerines.
11am: Continue walking
Noon: Break for lunch. Typically fried rice, which we bring from the village.
12:30pm: Continue trekking, watching for orangutans and other wildlife.
3pm: Board the jungle raft down the Bohorok river back to the village – around 1 hour (option: walk back instead). We exit the river next to Wisma Sibayak guesthouse.
4pm: End of trek
5pm: Drive back to Medan
8pm: Arrive at your Medan hotel
Here’s a little sneak peak of how up close and personal we got. I could watch this girl all day.
While we’re talking Indonesia, check out Gili Islands, link here to our guide.