Bukit Lawang

Why you shouldn’t visit Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary in Sumatra

August 3, 2020 by Local-Guides

Tangkahan is a remote village in Gunung Leuser National Park (Sumatra) and is famous for its elephant sanctuary. The elephants have in the past been used for logging trees. As the logging destroyed the rainforest and triggered stricter environmental regulations, elephant logging became illegal and locals were forced to look for new ways to make money: The Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary. We’ll explain why it is not a real sanctuary and why you should not visit it.

Why you shouldn't visit Tangkahan elephant sanctuary in Sumatra

The Main Activities in Tangkahan: Elephant Washing & Riding

The elephant sanctuary is a popular destination for travellers in Sumatra because of its proximity to Bukit Lawang – one of the best gateways in Sumatra to see orangutans. You can visit Tangkahan from Bukit Lawang on a day trip. While they are only 20 km apart from each other, the bumpy journey easily takes 2 hours.

At the Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary you can bath the elephants, ride the elephants or do both. These tours are offered twice a day: starting at 9:00h and at 14:00h.

The site positions itself as an ecotourism destination. And while it has actually started with good intentions to end illegal logging, it is not a true sanctuary in our view. The label is only used for greenwashing to cash in on people’s willingness to spend money in the name of environmental protection.

Elephant washing sounds innocent but requires physical and psychological “crushing”

Seemingly innocent interactions with elephants could already be very problematic. According to World Animal Protection the bathing is oftentimes stressful for the elephants, especially when dealing with groups of excited people.

But the real horror is the torture required to bring the elephants into submission to safely interact with tourists: A technique called “elephant crushing”. This includes forcibly taking elephant babies from their mothers, chaining and cruel beating to tame them.

Elephant washing in Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary

Visitors can wash elephants in Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary. As beautiful as the selfies are, as brutal is the abuse it takes to get elephants into submission to show unnatural behaviour such as being washed by humans.

Elephant riding can cause permanent spinal injuries and depression

As strong as elephants look, their spines cannot support the weight of people. Doing so frequently can lead to permanent spinal injuries. There are further complications from having a chair attached to their backs which painfully rubs on their backs and cause blisters that can become infected.

Moreover, elephants are a lot like humans: They socialize, have families and friends, feel pain and happiness. When they are in trekking camps, they are separated from their herd and can get depressed.

Visitors can ride elephants in Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary. This can cause permanent injuries on the elephant’s back as it is too weak to carry things.

Animals in a real sanctuary live in freedom with little human contact

Ethical wildlife sanctuaries care for animals that have been rescued from abusive situations. The end goal should be to release them again in the wild (as has been done with many orangutans around Bukit Lawang). And when the animals are too traumatised or injured to ever return to the wild again they should live in the camp in as much freedom as possible with little human contact.

As there should never be any physical contact between visitors and elephants, ethical elephant camps work on an observation-only model. This still provides jobs and a valuable income to local people while it genuinely helps elephants in need.

Do proper research before visiting a wildlife sanctuary

Unfortunately there are a lot of shady sanctuaries like in Tangkahan. But that doesn’t mean there you can’t find an ethical sanctuary to visit.

Do your own research and make sure your once-in-a-life-time elephant experience is not based on a lifetime elephant torture. Ignore the self-labelling and beware that even tour agencies do not always know. There are many genuine orangutan tour companies in Bukit Lawang that offer tours also to Tangkahan simply because it is the thing to do and they just never thought of the unethical side of elephant riding and washing.

The first and easiest step is to check if the elephant sanctuary you’re thinking of visiting is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. If it isn’t it does not yet mean that it is shady. Read reviews and contact the sanctuary with a lot of questions. One yes to these questions could already be a red flag:

Do the elephants perform for visitors (such as painting or standing)?
Can visitors feed, wash, ride or touch elephants?
Are the baby elephants separated at times from their mother?
Are the elephants chained (usually at nights)?
Are the elephants bought (instead of rescued)?
Do they use bullhooks against elephants in any circumstances?

But despite a thorough research you may still end up in an unethical sanctuary. In that case, help fellow travellers by leaving a review and posting photos or videos. In some cases it will even motivate the camps to improve their practices.

Tourists posing with Elephants in Thailand - by National Geographic Channel

A British family enjoys a photo shoot with juvenile elephants at Lucky Beach on Phuket, Thailand. Many travelers, unaware of the training the elephants endure, view such picturesque experiences as the highlight of their trip. Source: National Geographic Channel.

A final word: Spread the word & Share

We have written this article because we belief in the power of ecotourism and it hurts to see greenwashing attempts undermine the true ecotourism concept.

It is not uncommon that animal camps that chain and abuse animals label themselves as sanctuaries to lure more visitors. Unfortunately, it is a very simple and successful strategy that unaware travellers easily fall for.

Could you help us spread the word, protect travellers from a big disappointment and help them choose true ecotourism destinations to support environmentally friendly initiatives? You help a lot by sharing this article with your network.

Thanks you!
Local Guides

Why Palm Oil Destroys our Rainforest and Kills Orangutans

October 23, 2019 by Local-Guides 6 Comments

The global surge in demand for palm oil is the leading cause of deforestation in Sumatra and Borneo, threatening endangered plants and animals including orangutans. We want to enhance consumer awareness about how our daily habits are the root cause of this irreversible rainforest destruction and explain how a small change in our behaviour could protect the rainforest and save orangutans.

A brief introduction to Palm oil

Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil that comes from the palm fruit, which grows on the Elaeis guineensis or simply African oil palm. Palm oil trees grow naturally in tropical forests, and originate from west and south-west Africa.

FIGURE 1. Top 10 Palm Oil-Producing Countries, 2012 (Thousands of Tons of Oil Produced).

Palm oil trees were introduced by Dutch colonists to Indonesia and Malaysia in the late 19th century and have been planted extensively to satisfy global demand. Now, Indonesia and Malaysia together make up over 85% of global palm oil production.

Especially in Indonesia palm oil production has soared in recent years. It is a significantly more profitable commodity for farmers than traditional farming and has helped lift many people out of poverty. According to Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry, the palm oil industry employs 4.5 million people, and is the single biggest export product of the country.

Why is Palm Oil an issue at all?

Palm oil destroys rainforests and kills orangutans

Palm oil is a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the orangutan, pygmy elephant and the Sumatran rhino. In Indonesia alone, a forest area the size of Belgium is lost every 2 years (let this sink in).

While the deforestation directly contributes to the population decline of orangutans, the good news is that orangutans are resilient and can adapt to some level to new environments such as palm oil plantations. However, deforestation severely deteriorates the orangutan population indirectly through the increased killings by farmers protecting their harvest and through the new infrastructure making it easier for poachers to get further into the rainforest.

A recent study from 38 international institutions found that nearly 150,000 orangutans were killed in the period 1999 – 2015 in Borneo. In the last 75 years, the population has dropped by 80% to an estimated population of 104,000 orangutans on the island. And according to the researchers it will further fall by at least 45,000 by 2050 due to habitat loss alone without fresh efforts to protect them.

Palm oil is a major source of CO2 emissions

In preparing rainforest land for palm oil plantation, the most valuable trees are cut down and removed first. What remains is burned. Tropical deforestation is currently responsible for about 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions according to the IPCC, and the plantations to produce it account for 10% of permanent global cropland .

Palm oil facilitates child labor and inflicts local conflicts

The USA ranks the palm oil industry as one of the worst for forced and child labour , where children “carry large loads of heavy fruit, weed fields, and spend hours every day bent over collecting fruit from the plantation floor” for little compensation. The Indonesian government claims that “thousands of communities are involved in conflicts with companies, the state and each other” consequent to the industry.

Palm Oil and Tanjung Puting National Park

While Central Kalimantan has one of the fastest rates of oil palm expansion in the world, an unaware visitor to for example Tanjung Puting National Park – where we offer Borneo orangutan tours – may not even notice this.

If you look closely, though, you will see that as you cruise through the Sekonyer river that the Tanjung Puting National Park is on one side where you will have all the activities, while the other side is private land with palm oil trees.

We have noticed that some of our clients in Tanjung Puting National Park tend to blame “palm oil farmers” for the harmful effects of this industry to the rainforest destruction and the killing of orangutans.

While we understand this sentiment, we also recognise that local farmers simply try to keep themselves and their families out of poverty. Moreover, harvesting palm oil on private land is not an environmental issue if that land was already used for agriculture.

But then whom to blame? Well, it’s a complex issue, but instead of pointing at farmers, we think it is better to increase scrutiny on the following players:

The big industries – such as BW Plantations in Kalimantan – that expand their activities through deforestation and stealing land from native communities.
The village of Tanjung Harapan on the Sekonyer river in Tanjung Puting has over 100 families who are actively opposing the palm oil plantation and its expansion and demand the rights of the Sekonyer community to be returned.
Your political representatives that have not yet advocated the mandatory labelling of palm oil in your daily products to enhance customer awareness
The consumer. Let’s face it… in the end the palm oil industry just has a demand to meet… While blaming ourselves is inconvenient, it also means that we hold the key to solve the issue.

Then Why Is Palm Oil Used?

Palm oil simply serves the global demand for vegetable oil, accounting for about half of all packaged products in the supermarket according to WWF.

Compared to other vegetable oils such as soy, rapeseed, coconut or corn, palm oil has a superior yield and it produces up to 3-8 times more oil per unit area! Its high melting point make it smooth and easy to spread and it is the cheapest vegetable oil to produce and refine.

FIGURE 2. A comparison of the land efficiency for different vegetable oils relative to palm oil.

Therefore replacing palm oil with other oil crops would just displace the damaging biodiversity losses, rather than end the ecological destruction associated with palm oil .

Which Products Contain Palm Oil?

Well, the better question is which products do NOT contain palm oil. Fifty percent of all packaged products in the super market contain palm oil according to the WWP.

It provides the foaming agent in virtually every shampoo, liquid soap or detergent. It is widely used in tooth paste, frozen meals, sauces, oat meal and cleaning products. The below illustration gives you an impression of how you consume palm oil on a daily basis.

FIGURE 3. A Day in Your Life with Palm Oil, based on a design by Philadelphia Zoo (edited for readibility).

Yet, most consumers are not aware of their immense palm oil consumption, and even if they want to be more conscious about it they struggle because palm oil is rarely clearly labeled in the ingredients list.

Ingredients list for palm oil

Many products that use palm oil aren’t clearly labeled. Palm oil and its derivatives can appear under many names. Here are some of the used synonyms for palm oil according to the WWF.

INGREDIENTS. Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol

CONTAINS. Palm oil

How Can You Fight Palm Oil

The most effective solutions come from the demand side as suppliers are going to keep clearing forests until consumers force them to stop. Consumer awareness is needed about the link between the purchased products and the environmental disaster they’re causing. Beyond these generalities, here are 4 concrete actions you can take:

1. Consume Less Palm Oil

The most effective measure is simply to reduce your palm oil consumption. Use fresh ingredients for your meals as opposed to frozen dishes or processed food and switch your hand soap, tooth paste, shampoo or brand of biscuits to a sustainable alternative.

With such small changes to your shopping habits, you reduce your palm oil consumption and influence directional changes for global corporations.

2. Look for the RSPO Label

Major palm oil producers, consumers and the WWF established the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which is a certificate for palm oil that is produced in a sustainable manner.

There are still some issues with the RSPO label. It does not rule out the clearing of the rain forest, climate protection is ignored, compliance with the criteria is not consistently reviewed, and violations are rarely punished. Greenpeace even considers the RSPO to be “little more than greenwash”.

Nevertheless, it is the strongest certification for sustainable palm oil. Moreover, the RSPO management recognises the criticism and tries to address them with the help of NGOs.

If you aren’t sure whether a company uses sustainable palm oil as an ingredient, use the rating tool of the WWF.

3. Donate

Fortunately, there are many bright conservation organisations, activists and communities fighting the palm oil industry and rehabilitating wildlife suffering from it. Think of International Animal Rescue, Rainforest Action Network, Friends for National Parks Foundation and Save our Borneo.

However bright they are, this is a fight between David and Goliath and they depend on kindhearted volunteers and sponsors. Make a difference by financially supporting them.

4. Promote Eco-Tourism

You may think “Isn’t the most sustainable way of travelling, not to travel at all”? Mass tourism has severely impacted Indonesia, with fresh water reserves cemented for hotels, beaches littered with debris from revellers, and wild animals captured and displayed for entertainment.

While not travelling has the least direct environmental damage, the indirect damage could be much worse as it forces local governments to find other income streams and further strengthens the palm oil industry.

Instead, we advice to travel sustainably. Ecotours incentivise locals to conserve the rainforest and not destruct it. Choose a tour operator that genuinely cares about the environment. Read more about the importance of ecotourism in this post .

It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on earth.
– David Attenborough –

A Final Word

We have written this article to enhance costumer awareness about the devastating effects of our daily lives on the beautiful rainforests and wildlife in Indonesia and Malaysia.

We realise that we only reach a very small audience and that our contribution is tiny. But if we all would make a tiny contribution, couldn’t the sum add up to something immense? Couldn’t we make the difference together?

We only reach a small audience. Please help us spread the awareness and share this article with your network.

Want to see orangutans in untouched rainforests? Explore the jungle with us in Sumatra or Borneo.

Meet the Fascinating Personalities of the Bukit Lawang Orangutans

August 29, 2019 by Edie Leave a Comment

While orangutans are known for their intelligence and peaceful character, it is sometimes overlooked how their personalities vary significant across individuals… just like humans. Meet here the fascinating personalities of some of the orangutans around Bukit Lawang in Gunung Leuser National Park.

Because of the past orangutan rehabilitation initiative in Bukit Lawang, some orangutans in Gunung Leuser National Park at the side of Bukit Lawang are semi-wild and live peacefully aside humans.

Reading Tip:
The Ultimate Guide to Bukit Lawang

While the rehabilitation centre has been closed in 2002, the reintegrated orangutans and their offsprings are still monitored by rangers. These semi-wild orangutans usually have names; the wild orangutans that live deeper into the jungle and who are harder to spot, usually do not have names.

The Orangutans around Bukit Lawang

Jakie (|1996). She is the darling of Bukit Lawang and always in need of love from the guides and tourists, because of her past. Born in the wild in Gunung Leuser National Park, her mother got sick when Jackey was only 2 years. She was fed and raised by rangers and volunteers for years and got accustomed to humans. Ever since her reintegration back into the jungle, she has always kept her affection to humans. Jakie is the mother of 4 children: Darma (|2005), Jodie (|2009), Jeniper (|2015) and Johny (|2019), who is still with Jakie.

Mina (|1979). She has suffered in her childhood in captivity. Despite being taken well care of in a rehabilitation center since her 4th, she has never overcome her fear towards humans and therefore she can at times be aggressive. Nevertheless, she has had a successful life after her reintegration, giving birth to 4 offsprings: Thomas (|1991), Juni (|1998), Cetrine (|2008) & Masjur (|2014). As a proud (grand-)mother, she still looks after her family and therefore sometimes shows signs of aggression towards people that get too close to her.

Ucok Baba (|1982). Afraid from tigers, Ucok Baba is always high in the trees. The only exception he makes when there are people as he feels protected by humans. While born wild, he has become semi-wild because he has been fed by visitors and lost his fear towards humans.

While its kindness towards humans is touching, it is sad that he has become semi-wild and that some visitors or guides feed orangutans for a nice picture or for a better tip, resp. At Local Guides it is prohibited to feed orangutans. Instead we educate visitors about the dangers of feeding or touching orangutans.

Pesek (|1988). While she has had a difficult childhood in captivity, she has been very happy ever since she arrived in the rehabilitation center in Bukit Lawang. Now she is a semi-wild orangutan that loves people. She is currently raising her daughter Palentino Rosi (2013) and is therefore more defensive than usual, which is normal behaviour for a mother. As children usually stay with their mother for ±6 years, Palenfino Rosi is not expected to stay much longer with her. She is also the mother of 4 grown up and wild orangutans: April (|1997), Hirim (|2001), Alam (|2003) an Wati (|2006).

Gay Couple. This wild, gay couple lives deep into Gunung Leuser National Park. Although they also mate with females, deep into the jungle it is not always easy to find other orangutans. So when there is no female around, they just have sex with each other. Locals jokingly refer to this practicle couple with the song “No Women, No Cry”.

Loud Couple. This couple is wild and lives deep into the Gunung Leuser National Park. They are the exception to the usually solitary behaviour that orangutans are known for. When they have sex, they can be very loud and make similar sounds as when humans have sex. And just like humans, they want privacy during their intimate moments together, but their panting and loud screams of excitement can give their location away to curious visitors who quietly witness their performance from a distance behind the trees.

Read about the Bukit Lawang Orangutan Trekking Tours by Local Guides

Ultimate Guide to Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking

August 26, 2019 by Local-Guides Leave a Comment

Bukit Lawang is a tiny village in Sumatra and the gateway to see orangutans as part of an adventurous trek through Gunung Leuser National Park. One of the most diverse tropical ecosystems on the planet, this Sumatran jungle is also home to other big mammals like elephants, rhinos, tigers and leopards.

History of Bukit Lawang as Rehabilitation Center

In 1972 a Swiss based organisation initiated Bukit Lawang as the center for orangutan rehabilitation. Its main purpose was to preserve the decreasing population of orangutans due to hunting, trading and deforestation.

In the rehabilitation phase, rangers taught survival skills to the rehabilitating orangutans. Thereafter, the orangutan was released to their natural habit for reintegration. However, the orangutans that have been released in this area are still being monitored by the rangers.

Reading Tip:
Meet the Fascinating Personalities of the Bukit Lawang Orangutans

Over the course of time Bukit Lawang became increasingly visited by tourists, and consequently the orangutans were increasingly exposed to human interaction. Unaware visitors touched and fed orangutans, which made the orangutans sick, food poisoned, and dependent to humans, and which jeapordized the objectives of the rehabilitation center.

The rehabilitation centre closed in 2002 as the place got too crowded and unsuitable for animal rehabilitation, but the role of Bukit Lawang as the centre of ecotourism to see the semi-wild orangutan keeps going on until now. In order to minimise the human impact on orangutans, local guides explain to travellers why it is forbidden to get near or feed orangutans.

What to do in Bukit Lawang

The must-do activity around is the Bukit Lawang Jungle Trek in Gunung Leuser National Park. You will be trekking through the jungle, spot orangutans and other animals, and stay overnight in jungle camps. We recommend to do at least a 2D1N Bukit Lawang Jungle Trek to experience a magical night in the jungle. However, visitors enjoy the 3D2N Bukit Lawang Jungle Trek even more because of the full day in the jungle. For trek lovers with more time, we also offer longer jungle treks to get deeper into the jungle.

Reading Tip:
Day-to-day-itineraries for all Orangutan Treks
(for the itineraries, click on the tab above the image slider)

Below is the day-to-day itinerary of the 3D2N Bukit Lawang Jungle Trek.

Itinerary for 3D2N Bukit Lawang Jungle Trek

Day 1: Start in Bukit Lawang: All-Day Jungle Trek

We start around 8-9 a.m. after breakfast at your hotel. We walk for around 6-7 hours into the Gunung-Leuser National Park and will along the way see a lot of wildlife, such gibbons, leaf monkeys, longtail and pigtail macaques, flying squirrels, Sumatran peacocks, hornbills and of course orangutans.

Our guide will show some natural medicinal plants and explain how to use them in practice. After a nice lunch in the afternoon, we continue towards our campsite where we will rest, get a hot drink and take a refreshing jungle bath in the clean stream.

We will end our day at dark with a well-deserved diner at the camp fire!

Day 2: All-Day Jungle Trek

Waking up in the middle of the jungle is a magical feeling. You hear the morning sounds of the birds and the excitement of the gibbons in the distance as you breath the fresh air.

After a good breakfast, we get ready to leave the camp and walk for 5 to 6 hours in the jungle towards another camp site (usually “Aras Pinang”). Along the way, we enjoy the nature and wildlife, try all sorts of ‘jungle-food’ and how to recognize them and use them. We have lunch in the jungle somewhere half-way.

At the camp we can relax and swim in a clean jungle river. We end the day with dinner at campfire.

Day 3 – Return with Rubber Tube Raft

The following morning you can choose to either do a short jungle trek or to simply relax at the campsite.

After lunch we head back to Bukit Lawang with a exciting tube raft on the river through the jungle! Alternatively, we can return by foot (depending on your personal wish or for safety reasons)!

How difficult is the orangutan Jungle Trek

The jungle treks in Bukit Lawang is done by people from all ages, ranging from solo traveller’s in their 20st, to families with young children and elderly people.

The regular all-day treks take 6/7 hours with breaks in between, and the terrain is relatively easy with here and there some odd small climb. The guides tailor the trek as well as the speed to the wishes and abilities of the clients. Fit travellers may get a more challenging route with more climbs, while families with young children will do some short cuts and have more breaks with more time spent on explaining the animals, insects and the medicinal properties of the plants on route.

The jungle is relatively dry and therefore the humidity is less of an issue than in rain forests elsewhere in Indonesia.

When you book your Bukit Lawang Jungle trekking, just inform your guide of your fitness and make sure that they will adjust the itinerary to your abilities. If you book your Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking with Local Guides, you can just mention your wishes in the online booking form and we will tailor the itinerary, accordingly. We will always discuss the itinerary also just before we start the jungle trek so that we can accommodate any wishes up to the very last moment.

Is the Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking safe with children

The Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking can be tailored to wishes and abilities of visitors. In our experience, kids are among the people that enjoy the jungle trek the most. While Local Guides pays special attention to families with kids already by default, in case you book the tour with anyone else, ask the guide for the following arrangements for a carefree and enjoyable time with your kids:

Ask for a private tour to make it easy to tailor the trek length and speed to the abilities of the children
Ask for extra breaks for the kids to play around and rest a bit during the trek
While kids are excited to see Orangutans, they are also excited to learn about all the insects. So ask the guide to also talk about the insects (or medicinal properties of plants) – kids love that!
Ask your guide to choose an easy path

How are the jungle camps?

There are several different jungle camps in the Gunung Leuser Nation Park where one can have an overnight as part of the jungle trek. They are all situated next to the Bohorok river, so you can have a fresh bath at the jungle camps.

However, beware that the camping here is not glamorous! While you sleep under mosquito nets against insects, the mattresses are thin. The toilet is a simple squat toilet. So this tour is not for the glamorous traveller.

Instead, expect fun, adventure and a back-to-nature experience! You’ll never forget your night sleeping in the lush jungle, and waking up with the morning sounds of the monkeys and birds!

How is the food

In contrast to the jungle camps, the meals are of relatively good quality. All meals are freshly prepared; at Local Guides, we even send a private cook with you to the jungle.

For breakfast, there are typically banana pancakes and tea.
For snacks, there are a lot of fresh fruits to choose from ranging from pineapple, oranges, mangoes to passion fruit and melons.
In the evenings, there are several options to choose from ranging from tasty chicken dishes, a traditional Sumatran fish casserole, vegetable dishes, with fried potato or rice, and with – of course – fresh fruit. Throughout the evenings, you can take biscuits, tea or water.

In case you have any dietary restrictions, just inform your guide about it in advance so that they can accommodate for when doing the shopping.

How to get to Bukit Lawang

Fly to Medan. The gateway to Bukit Lawang is the Medan, Sumatra. Fly to Kuala Namu International Airport in Medan. From Medan it is ±3/4 hours driving to Bukit Lawang.

By Local Bus (budget travellers). Most local buses to Bukit Lawang leave from a terminal at Kampung Lalang, on the outskirts of Medan. Local buses can get you here for around 6,000 Rupiah, but you may need to learn a bit of Bahasa Indonesia to survive! From Kampung Lalang, a minibus to Bukit Lawang will cost ±30,000 Rupiah per person, and the journey will take 4-5 hours. Be prepared for a lot of Indonesian music being played by the driver! Last bus to Bukit Lawang leaves at 17.30hrs.

WARNING: These minibuses break down often, so be careful taking these buses especially with kids. Also, there are worrying stories about going from this bus terminal to Bukit Lawang: Travellers have been followed, shouted at and even grabbed at because people want them to pay extra prices, so be prepared when going with this bus terminal. A better, more comfortable and safer option is to take the more luxury busses or a private taxi (see below).

By Luxury Bus. A more luxury option is to take a tourist bus to Bukit Lawang. These depart from near the Grand Mosque in Medan and they are relatively good quality buses (by Sumatran standards) that don’t break down as often as the minibuses. The price for a bus ticket is ±100,000 Rupiah.

Private Transfer (Recommended Option). The most comfortable and fastest way to get from Medan to Bukit Lawang is by taxi. You won’t have any hassle of finding the bus terminal and are not restricted to the timetable. If you do a Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking with us, you can book the private transfer directly with us for a price 600.000 IDR for up to 5 people. You can be picked up at your hotel or airport in Medan.

We also offer private transfers to/from Lake Toba and Berastagi, with stops at picturesque places on route. There are also direct buses available for both destinations: to/from Lake Toba takes ±7 hours and costs ±200.000 IDR per person, while the bus to/from Berastagi takes ±5 hours and costs ±150.000 IDR per person.

Where to stay in Bukit Lawang

A recommended accommodation in Bukit Lawang is Ecolodge . It is a beautiful facility and it also donates parts of the proceeds to the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme.

Another recommended accommodation is Sam’s Bungalow .

What is the best period to visit Bukit Lawang

Orangutans can be seen all year round as part of a jungle trek from Bukit Lawang.

From a weather point of view, the best period to visit Bukit Lawang is in dry season in the period April – September. The busiest period is July – August.

The wettest period is December – January: There are still mostly periods with sunshine but also frequent heavy rain falls typically at the end of the afternoon.

The shoulder periods October-November and February-March are quite good periods to visit Bukit Lawang as well. While there are rain falls in this period, these last just for a few minutes. Also there are very little tourists in this period, so it will feel as if you have the village and the Gunung Leuser National Park all for yourself!

Is Bukit Lawang a Touristic Destination

Over the past few years, Bukit Lawang has seen the number of visitors rise significantly. Together with Lake Toba, Bukit Lawang is considered the touristic hotspot of North-Sumatra. However, it is still a small village, with plenty of locals not living from the tourist sector, and compared to other places such as Bali, Flores or the Gili islands, the village feels still authentic and during the day it is easy to chat with friendly locals.

Also during the day most people are trekking in the jungle and you can relax in the beautiful village almost on your own or chat with the friendly locals. But during the main season from May to August it is likely that you will encounter other groups during the jungle trek. At Local Guides, we do our best to avoid the mass also during high season.

Do Not Feed Orangutans & Respect the Environment

Feeding orangutans is an absolute no-go. All our clients are instructed to treat orangutans respectfully, keep a safe distance, do not touch them, and do not feed them. The orangutans are wild, and should be treated accordingly.

Feeding orangutans may at first sight seem innocent or even a kind gesture, but it will make them aggressive towards humans, lazy to find their own food, or even sick.

We believe it is our responsibility to respect nature and educate our clients about the fragility of it. And we know that travellers will treat our jungle with the same respect once they understand the environmental consequences of our behavior.

Also, please always make sure you do not throw anything away in the jungle. Our guides will pick-up the rubbish they will see along the way and therefore the jungle is still very clean despite the number of visitors, but our goal is to further increase awareness and sense of responsibility among all visitors so that there wouldn’t be any rubbish to pick up at all:-)

What to bring for your Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking

comfortable/closed shoes for the trek
sandals or flip-flops for walking in the river
light trousers and shirts with long sleeves
towel
insect repellent (DEET 40%)
flashlight
small backpack for the trek
mobile charger for your electronic devices

Read about the Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking tours by Local Guides

Where to go after Bukit Lawang

A popular combination of destinations in North Sumatra is Bukit Lawang, Tongkahan, Berastagi, Lake Toba.

Tangkahan is ±2 hours away from Bukit Lawang by car and is known for its elephant sanctuary where visitors can wash elephants and do elephant trekking.

WARNING: While elephant washing / riding in Tangkahan is a popular activity among travellers to Bukit Lawang, we advice against it. While we love to show visitors the orangutans that live in freedom in Gunung Leuser National Park, the elephants in Tangkahan live in captivity. The process of taming elephants usually involves psychological and physical break-down in order to make the elephants submissive and let them do things against their will (such as elephant trekking). Unaware visitors of Tangkahan are occasionally saddened by what they see and regret having visited it. Therefore, we do not pro-actively include Tangkahan in our North Sumatra Tour itineraries.

The popular activity in Berastagi is climbing the volcanic mount Gunung Sibayak. Especially the sunrise volcano trek is a beautiful and satisfying activity. The climb is easy and takes ±2 hours; other activities include visiting traditional villages, natural hot tubs or the famous Berastagi market. It is ±5 hours driving from Bukit Lawang.

Lake Toba has been formed by a super volcanic eruption ±70.000 years ago. In the heart of the lake the idyllic Samosir Island is located which is the place to be around Lake Toba. In addition to the pristine scenery and serenity, you can learn here about the local Batak Culture, relax at the beach, explore the island by motor bike or play with the friendly and curious children.

More about tour packages Bukit Lawang – Berastagi – Lake Toba

Day-to-day-itineraries for North Sumatra tour packages
(for the itineraries, click on the tab Sumatra Tours above the image slider)
Prices & Availabilities are found on the online booking form

Fantastic 8D7N Tour!

November 18, 2018 by Local-Guides Leave a Comment

After a splendid tour with LG (local-guides dot org) in Kalimantan, we decided to do the 8 Day Sumatra Tour with them, and it was just another dream come true! We were a bit unsure in the beginning because the price was so much lower than other tour agencies, but everything was super nicely organized! The only reason they are relatively affordable is because they work directly with the local guides, which I think is super great! This tour had everything, from trekking, to nature, to culture, to delicious meals, to relaxing and to meeting very nice people! We did not only do an unforgettable jungle trek in Bukit Lawang (super exciting to sleep in the jungle – and we never felt unsafe in any way!), a beautiful and easy volcano hike of mt Sibayak near Berastagi with a terrific view, visiting super fascination remote places such as the Sipiso Piso waterfall, Simarjunjung’s magnifient viewpoint, traditional villages, and then the so relaxing Lake Toba! I was in the beginning surprised why they didn’t offer tours to Tangkahan, because many other tour operators do, but they explained me that although it would be good business, the elephants are not treated well there and they do not want to actively support it (but they are not judgmental and still help you organise such tour for free if you want to visit it). In case you decide to visit Bukit Lawang or Berastagi or Lake Toba, I strongly recommend you to do the 8 Day or even 9 Day Sumatra Tour and just visit all these places with no stress! Thank you to the Local Guides team! This was such a beautiful and authentic experience! Quinn

Highlight of Holiday!

November 17, 2018 by Local-Guides Leave a Comment

Me and my family visited mount Sibayak with the North Sumatran Local Guides team (local-guides dot org) as part of our 9D8N Sumatra tour. It was TRUELY AWESOME! The volcano hike was probably the most memorable experience I’ve had in my trip to Sumatra. The guys are really fun and easy-going and provide interesting details about the area and show places you wouldn’t find without a local. Usually I like to explore places on my own, but this time I’m really glad I did it with Local Guides; it was actually cheaper to do this tour through them than to do it by myself – let alone much less stress and so much more exciting and authentic! Sibayak itself is a surreal place, a trail through the mangroves, stunning views, and smoking volcano. If you plan to visit Berastagi or North Sumatra in general, I advice you to at least consider the beautiful North Sumatra tours of Local Guides, even if you usually never do guided tours, because they are wonderful, very authentic, and very affordable! Kriss

Amazing Trek!

November 11, 2018 by Local-Guides Leave a Comment

We did a 3 days/2 nights trek with our guide Randy. He was so helpful, was constantly looking for animals and told us everything about the flora and fauna. Also, he was really considerate about if we could keep up. We saw many different animals and beautiful nature. The camps were also really nice, the food is so good (and so much) and the atmosphere is great – all guides and cooks are really nice. Would really recommend this tour! Martin

3D2N Jungle Trek

September 1, 2018 by Local-Guides Leave a Comment

Met veel plezier hebben we deze jungle trekking gedaan. Adhi was onze gids en heeft ons overal veilig doorheen geloodst. Eerste dag was even wennen, voornamelijk aan het yoga matje om op te slapen.. Ontzettend genoten van de mooie plekken die er te vinden zijn in de jungle. Ook af en toe doorbijten met de vele heuvels en bergen op en neer. Er werd rekening mee gehouden en genoeg pauze ingelast. Uiteindelijk elke keer weer beloond met mooi uitzicht. Het eten dat Andy heeft gemaakt was voor ons het beste van de 3 weekse reis door heel Indonesië. Vers fruit voor onderweg en lekkere hapjes, overal wordt aan gedacht. Mooie plaatjes kunnen schieten van alle apen, meer dan 15 orang utan tegengekomen. Gewassen onder aan de waterval bij het tweede kamp, was een heerlijke ervaring. Als afsluiter met de banden over de rivier, eindelijk vooruit komen zonder iets te hoeven doen. Echt een aanrader, mits je back to basic geen probleem vind. Fleur

Amazing Tour! 2D1N

August 29, 2018 by Local-Guides Leave a Comment

Deze tour geboekt, van te voren geen informatie ingewonnen, achteraf helemaal niet nodig! Super tour! Geweldige gids die alles wist en alle animals wist te vinden, ook veel informatie over de planten. Eten was ook super. Al met al een prachtige ervaring met deze geweldige organisatie. Amazing tour with these fantastic tour operator. The guides were very friendly and knew everything about the animals, plants and off course about looking out for the animals. We saw many difference apes, including the orang utang. I would recommend these guys! Stefan

Great Experience

August 9, 2018 by Local-Guides Leave a Comment

3 days 2 nights was the perfect amount of time, spend the days searching for animals and the nights in a shanti camp, eating well prepared meals, with some card trick entertainment. Anytime less than this trekking you get stuck in a bit of a tourist trap at the semi wild orangutans and in season it can become tedious. The furtherin you go the better and less full of other people and a more authentic jungle experience you get. To finish you raft down the river back to your hotel. All very good fun. Good set of lads that know what they are doing and thoroughly looked after us, including little touches like meeting us from our taxi and showing us to our hotel If i were to give constructive criticism to eddie(the main man) i would say shorter smoking breaks (and less of them) for the guides, and something a bit thicker to sleep on! Overall experience 5/5 highly recommend. Luke

Tangkahan Sanctuary

Why You Shouldn’t Visit It