Trekking and Seeing Orangutans in Mount Leuser National Park

Mount Leuser National Park is one of the nature conservation areas in Indonesia, covering an area of 1,094,692 hectares which is located in North Sumatra and Aceh Provinces of Indonesia. The national park takes its name from Mount Leuser with a height of 3.404 meters above sea level in Aceh. This national park includes the original ecosystem of the coast to high mountains covered by dense typical tropical rain forest, managed by the zoning system used for the purpose of research, science, education, culture, tourism, and recreation.

The entrance of Gunung Leuser National Park

Mount Leuser National Park has three functions: First, protection of life support systems. Second, preserving species diversity of plants and animals and their ecosystems. Third, sustainable use of biological resources and ecosystems.

Almost the entire area are covered by Dipterocarpaceae forest with several rivers and waterfalls. In this national park there are several rare plants such as Raflesia flower (Rafflesia atjehensis and Rafflesia micropylora), giant umbrella leaves (Johannesteijsmannia altifrons) and Rhizanthes zippelnii which is the largest flower with a diameter of 1,5 meters.

In this national park there are also several endangered and protected animals such as gibbon (Hylobates syndactylus syndactylus), introspect / orangutan (Pongo abelii), Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Sumatran rhinoceros (sumatrensis sumatrensis Dicerorhinus), sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), forest goat (Capricornis sumatraensis), forest cats (Prionailurus sumatrana bengalensis) and hornbills (Buceros bicornis).

One of the tourist attractions in Mount Leuser National Park is observation center for Sumatran Orangutan at Bukit Lawang, Langkat regency, North Sumatra. Seeing the orangutans is a magical experience. In Bukit Lawang, you can usually see them near the rehabilitation centre and at the feeding platform during the morning and afternoon feeding sessions. Feedings are daily at 8.00AM and 3.00PM. Attending the feeding costs Rp 20,000. The proceeds are used to keep the project running.

The best experience is an encounter in the jungle where there are many semi-wild and wild animals. The wild orangutan can be difficult to spot unless you go deep into the jungle. There are also white and black gibbons that make an amazing noise calling out to each other, and Thomas Leaf monkeys. If you are lucky, you may be able to see hornbills, toucans, moon snakes, monitor lizards. Since there are very few still alive, it is very improbable that either the Sumatran Tiger or the Sumatran Rhinoceros will be encountered, although footprints and droppings have been reported. For elephants, go to Tangkahan or near Ketambe you can trek further into the jungle to try and spot wild elephants.

The best time to visit the park is on June to October. There are several tourist attraction that can be done in the park, such as: mountain climbing, hiking, trekking through coastal forest, observing plants and animals, kayaking/canoeing and camping.

The number one reason to go to Gunung Leuser National Park is for a trek, whether that is mountain trekking or trekking to spot wildlife. A wide range of treks into the jungle looking for wildlife are available in Bukit Lawang, Ketembe and Tangkahan. There are many tours from 1 to 3 days (sleeping in the jungle) but more or less can probably be arranged too. For montain climbing or hiking, there are all multi-day treks to Gunung Leuser and Gunung Kemiri.

How to get to the park?

From Medan to Kutacane by car takes about 8 hours (240 km). From Kutacane to Gurah or Ketambe by car take about 30 minutes (35 km). From Medan to Bohorok or Bukit Lawang take about 1 hour by car (60 km). From Medan to Sei Betung or Sekundur take about 2 hours by car (150 km). From Medan to Tapaktuan takes about 10 hours by car (260 km).

For more information, please read How to get to Gunung Leuser National Park?.