Arriving in Bukit Lawang from a bumpy bus ride from Medan, we were collected on motorbikes by Trek Sumatra. We spent an afternoon in Bukit Lawang, eating at a restaurant overlookig the river. We stayed in the trek guest dorm room.
The following morning we packed a smaller bag with clothes and a camera and a bar of soap! we got introduced to our guide, Kinol (He was awesome) and walked from our dorm to the other side of the river over a swinging suspension bridge!
The start of the walk was past the hotels on the other side of the river but is up a steep hill and some steps! our guide showed us some rubber trees and people extracting the latex. we realised at the top of this steep hill that the next few days if nothing else would be very, very sweaty!
A little way into the rainforest we saw a mother and baby Orangutan sitting in a tree unbiased by us, even though they were only about 10 metres away. in the distance was another rustling in the trees, and a white handed gibbon swung away from us. We watched her for around 20 minutes, then continued the walk. Around the corner we came across a family of Thomas leaf monkeys who were down on the floor begging for food. you should not feed any animal in the rainforest as it encourages this unnatural behaviour. there was also another Orangutan hanging around in the area who sat in her tree and watched as we took some photos and left her in peace.
(We witnessed a guide from another company trying to feed a baby to lure it away from his group whilst they had there lunch which was disappointing. Our guide was upset and said it was very unprofessional.)
The start of the walk was past the hotels on the other side of the river but is up a steep hill and some steps! our guide showed us some rubber trees and people extracting the latex. we realised at the top of this steep hill that the next few days if nothing else would be very, very sweaty!
A little way into the rainforest we saw a mother and baby Orangutan sitting in a tree unbiased by us, even though they were only about 10 metres away. in the distance was another rustling in the trees, and a white handed gibbon swung away from us. We watched her for around 20 minutes, then continued the walk. Around the corner we came across a family of Thomas leaf monkeys who were down on the floor begging for food. you should not feed any animal in the rainforest as it encourages this unnatural behaviour. there was also another Orangutan hanging around in the area who sat in her tree and watched as we took some photos and left her in peace.
(We witnessed a guide from another company trying to feed a baby to lure it away from his group whilst they had there lunch which was disappointing. Our guide was upset and said it was very unprofessional.)
Further into the rainforest the guide spotted a quinine tree and sliced off some bark for us to try! It was extremely bitter and the taste stayed in your mouth for a long time. (I will only be having quinine in Gin and Tonic from now on)
We followed our guide to the campsite where the food we had for dinner was delicious. Egg Rendang, pumpkin curry, river spinach curry, Fried Tempeh, crackers, anchovies chilli, Fried potato cakes. We had a few cups of jungle tea and another guide taught us some card games and kept us and his group amused before we retired to our tent shell under a tarpaulin. We were glad to be in a tent to give us a break from mosquitos. Other trekking companies just have a roll mat and sleeping bag. We had heavy rain all night, to help us sleep and keep the noise of the jungle quiet.
Day 2 started with a coffee and some biscuits as well as a fried egg sandwich. then we started our hike along a river, so very wet feet, Gary slipped twice and fell in the river, wrong footwear! After 20 mins hiking up the riverbed, we had to climb up a very steep bank, which wasn't easy after all the rain! we were absolutely sodden through, but at least it was water and not sweat today! at the top of the hill we stopped for a fruit break! these always consisted of pineapple, watermelon banana, and oranges! Whilst we were eating this a wild Peacock came to try and see if there was anything it could eat.
After some more walking it was just us and our guide and upon a hilltop we saw a white handed gibbon swinging through the trees. We stopped for lunch and we had fried noodles. Gary dropped a noodle and in true jungle fashion around 20 ants had picked it up and carried it off in no time!
We made it to our camp for the evening for another food feast! We washed in the river and shortly after a big water monitor lizard around 1.5metres, came over to look at us.
The following morning we were taken on a little hike by our guide to a waterfall to swim in. Then it was time to pack up out stuff and go rafting down the river in truck tyre inner tubes! This was great fun, and dropped us right at the riverbank of our accommodation!
This trip was superb! The food we ate in the jungle was some of the best food we had in Indonesia. Our guide Kinol was a very kind and patient guide with expert knowledge of the rainforest.
This 3 night trip was excellent, a real highlight of our trip to date.
In addition to this 3 day with night trip we also took a 1/2 day trip to see the world's largest flower in the rainforest. This flower rarely blooms, but we saw it. It stinks pretty bad, like Copydex glue.
We followed our guide to the campsite where the food we had for dinner was delicious. Egg Rendang, pumpkin curry, river spinach curry, Fried Tempeh, crackers, anchovies chilli, Fried potato cakes. We had a few cups of jungle tea and another guide taught us some card games and kept us and his group amused before we retired to our tent shell under a tarpaulin. We were glad to be in a tent to give us a break from mosquitos. Other trekking companies just have a roll mat and sleeping bag. We had heavy rain all night, to help us sleep and keep the noise of the jungle quiet.
Day 2 started with a coffee and some biscuits as well as a fried egg sandwich. then we started our hike along a river, so very wet feet, Gary slipped twice and fell in the river, wrong footwear! After 20 mins hiking up the riverbed, we had to climb up a very steep bank, which wasn't easy after all the rain! we were absolutely sodden through, but at least it was water and not sweat today! at the top of the hill we stopped for a fruit break! these always consisted of pineapple, watermelon banana, and oranges! Whilst we were eating this a wild Peacock came to try and see if there was anything it could eat.
After some more walking it was just us and our guide and upon a hilltop we saw a white handed gibbon swinging through the trees. We stopped for lunch and we had fried noodles. Gary dropped a noodle and in true jungle fashion around 20 ants had picked it up and carried it off in no time!
We made it to our camp for the evening for another food feast! We washed in the river and shortly after a big water monitor lizard around 1.5metres, came over to look at us.
The following morning we were taken on a little hike by our guide to a waterfall to swim in. Then it was time to pack up out stuff and go rafting down the river in truck tyre inner tubes! This was great fun, and dropped us right at the riverbank of our accommodation!
This trip was superb! The food we ate in the jungle was some of the best food we had in Indonesia. Our guide Kinol was a very kind and patient guide with expert knowledge of the rainforest.
This 3 night trip was excellent, a real highlight of our trip to date.
In addition to this 3 day with night trip we also took a 1/2 day trip to see the world's largest flower in the rainforest. This flower rarely blooms, but we saw it. It stinks pretty bad, like Copydex glue.
The company we used for our entire time was called Trek Sumatra. They were great, and sorted everything with pleasure. The stay in Bukit Lawang besides the trek is a great place to relax by the river and eat great food from the restaurants.
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| Baby Orangutan |
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| River rafting in Inner Tube |
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| Female Orangutan in Sumatran Jungle |
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| Captain chill, Thomas Leaf monkey |
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