Bukit Lawang - Gunung Leuser National Park - Sumatra

Bukit Lawang - Sumatra

... here I am in my hostel in "Kuala Namu" near the airport in Medan. My little tour of Sumatra is now complete. One highlight was the last few days in Bukit Lawang, a seemingly abandoned village 80 km west of Medan. Abandoned because tourists can still be counted on one hand, there are plenty of hostels and restaurants, but they are empty.

The village seems to mark the border between vast areas of destroyed rainforest, where only palm oil thrives, and a small remaining jungle known as the Gunung Leuser National Park.

I reached Bukit Lawang after an 8-hour share taxi ride from "Lake Toba" via "Medan". I had a bitter taste in my mouth as soon as I arrived. Before checking into my room, I was besieged and persuaded until I finally booked a jungle trekking tour.

I took a day to acclimatize and relax after the long journey yesterday, and then I was picked up the next morning. Once again, an Englishwoman, a Japanese woman, a Belgian, and an American gathered at the meeting point alongside me. Together with the two guides, we left Bukit Lawang. The first hour was through palm oil plantations, but finally we went straight into the jungle. The path here was relatively challenging as it was constantly up and down.

But we were soon rewarded with the sight of the first orangutans, who no longer live in camps but roam freely in the wild. These animals are always a dream to see as they swing from tree to tree so relaxed. Of course, this was not the only meeting point today; every now and then, there was rustling in the forest, and then we would see one, two, sometimes three orangutans.

We reached our camp on a small river around 3pm. Our goal for today. First of all, we cooled off in the river, which we soon found out we shared with a few small, harmless monitor lizards. Later, they prepared a delicious dinner for us, and for the rest of the evening, we entertained ourselves with fun magic and board games.

I slept very well under the mosquito net, so I was fit for the second day in the jungle, when we finally encountered "Mina". A notorious female orangutan known to be somewhat aggressive and occasionally bites humans. Today, too, Wisnu, one of the two guides, had to work hard to hold her back while we descended a steep hill at a fairly brisk pace. Eventually, the danger was averted, and we reached our destination, the big river, where we cooled off again, then devoured our lunch, and finally, as the tour concluded, we rafted back to Bukit Lawang on inflated truck tires.

I spent the last day relaxed in the hammock with direct access to the river, with a view of the ever-present green of the jungle.