By Glen M. Cole 
Bukit Lawang jungle trekking with a guide in Indonesia is one of the best places to see the Sumatran orangutan in the wild, and it’s pretty easy to do on a budget!
The small village of Bukit Lawang is located on the edge of the Gunung Leuser National Park, a large rainforest where you can see all kinds of animals, including tigers, rare birds and lizards, orangutans and other monkeys.
Trekking packages are generally ethically sound and it is almost guaranteed that you will see Sumatran orangutans and other wild animals. We have seen more than 20 orangutans and many rare animals in just a few days of trekking!
In this blog and Bukit Lawang travel guide you will learn how to get there, what to do, where to stay, trekking prices and everything you need to know before you go!
How to get to Bukit Lawang
- Bukit Lawang is located in the north of Sumatra, Indonesia, and it is relatively easy to get there.
- There is no airport in Bukit Lawang, so the nearest international airport is in Medan City (KNO), which offers daily flights from places like Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta from 40 for a one-way ticket. You can find the inexpensive flights to Medan on Skyscanner.
Bukit Lawang is a 3-hour drive from the city of Medan, although in matter of heavy traffic it may take an hour or more. Your hotel in Lawang can arrange a driver to pick you up at Medan Airport, or you can book a highly qualified private driver for Bukit Lawang here.
A normal price for a transfer from Medan to Bukit Lawang (or vice versa) with a private driver is about 600 price (42), but it may cost a little more in heavy traffic.
The rainforest has a lot of excellent wildlife.
On two hikes we saw orangutans, gibbons, Thomas leaf monkeys, long-tailed monkeys, monitor lizards, giant ants, a spectacular banyan tree and other jungle views.
Inside the national park you will also have the opportunity to see rare birds, Sumatran tigers, rhinos, elephants, sun bears, pig-tailed monkeys, vipers, cobras, kraits and many other things.
* Rules
This jungle is part of Gunung Leuser National Park and is home to some endangered animals, so there are some rules you expect from them:
- Do not enter the park without a guide. If you pay for a trekking package, you will always have two guides with you. Your task is to protect them in the jungle and provide them with information about the Sumatran orangutan and other animals.
- Do not enter the park without permission. Your Bukit Lawang guide will do this for you.
- Do not come within 10 meters of wild animals. However, sometimes animals break this rule and, if you are lucky, you can get close to them!
- Do not feed or touch wild animals. They can become dependent or get health issue from us. This also includes the Sumatran orangutan.
- Do not leave garbage in the national park. Self-explanatory. Fortunately, we didn’t see any trash in the jungle during our hikes.
* Trekking
The difficulty of trekking in Bukit Lawang is not so bad, but it is more difficult than I expected.
This is not like Tangkoko National Park or Tanjung Puting, where you can walk on flat terrain and burn a minimum of calories while enjoying the wildlife.
There are some steep hill sections in Lawang where the legs get a lot of exercise and the ground can be muddy and uncomfortable at times, with thorns and leeches. Daytime humidity can be crazy, too.
Don’t let that put you off! All of this adds to the experience. If you think you don’t have your fitness level, I would recommend doing the 1 day hike instead of 2 days.
* Camping
Before dinner we dived into the stream to bathe and cool off after the jungle hike. It was a nice clear stream of water and just what we needed to smack the humidity.
- The camp is very simple and consists of a small tent for 2 people in a larger covered bamboo hut where the guides and cooks can spend the night.
- When you wake up the next morning after your hike, your Bukit Lawang guide will give you the option to return to the city or go tubing rafting. We decided not to do the rafting, but now I wish I had.
- It offers you a great view of the jungle from the outside, which you won’t be able to see on foot!
- Drone image Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking in Indonesia
- Drone image of Gunung Leuser National Park
* Food
One-day jungle tours usually offer lunch, and for 2-day hikes there is also dinner in the evening and then breakfast the next morning.
The food we ate on our hikes was great. For lunch there was fried rice, egg, crackers and fruit (banana, pineapple and watermelon).
For dinner we had some Indonesian dishes, which included chicken curry and perkedel (potato cake), fried fish and rice and more vegetables. Breakfast was like lunch but with a choice of tea or coffee.
- Trekking companies can adapt to your diet if you want (or don’t want) something specific. Just give them a hint the day before the start.
- Flowers to Gunung Leuser National Park
- This is not food. But it looks good.
Facts about the Sumatran orangutan
Of course, the main attraction in Bukit Lawang is the Sumatran orangutan!
Orangutans live only in Indonesia and Malaysia (on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo), and Bukit Lawang is one of the best places to see Sumatran orangutans in the wild. They are kind and very intelligent animals.
Oranutan is an ancient Indonesian word meaning ‘man of the forest’, and true to their name, these great apes spend most of their time in the trees, where they use their long, flexible arms to find fruits and leaves.
Protected status of orangutans
The Sumatran orangutan is on the verge of extinction, and there are less than 15,000 of them in the wild. Because their habitats are being damaged on a large scale to make room for palm oil plantations.
The total number of Sumatran orangutans has decreased by 80% in the last 75 years and, unfortunately, it is expected to continue decreasing, with an imminent extinction, unless major changes are made in Indonesia and Malaysia.