One of the highlights of our three-week trip to Indonesia was without any doubt the 5-day trek in a Sumatran jungle. Not so much for the wildlife encounters, which were limited in the non-touristic part of the trek, but for the experience itself. Moving around the primary jungle from one campsite to another, walking all day up and down muddy hills through thick vegetation, with leeches constantly trying to have a taste of you, and then sleeping on the floor in an open tent set up by our guides.
I must say, the night in the jungle is something surreal, magical, mesmeric. The sounds of night birds, cicadas, frogs, and other critters create a powerful background noise. Furthermore, every single day at around 5 pm, after a clear sky and a hot afternoon, black clouds would cover the horizon, and a torrent of tropical rain would pour down for hours. The best part of all is that in this type of environment, I sleep like a baby, even though I am mostly used to urban life. Always happy to sleep in a jungle!
But how did we get there? Well, we took one of those low-cost Indonesian airline flights and moved from Jakarta to Medan. From there, it is about a 4-hour drive to reach Bukit Lawang, a jungle village resting on the shores of the Bohorok River. This is the departure point for all jungle visits and treks. In a classic sense, it is a touristic place, as it is the only place to go if you want to visit the area. Therefore, the village is mostly made up of lodges for tourists.
That said, it is quite small and quite enjoyable. It is possible to walk along the river for a preview of the jungle and some of its inhabitants, like monitor lizards. Entire families of macaques come in at dusk, climbing up and down the trees, over rooftops and along electricity wires, looking for food or mischief. One of them managed to snatch my passport pouch, which was lying on the table of our room balcony. Luckily, I saw it and screamed, and the monkey dropped the loot before fleeing.
The trek
Alright, let’s get to the trek itself. The logistics were handled entirely by a local company, of course. I don’t advertise, so no names here. There are many providers, some better than others, but we had some important requirements: 1) the trek must be completely sustainable; 2) we wanted to go for 5 days/4 nights deep in the jungle, outside the most touristic areas; 3) we wanted to focus on wildlife searching and watching. Some of these criteria were met, others weren’t.
The trek was indeed sustainable — no rubbish or trace of any kind left in the jungle, not even our own excrement, for which we had to dig a hole and cover it up every time. It was also in an isolated area. Normally, tours take people to Gunung Leuser National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage primary jungle with a delicate ecosystem threatened by deforestation, palm oil cultivation, and poaching. However, there is a spot close to the entrance of the National Park where short jungle treks are incredibly rewarding in terms of spotting wildlife, especially orangutans. This is due to the fact that there was a rescue centre situated there, and the animals grew accustomed to human presence.
Today the rescue centre is no longer in operation, but many animals remained in a relatively small area and are much less wary of humans. This also means they behave in a much less natural way. Take the orangutan as the most important example, and also the main reason people go there. Normally, they live their lives in isolation, high in the canopy, making their nest in a different spot every day, and becoming very nervous — if not aggressive — when encountering people. I could see that with my own eyes in Borneo, but that’s another story. Here in Gunung Leuser, they are simply at ease with human presence and easy to encounter and observe.
This also makes Gunung Leuser National Park, near Bukit Lawang, the most touristic spot in Sumatra. Literally dozens of excited people every day gather around a tree with an orangutan, not always in the most respectful manner towards the animals.
I know because we also ended up there, on the last day of our jungle trek. The first 4 days we spent in another, more isolated area called Tualang Gepang. This was recommended by our guides in order to maximise the chance of spotting some wildlife, as it is not guaranteed to see any outside Gunung Leuser.
So, our second criterion was fulfilled: isolated we were. In that area, for 4 days, it was only the three of us (a third person had joined the trip) and our local jungle guides. It was hard, and sweaty, and slippery, and dirty, and bloody — but also beautiful and fun! We passed through so many incredible natural spots, with small rivers — trickles of water, really — separating the hills, which we used to take breaks from the vegetation and the leeches. The locals could drink the water with no issues, while for us they boiled it daily.
So, how about wildlife spotting? Not so easy, as it turned out. Animals in that area are not keen on coming into contact with people, and rightly so. We saw a small snake, a turtle, and some gibbons flashing above our heads for about 5 seconds. But on the third day, while crossing a quiet shaded spot high on a hill, we spotted a large male orangutan (featured image). It was 3 in the afternoon, so he was resting, quite high up in the branches, glancing at us from time to time with not a care in the world. So beautiful, so calm, and so far from the crowds. We got lucky in the end — there was no guarantee of seeing one at all!
Was our third criterion fulfilled? Only partially, I’d say. Yes, we spotted an orangutan, but the experience wasn’t really focused on searching for wildlife as we had requested. The simple reason is that we were moving mostly between 9am and 4pm — exactly when animals are resting and the jungle is at its quietest. Thanks to some previous experiences in similar places, I have learned that in order to see wildlife, you need to walk at sunrise, at sunset, and at night, when animals are active. None of that was done during this trip, so it doesn’t qualify as a wildlife-focused adventure — but it was a wonderful adventure nonetheless.
On our last day, we arrived at Gunung Leuser and had our fill of orangutans and many other species, along with all the other tourists. In the end, it is worth doing, so that you don’t risk travelling all the way to Sumatra and returning without having seen some of the most remarkable wildlife in the world.
After another night’s rest at Bukit Lawang, we returned to Medan and took a direct flight to Bali.
