Tour module 8 days jungletrek north Sumatra

Medan

Medan is the capital of the province of North Sumatra and has more than 2.5 million inhabitants. In the Dutch East Indies period there were many plantations outside the city, especially rubber did well. The 1965 book "Rubber" by M.H. Szekely-Lulofs gives a good picture of what the world looked like at the time and how the Netherlands was firmly in control around the Deli river. Later it was mainly the Chinese who attracted trade and power. Now Medan is a modern city, where many old buildings still remind of the colonial period.

For the western tourist, Medan doesn't have much to offer: the Sultan's palace is nice to visit, as is the Chinese temple. Take a look at the great mosque Masjid Raya Al-Mashun, you will be welcomed (outside the services) and shown around.

Our favorite Deli River hotel is located just outside the city, on the Deli River. The accompanying restaurant Omlandia serves delicious Indonesian, Indian and Western dishes. The pecel (kind of gado-gado with delicious sauce) is a must!
In the center there is also a wide choice of hotels, but they still lack the atmosphere. Perhaps the former hotel de Boer, now Grand Inna, will come close.

Tangakahan

From Medan to Tangkahan it is about a 2 hour drive and 2 hours bump through endless and desolate palm oil plantations. When you arrive at the river you can see that the rainforest hood has also stopped here. The forest of the Leuser National Park starts at Tangkahan. You cross the river via a suspension bridge or with the bamboo ferry. And then you are really in the jungle.

The elephant shelter is located near the hotels, upstream on the Kualsa Buluh River. The elephants are mainly used to patrol the jungle. In the morning and late afternoon they are washed in the river and tourists are welcome to help. From the center you can tube downstream to the hotels with large tires.

Must do's in Tangkahan:
At least a jungle trek. Under the guidance of a local ranger you take a brisk walk through the jungle and see, hear, smell and experience the jungle.
A walk by or along the river to the waterfall is also recommended. At the waterfall you see a lot of butterflies and you can of course also take a refreshing bath.

Tangkahan has some very basic accommodations, of which Mega Inn is our favorite. Do not expect hot running water, air conditioning or any luxury. Do expect to wake up to jungle sounds, helpful staff and reasonable and inexpensive food.

Bohorok

Bukit Lawang is the place that is often called Bohorok, the river of the same name. Bukit Lawang is located in the Gunung Leuser National park and is mainly visited to spot the orangutans. The former orangutan rehabilitation center is located directly on the river. Until a few years ago, the great apes were trained here to be able to live from nature after a life as a pet. That is now a thing of the past. No orangutans have been kept in captivity for years and the work of the rehabilitation center is about to end.

Until recently, the monkeys were fed on the "piets time", a name that you have to understand. For many Indonesians, the "F" is a difficult to pronounce consonant that is corrupted into a "P". Feeding time is already more understandable then, but for us Europeans still strange. A time to go. But it is still customary for the premises to go to the feeding time, because then you can be sure that you can see the monkeys up close.

However, the pied time is also a thing of the past. If you want to spot orangutans, make a jungle trek of 3 or 4 hours, together with a local ranger, who will bring some fruit or vegetables in his backpack to lure the famous orangutans.

Bukit Lawang is approximately 3 hours drive from Medan and 2 hours (via bumpy roads) from Tangkahan. It has some nice accommodations, of which the Eco Lodge and Sam's bungalows are our favorites. For those traveling with growing youth, the Bukit Lawang children's home, with 2 bedrooms, is a nice alternative.
Keep in mind that on weekends Bukit Lawang is overrun by local tourists and the Saturday nights are noisy!
You don't have to travel to Bukit Lawang for special food.