• Tobameer
  • Samosir
  • Tangkahan
  • Bohorok

Tour module round trip 8 days Sumatra adventure and culture

The favourite tour for nature and adventure lovers, also for families with teenagers!
Rainforest, jungle trekking, elephants, orangutans, (optional) wild-water rafting and culture on the island Samosir in the huge Lake Toba.

You’ll travel with your own driver at your own pace. The driver knows all nice, interesting and photogenic places to stop along the way.
This is just an example of what a round trip could be like. We’ll be happy to help you build your tailor-made trip.
Deze reis is slechts een voorbeeld van hoe uw reis er uit kan zien. We stemmen de reis graag af op uw wensen. Wilt u eerst meer inspiratie opdoen? Bezoek dan ons Indonesië Reiscafé . Onze landendeskundigen zijn daar aanwezig en adviseren u graag uit eigen ervaring!

Target prices

€ 825 p.p. with 2 traveling persons in low season
€ 695 p.p. with 4 traveling persons in low season
High season surcharge 10% (Eidl Fitri, 1 July-31 August and 23 December-3 January)

Included and excluded

Included:
•Accommodation based on bed and breakfast
•Private car or mini-bus, fuel included, with driver, his meals and overnight stays

Not included:
•Flight tickets
•Excursionpackage and dinner with vocalgroup on Samosir(ca € 195)
•Ferry Parapat-Samosir-Parapat
•Guide (price on request)
•Other meals
•Tips and personal expenses
•Travel and annulation insurance
•Booking fee and contribution Calamiteitenfonds €30 per booking
•SGR contribution € 5 per person
•CO2 compensation € 22 per person

Day 1 Arrival Medan, transfer to hotel

Selamat datang, welcome to Medan! Upon arrival in Medan you walk straight to the immigration booth to get your visa free stamp in your passport. It is valid for 30 days maximum, calculated from the first day you arrive in Indonesia regardless of the time of arrival or departure. In Medan your driver is waiting for you with a piece of board with your name on it. He will drive you to Hotel Deli River, a little family hotel just outside the big city Medan. The hotel is surrounded by a beautiful tropical garden and has a swimming-pool. Depending on the time of your arrival you can make a short city tour or acclimatise at your hotel.

Day 2 Medan - Lake Toba

After breakfast we leave for a long ride of about 4 hour to lake Toba. On our way we drive past endless rubber, cacao and palm oil plantations. We stop for lunch in Pematang Siantar. After lunch the landscape becomes more varied and we drive slowly up into the mountains. In the afternoon arrival in Prapat on the edge of Lake Toba from where you cross the lake to the island Samosir, in the centre of Lake Toba.

Day 3 Lake Toba - Samosir island tour and dinner at Marysca restaurant

We visit several authentic Batak villages with their typical saddle back roof houses. The Batak people were among the first people that settled in Indonesia. They came by boat from Indo China. The houses are still built in the shape of a boat – saddle back roof. The population here is Christian and the Batak people are known for their beautiful voices and music. Today you can visit the characteristic Toba Batak villages Tomok, with the King’s Tomb, Ambarita with its execution tables and Simanindo for traditional Toba dances. Dinner in the cosy restaurant Marysca's with Rony’s vocalgroup.

Day 4 Free program Lake Toba

Another full day on the island of Samosir. You can (optionally) take a boat trip on the lake, cycling, hiking or just swimming at the hotel. It is special to take a day trip to Tatea Bulan with your driver and Rony. High in the mountains there is a pilgrimage site of the Batak kings and the ancestors are honored. A very devout visit, with beautiful panoramas. Along the way you will also visit the sacred sources of AEK Sipitu Dai. During our visit, the washing place was quickly emptied in order to show something of the sacred.

Day 5 From Lake Toba to Bukit Lawang

Today a long way of at least 8 hours via the plantation route to the jungle near Bukit Lawang. Arrival in Bukit Lawang in the afternoon. Bukit Lawang is situated on the beautiful Bohorok rivier. It is really an impressive natural area with an impenetrable jungle above a noisy wild water river. In this nature reserve you can see the orangutans in their natural environment. To get there you have to make a tough climb through the jungle. Overnight stay in Bukit Lawang, directly on the banks of the Bohorok river.

Day 6 From Bukit Lawang to Tangkahan: Orangutans

After breakfast you will be picked up by a local ranger for an approximately 3-hour jungle trek. The rangers know most of the orangutans and vice versa. The ranger always takes some fruit or vegetables with him to lure the great apes, so that you have an almost 100% chance of coming face to face with them. In the afternoon we drive in a couple of hours to the real untouched part of the jungle: Tangkahan.

Day 7 Tangkahan

The sounds from the jungle will wake you up early in the morning. The program in Tangkahan is never a really fixed program; most of the days we can walk to the elephant camp in the morning or in the late afternoon. The rangers wash the elephants every morning and late afternoon (except on Fridays) in the river at the camp. These elephants patrol in the jungle to prevent illegal logging. They also clear up the jungle from fallen trees. On the days the elephants are in the camp we can help the rangers washing them, a nice way to interact naturally with these animals. What’s sure is that we can swim in the river or ‘tube’ ,floating down the river on a tractor tube. We walk back to our hotel through little villages. The jungle in Tangkahan is also perfectly suited for a half day or a whole day trekking through the jungle. An experienced ranger walks with you at an easy pace through the rainforest and draws your attention to all kinds of animals living in the jungle. You’ll also walk past a waterfall where it is swarming with butterflies.

Day 8 From Tangkahan to Medan

In the morning we can wash the elephants in the river, see program Tangkahan. The elephants are not available on Friday. At the end of the morning we cross the river with the raft and then drive through endless palm oil plantations to the capital city Sumatra: Medan.

Deli River

Small and clean hotel, just outside de bustle of Medan. Spacious and beautifully situated on the river Deli. From the swimming pool view on the river. Friendly and helpful staff. Number of rooms: 8 Facilities: swimming pool, good restaurant Deli River is managed by Tri Jaya Tour & Travel, our agent on Sumatra. meer info more info Informations supplémentaires

Tabo cottages - Samosir

The cozy and small-scale Tabo cottages is located directly on the Toba lake. The hotel has around 40 rooms, ranging from Superior (Basic, private bathroom with hot water), Deluxe (spacious with private veranda and fan), Batak cottages (separate cottages with the same Deluxe amenities) and Junior suites, overlooking the lake and an extra sofa bed and coffee-tea facilities. The hotel has its own bakery, restaurant and swimming pool with views over the lake. meer info more info Informations supplémentaires

Bukit Lawang Cottages

Simple but clean hotel, with cottages on the ground floor. A hanging bridge over the river Bohorok is the entrance to the hotel. In the open restaurant there’s plenty of choice. The spacious rooms are equipped with a fan, no air-conditioning and there is an outdoor shower. In the vicinity you can go on a hike to the orang-utans. meer info more info Informations supplémentaires

Sam's Bungalows - Bukit Lawang Bohorok

Sam's bungalow is een klein familiehotel, gelegen aan de Bohorok rivier. Het hotel heeft een restaurant, bar en terras. De schone kamers hebben een ventilator, bedden met klamboe, privé badkamer met warm water en een balkon met uitzicht op de rivier of op de bergen. meer info more info Informations supplémentaires

Mega Inn, Tangkahan

Simple but very cosy accommodation on the edge of Leuser National Park. The simple cottages are directly situated on the river. There’s no hot water, but there is delicious food and there is Mega, your very caring host . meer info more info Informations supplémentaires

Medan

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.

Samosir

Samosir


Lake Toba is the largest lake in Indonesia with a length of about 100 km and a width of 30 km. It originated from a volcanic eruption, roughly 75,000 years ago. The Toba Batakkers live around the lake, a people of predominantly Christian faith, mixed with a kind of animistic ancestor worship.

Samosir is the famous peninsula in the lake. An island tour of Samosir lets you see and experience the culture of the Batakkers. A boat trip on Lake Toba, along the island, is also a lot of fun and shows almost the same sights.

It is special to take a day trip to Tatea Bulan. High in the mountains there is a pilgrimage site of the Batak kings and the ancestors are honored. A very devout visit, with beautiful panoramas. Along the way you will also visit the sacred sources of AEK Sipitu Dai. During our visit, the washing place was quickly emptied in order to show something of the sacred.

What you should not miss is a dinner with a vocal group. The Batakkers are known for their polyphonic singing, accompanied by guitar and simple local musical instruments.
The culinary specialties of the Batakkers are not always in the taste of western visitors: dog is not exactly what we are waiting for and the Ikan Mas (kind of goldfish) takes you more time to get rid of bones than it is tasty. Fortunately, Saksang remains, a Batak dish that should not be missing during a wedding. There are two variants, of which we ignore the dog and go for the Saksang Babi of pork.
Of course you are going to eat at my kake-pinjum, my borrowed brother Rony. Together with Rosinthan he runs the Marysca Restaurant. All our Sumatra travelers get a free dinner here with a warm Batak welcome. Rony, his friends and family like to take you musically through the Batak culture with the vocal goup.

Our favorite hotels are Tabo cottages (Junior suite or Villa) and Samosir Villa resort (VIP room. At weekends the resort is overcrowded by local tourists).

Bukit Lawang

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.

Video Gunung Leuser park

Tangakahan

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.