TANGKAHAN
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| Elephant Trek |
It is a small village on the border of Gunung Leuser National Park located
in North Sumatra. It is situated at the junction of 2 rivers, the Buluh River
and the Batang River. Tangkahan specialises in eco-tourism activities like
jungle trekking and Elephant trekking.
There
are 7 trained elephants at Tangkahan which are available for jungle trekking
though their primary role is to patrol and protect the National Park from
illegal activities like animal poaching and illegal logging. These elephants
were original troublesome elephants that were involved in destroying fields and
houses in surrounding villages. Now they serve to protect not only the villages
but other elephants in the wild.
When
you arrive at Tangkahan you need to pay Rp.2000
at the Visitors Centre to go down to the river. Then to cross the river it is
10,000Rp per person for 3 days, you can cross as many times as you like.
- Tangkahan River Crossing
- Elephant
camp
The Elephant camp is a 15 - 20 minute walk up river from the visitors centre in Tangkahan. They bathe the elephants everyday at 9am and 4pm. You'll need to purchase a ticket at the visitors centre for Rp.20.000 per person before you go to the elephant camp.
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There are various options for experience trekking in the jungle on the back of an elephant. There is a minimum of a 1 hour trek up to a 4 day trek through the Gunung Leuser National Park to Bukit Lawang. Trekking to Bukit Lawang is possible and will take 4 days.Price:1 hour trek Rp.160,000/person2 hour trek Rp.300,000/person3 hour trek Rp.420,000/personThere are 2 ways you can get to Tangkahan. From Medan there are only 2 buses a day leaving from Pinang Baris Bus Terminal, leaving at 10am and 1pm and taking around 4.5 - 5 hours (longer if raining). The cost is 15,000Rp per person.Buses leave Tangkahan at 7.30am and 2.30pm to go back to Medan.You can also get to Tangkahan from Bukit Lawang either on the back of a motorbike, a very bumpy 3 hour trip or hire a 4WD to take you. Prices for a 4WD can be up to 1,000,000Rp (US$83) for a one way trip.
BUKIT LAWANG
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| Entrace of Taman Nasional Gunung Leuser |
The
best way to experience the jungle is to go trekking. You can arrange 3 hours
trekking, 6 hours or 1, 2, 3 days or more with the chance of spotting various
wildlife as well as some beautiful spots like waterfalls and swimming holes.
The
guides in Bukit Lawang need to be certified with the local PHPA office
and need to renew their license each year. The guides will generally find you
as they are always hunting tourists. Many of the current trekking guides have
come from other areas of Sumatra and learned to be guides.
Cost
for trekking is 65 Euros per night per person. This includes your food and
coming back via tubing down the river. You can arrange for a half day trek, up
to 4 hours for 20 Euros per person or a 6 hour trek for 35 Euros per person.
The conservation status of the
orangutan became of international concern in the 1960s, and in 1964 the Sepilok
orangutan rehabilitation centre, in Sabah, Malaysia, became the first to
attempt to rehabilitate captive orangutan. In 1971, the Ketambe orangutan
centre was established in Aceh, North Sumatra, not far as the crow flies from
Bukit Lawang, but a long way and arduous by road.
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| Bridge Crossing |
- Bahorok Orangutan Centre
The Bohorok Orangutan Centre
(Bohorok is the nearest town to Bukit Lawang, and also the name of the river
that runs through both places) was established in Bukit Lawang in 1973 by
Regina Frey and Monica Boerner, two Swiss zoologists as a rehabilitation centre
for captive orangutans. Although illegal, orangutans were widely held as pets
in Indonesia, and the centre sought to reintroduce them to the wild. It was
supported by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and Frankfurt Zoological Society.
Map & Location:
The centre was built a couple
of kilometres from the village in order to minimise contact with humans - the
orangutans were after all being trained to live away from human contact. The
ability to see orangutans in close proximity brought first local and later
international tourists to the village, and soon a visitors centre was built, as
more tourists arrived.
In 1976 the government agency
PHPA built the first guesthouse, against the wishes of the WWF, which was
concerned about greater tourist numbers exposing orangutans to human diseases.
In 1980 the rehabilitation centre was taken over by the government, and the
WWF's involvement ended.
Tourism developed rapidly in
the early 1990s, with accommodation going from three guesthouses in 1989 to 32
in 1991. By 1994 the government recognised that with increased development and
tourist numbers Bukit Lawang no longer functioned for rehabilitation given the
problems of mass tourism and issues such as guides feeding the released
orangutans. Since that time Bukit Lawang functions as a location to view
semi-wild orangutans, either at the twice-daily feeding sessions or as part of
a jungle trek.
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| Orangutan Conservation |
For local tourists. who
usually visit on weekends, particularly Sundays, visiting the jungle is of
lesser interest, and many prefer to relax in the village, swimming or tubing in
the river, eating in the simple restaurants and related activities.
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| Jungle Trek |
Bukit Lawang is a great place
to learn a bit more about orangutans and also enjoy a relaxing time by the
river on the edge of a national park.While such experiences can be had all over
the Southeast Asian backpacker trail, many visitors return to Bukit Lawang over
and over again because things in Bukit Lawang are just a little different.
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