Hiking with wild Orangutans in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra

This little town that sits on either side of a raging river connected only by a handful of rope bridges hides an absolutely amazing secret in eco tourism. Not only is it an amazing experience to be hiking in world class, thick, ancient rainforests but to be able to stop and interact and watch wild orangutans in their natural habitat is amazing. The town of Bukit Lawang is reasonably easy to access as there is a tourist bus that services it from Medan, the capital city of Sumatra.

Once you reach the village there is a handful of choices in small guesthouses to stay at, most offering basic accommodation at good prices accompanied with great, friendly service. (I stayed at Indah guesthouse and was more than happy with the services they provided). Most of these guesthouses also offer the trekking for which this town is so famous for, just make sure to choose one that does not promote feeding of the orangutans in any way as this is very detrimental to their survival.

When it comes to the hikes themselves, you have options of day trips and overnighters most days, however there are 3, 4, 5 and 6 day trips also available if you can muster enough people (4 from memory).It is well worth the money to experience the overnight hike as you get to see a lot deeper into the jungle than just the day trips, giving you much more amazing encounters with the wildlife.

Orangutan, many species of monkey, macaque, snakes (I was unlucky enough to nearly step on a cobra), lizards, birds, spiders and all manners of creepy crawlers are all common sights on these hikes, with the luckiest of people spotting the elusive and critically endangered Sumatran tiger.I think, however, the most amazing part of these trips is simply the fact that they can pretty much guarantee orangutan interaction, with over 15 spotted on my trip, getting as close as 2m at one point!

The hiking itself is pretty tough going, as there are a lot of ridge climbs through the dense undergrowth, at points climbing up root and branch ladders 50m high to get to peaks of hills. At the end of a hard day of hiking you reach the river and are encouraged to go for a refreshing dip. We then spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the rapids and trying to swim across the river without getting swept away.

The hosts then cook up an amazing curry dinner and you spend the rest of the night watching the local Indonesians practice their magic tricks on you under the stars.

The next day, a small waterfall is visited and a hidden freshwater pool is discovered, well worth the overnight trip for sure. The guides then raft together large tractor tires and you spend the next few hours whitewater rafting home along the river through the amazing jungle.

If you are using a guide for your hike, which comes highly recommended as they are incredibly knowledgeable and quite entertaining when it comes to the night time, then they will supply nearly all the necessary gear needed for the hike.