Gunung Leuser National Park

Part Of The UNESCO Tropical Rainforest Heritage Of Sumatra, Inscribed 2004 And On The List Of World Heritage In Danger Since 2011; The Only Place On Earth Where Orangutan, Tiger, Rhino And Elephant Still Share A Forest · Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra

Gunung Leuser is THE ONLY PLACE ON EARTH WHERE ORANGUTAN, TIGER, RHINO AND ELEPHANT STILL SHARE A FOREST. You will almost certainly see the first and almost certainly not the other three, and that is the point - the Sumatran tiger and rhino are down to numbers small enough to count. The park is part of the UNESCO TROPICAL RAINFOREST HERITAGE OF SUMATRA, inscribed in 2004 and PLACED ON THE DANGER LIST IN 2011 because of logging, road-building and palm oil pressing in on every side. BUKIT LAWANG, a river village on the eastern edge, is the gateway: you trek into the forest with a guide for a day or several, sleeping under tarpaulins by the river, and you meet SUMATRAN ORANGUTANS, a different and more endangered species than Borneo's. In 2003 a flash flood destroyed most of the village and killed around two hundred and forty people, and the memorial by the river is the first thing most trekkers walk past without noticing.

Gunung Leuser National Park, North Sumatra and Aceh, Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra, Indonesia

THE PARK IS ENTERED ON FOOT WITH A LICENSED GUIDE - this is required, not advisory, and permits are issued through guides and guesthouses at BUKIT LAWANG or KETAMBE. Bukit Lawang is roughly THREE TO FOUR HOURS BY ROAD FROM MEDAN. TREKS RUN FROM A HALF DAY TO SEVERAL NIGHTS, sleeping under tarpaulins by the river, and are booked locally the day before. PERMIT FEES ARE CHARGED PER PERSON PER DAY with the usual foreigner rate and are normally bundled into the trek price - ask what is included. THE PARK IS OPEN YEAR-ROUND but the wettest months make trails treacherous and river crossings dangerous. ORANGUTAN SIGHTINGS ARE LIKELY BUT NOT GUARANTEED. Some guides feed or lure animals for photographs; this is against the rules and you should refuse it.

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