Introducing
This sweet little town, 96km northwest of Medan, next to dense Sumatran jungle, is built around the popularity of its orangutan-spotting opportunities. But Bukit Lawang has much more to offer beyond our red-haired cousins. It’s very easy to while away a few days lounging in hammocks, splashing in the river and hiking in the jungle. The forests surrounding Bukit Lawang are part of the vast Gunung Leuser National Park, which is one of the richest tropical-forest ecosystems in the world.
Bukit Lawang
The park as a whole is home to eight species of primate plus tigers, rhinos, elephants and leopards. However, aside from orangutans, gibbons, various macaque species and the elusive Thomas leaf monkey, you’d have to be very lucky to see any other large mammals here, as oil-palm plantations extend right up to the edge of the village. At weekends, when foreign tourists are joined by masses of domestic visitors, Bukit Lawang can feel rather overrun, so try to arrive on a weekday.
