Going On an Orangutan Expedition In Bukit Lawang

Several places in South East Asia, particularly the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, are a haven for orangutans. In fact, these are the best areas where you can see them through an Indonesia expedition. If you love seeing orangutans in the wild, perhaps you need to be in Bukit Lawang.

The place is just located in North Sumatra at the Bahorok River. Bukit Lawang is in the vicinity of the Gunung Leuser National Park. The good thing is that you can also see lots of other wildlife, which should be perfect for those who love to go on an expedition.

How to Reach Bukit Lawang

When you go on an Indonesia expedition, you can start from the nearest city Medan, which is just 86km away from Bukit Lawang. You can take the long ride through a bus or pick a taxi instead for a much smoother trip.

In 1973, a couple of Swiss zoologists founded the famous Bukit Lawang Rehabilitation Center for Orangutans. This was established for the purpose of taking care of the animals in the region who had been orphaned or injured due to deforestation.

Explore Other Areas

The small town of Bukit Lawang can be quite an adventure when it comes to accommodation since you are away from any major city in the area. That is why when you book a tour in this part of the world, you need to make the most out of it.

Some of the things that you can do are to walk alongside the river, visit the orphanage, and venture into a bat cave. But Bukit Lawang offers a view of local people doing things on a daily basis, which makes it an interesting part of the tour.

Preparing for the Tour

When you go on an Indonesia expedition, take note of the basic necessities, such as water, toiletries and towel, bug repellant, camera and spare batteries, fresh underwear and day clothing, wetsuit, a poncho, and some sunscreen.

What to Do?

Upon joining the expedition, you are granted access a whole day of special permission to visit the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine Facility. This place is managed by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program, which enables tourists to have a unique opportunity to observe orangutans up close.

Visitors are able to visit this area to photograph the activities of the animals with human-like behavior. You can cross the Bahorok River and explore the rainforest as you venture out for orangutans in the area.

See Other Exotic Animals

But that is not all because you can also explore the jungle in Tanjung Putting National Park. This is a huge rainforest in Borneo where you have the opportunity to see clouded leopards, gibbons, macaques, proboscis monkeys, sun bears, and of course the Bornean orangutan.

The Indonesian expedition does not end there either. In fact, you can tour the islands of Sumatra and Borneo popular for their rainforests where you can find the orangutans.

Perhaps you can book a tour to take advantage of the Indonesian expedition and make the most out of this marvelous journey.

Wild Focus Expeditions is based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico but we’re happy to go on expeditions with those of you all over the world. Here are some of our more famous expedition destinations: Greenland, Indonesia, Japan, Svalbard, Namibia, Botswana and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Pantanal, India, Kenya, Uganda, and the Galapagos