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Situated approximately 86 km northwest of the city of Medan, Bukit Lawang is known for the largest animal sanctuary of Sumatran orangutan (around 5,000 orangutans occupying the area) and also the main access point to the Gunung Leuser National Park from the east side.
- How to Get to Bukit Lawang
- Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking
- Sumatran Orangutan Facts
- Bukit Lawang Trekking Prices & Length
- Best Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking Tour
- Where to Stay in Bukit Lawang
- Other Tips For Bukit Lawang
- More Things to Do Near Bukit Lawang
- When to Visit Bukit Lawang
- More Indonesia Travel Tips
Bukit Lawang is located in North Sumatra, Indonesia, and it’s relatively easy to get there. There’s no airport in Bukit Lawang, so the nearest international airport is in the city of Medan (KNO), which gets daily flights from places like Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta starting at $40 USD for a one way ticket. You can shop for flights...
• Wildlife
The rainforest has lots of great wildlife. In two treks we saw orangutans, gibbons, thomas leaf monkeys, long tailed macaques, monitor lizards, giant ants, a spectacular banyan tree, and other jungle sights. Inside the national park, you also have a possibility of seeing rare birds, Sumatran tigers, rhinos, elephants, sun bears, pig tailed macaques, vipers, cobras, kraits, and many other things.
• Rules
This jungle is part of the Gunung Leuser National Park, and it houses some endangered animals, so there are a few rules they expect you to follow: 1. Don’t enter the park without a guide.If you pay for a trekking package, you’ll have two guides with you at all times. Their job is to keep you safe in the jungle and give you info about the Sumatran Orangutan and other animals. 2. Don’t enter the park without a permit.Your Bukit Lawang guide will handle this for you. 3. Don’t go closer to wild a...
• Trekking
The trekking difficulty at Bukit Lawang is not too bad, but it’s harder than I expected. This isn’t like Tangkoko or Tanjung Puting National Park, where you can walk on flat ground and burn minimal calories while enjoying the wildlife. There are some steep hill sections at Lawang where your legs will get a big workout, and the ground can be muddy and nasty sometimes with thorns and leeches. The daytime humidity can also be crazy. Don’t let this scare you away! It all adds to the experience. I...
Of course, the main attraction at Bukit Lawang is the Sumatran Orangutan! Orangutans live only in Indonesia and Malaysia (on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo), and Bukit Lawang is one of the best places to see Sumatran Orangutans in the wild. They’re gentle animals and very smart. Orangutan is an old Indonesian word meaning ‘forest person’, and tr...
Most tourists wanting to see the Sumatran Orangutan choose the 1 day trek ($60/pax) or 2 day trek ($100/pax). Bukit Lawang trekking prices are pretty similar across companies. Treks of up to 7 days are available and you get to go deeper into the jungle like that, but I question how ethical it is, because critically endangered species like the Sumat...
If you’re looking for a vetted tour company for seeing the Sumatran Orangutan, here’s a Bukit Lawang jungle trekking tour with Klookstarting at $60 USD (850k IDR) for a 1 day trek or $100 for a 2 day trek. This pretty closely mirrors the Bukit Lawang trekking prices we saw advertised in town, and it also includes hotel transfers (from Bukit Lawang ...
Bukit Lawang is a cozy riverside town with lots of budget friendly hotels that are basic, but comfortable. Here are some of our top picks: 1. Green Travelodge – Best rated hotel in town, with a tree house theme – 335k IDR($24 USD) 2. Thomas Retreat – Hotel and restaurant with fan or A/C rooms plus WiFi – 195k IDR($14) 3. Garden Inn – Standard rooms...
ATM:From the town of Bukit Lawang, the nearest ATM is about 10 kilometers away, so make sure you bring enough cash. You can also pay things by bank transfer. Credit cards aren’t accepted.Hotels:Expect cold showers and fans only, no air conditioning. We were never hot at night. Electricity is stable, but sometimes there are short outages.WiFi:Most places only have limited WiFi in the lobby/restaurant area, or none at all.Cell Service:Telkomsel has good 3G/4G reception in the town. We used this for a hotspot at times when we couldn’t reach our hotel WiFi.• Batu Katak: Rafflesia & Titan Flower Trekking
Batu Katak is another small village on the east side of Gunung Leuser National Park where you can do flower trekking to see the giant Rafflesia and Titan Arum, two of the biggest flowers in the world! This was one of the best highlights of our visit to North Sumatra. The Titan Arum flowers can grow to be 3 meters (10 feet) tall! There’s also several limestone water caves to see near Batu Katak, but I had an injured leg so we didn’t get to do the cave treks yet. Batu Katak is 40 minutes south...
• Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary
The Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuaryis a small settlement 2 hours north of Bukit Lawang where you can play with semi-wild Sumatran Elephants by the river! Elephant tourism gets a bad rap nowadays, but these animals are critically endangered in Indonesia because their habitat is disappearing, and tourist money may be the only way to correct it. The elephants are well cared for, have lots of freedom of movement, and seemed very happy when we visited. They have 9 rescued elephants (a new baby was ju...
Gunung Leuser National Park has a tropical rainforest climate that doesn’t follow the same weather patterns as the rest of Indonesia. You can find a monthly breakdown here. I wouldn’t stress about when to visit. Every month is rainy at Bukit Lawang, because it’s a rainforest! The driest months are February, March, June, and July, but the rainfall i...
Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed these Bukit Lawang blog tips for visiting the orangutan sanctuary in North Sumatra. Don’t forget to check out my complete guide for the best places to visit in Indonesia!
Bukit Lawang is a popular tourist destination located on the edge of the Gunung Leuser National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to numerous bird, plant and mammal species, most famously the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), which can be seen in the jungle in Bukit Lawang as well as at the daily feedings.
Bukit Lawang is located about 90 kilometers northwest of Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra, and at the south of the Mount Leuseur National Park. It is a gateway to the legendary Sumatran jungle with it’s steep slippery terrain and muddy slopes. Exploring the jungle here is a true adventure.
Bukit Lawang, 60 miles (96km) northwest of Medan, is a sprawling tourist village laced along the fast-flowing Sungai Bohorok and bordered by the dense vertical-rising jungle of Gunung Leuser National Park.
Bukit Lawang Tourism: Tripadvisor has 15,731 reviews of Bukit Lawang Hotels, Attractions, and Restaurants making it your best Bukit Lawang travel resource.
Bukit Lawang Travel Guide – Sumatra, Indonesia. Perched on the Bohorok River, Bukit Lawang lies next to Gunung Leuser National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The 2.5 million hectares of tropical rainforest are famously home to the Sumatran Orangutan and a variety of other endemic wildlife.
