Where to see orangutans in Sumatra, Indonesia
One of the main reasons travellers visit North Sumatra is to see the orangutans. Gunung Leuser National Park is one of two places in the world where you can see these incredible creatures in the wild (the other one being ), and the only one where you can see the Sumatran orangutan. While most people go to the touristic town of Bukit Lawang to see the rehabilitated orangutans, we decided to go more wild and see the real deal in Batu Katak, a tiny jungle village in the North Sumatran jungle. In this post, I will explain what you get in each location and why we decided to look for wild orangutans in North Sumatra in Batu Katak instead of Bukit Lawang.
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Seeing orangutans in Bukit Lawang
The main place where tourists go to see orangutans in Sumatra is Bukit Lawang, a tourist village on the Bohorok river at the site of an old orangutan rehabilitation center. The center closed in 2002 because the amount of tourists visiting was too high to ensure proper rehabilitation. However, the town has evolved into a tourist base for jungle trek to see the orangutans that still remain. Bukit Lawang is by far the safest bet to see orangutans in North Sumatra (and probably everywhere). However, these are rehabilitated orangutans, meaning they are used to humans and they behave differently to their wild counterparts. In fact, even the orangutans born in Bukit Lawang display strange behavior, since they learn it from their rehabilitated parents.
The pros of visiting Bukit Lawang
- Bukit Lawang is very well connected to Medan (the capital of North Sumatra) compared to other places in Gunung Leuser, so it is much easier to get to.
- Bukit Lawang has many tourist accommodation options, including places in Booking.com or Airbnb.
- There are many tourist guide options and they are not extremely expensive.
- It is very likely that you will see orangutans, since many remain from the rehabilitation center.
The cons of visiting Bukit Lawang
- The orangutans that you will see in Bukit Lawang are not wild, but semi-wild. This means that the orangutans were captive and have been rehabilitated (at least to some degree). They still are used to humans and some time seek tourists out for food. This is very far removed from the behaviour of wild orangutans and in my opinion should not be encouraged.
- Some of the guides are not ethical guides or do not take the conservation of the park that seriously. This means that they may bring food to lure the orangutans or leave trash in the jungle.
- It is a tourist epicenter, so do not expect to be alone when spotting an orangutan. Many guides (and their attached tourists) will run to that spot so you may very well be 30 – 50 people looking at the same orangutan.
Seeing wild orangutans in Batu Katak
Instead of going for the easy option that is not so great for wildlife, we decided to find an alternative that was more authentic and had a positive impact (I am not trying to lecture anyone, I am no expert but I went with my gut feeling). For this, we have to really thank Carly and Agung from Exploring Sumatra, who recommended Batu Katak as an alternative.
Batu Katak (meaning “frog stone”) is a tiny village in the middle of the jungle and next to a karst forest on the bank of the Berkail River. The village has only 250 inhabitants and very little tourism compared to Bukit Lawang (and compared to everywhere to be honest).
We stayed in Orchid Bungalow, a beautiful homestay next to the river bank. Darwin, the owner, helped us organize our jungle treks with his colleagues Mariadi and Inra. I have explained our whole experience in Batu Katak and Orchid Bungalow in this post, so I will only summarize our experience in terms of looking for wild orangutans and the impact on the jungle:
Summary of our experience with orangutans in Batu Katak
We did two jungle treks, the first of them to try and find orangutans. The first thing they told us was: “these are really wild animals and it is unlikely that you will see any”. While this could have brought us down, it did the opposite. It was what we were looking for: a real experience with real wild animals, so we were willing to take the risk of not seeing them.
We were only us two and the two guides in the trek, and it really seemed like no one had gone on those jungle trails since before Covid-19 (Mariadi had to basically open them up again with his machete). One of the first things I noticed was that he picked up some trash from the forest as he was walking. He did not even mention it, so it was not a marketing strategy. I’m not going to describe the trek here, as I have already done so in my previous post, but we did eventually see orangutans: two adults and a baby on the first day, very close to us for being wild, and five more on the next day, but further away. Needless to say, it was only us looking at them and, since they did not scare away, we were watching them for basically 45 minutes. Here are some proofs:
The pros of visiting Batu Katak
- We were the only foreigners in town, with the exception of one person on our last day there.
- Accommodation is limited but charming, and very cheap.
- Orangutans are REALLY wild.
- It is also home to other amazing wild life, such as Thomas Leaf monkeys, gibbons or the incredible corpse flowers (Rafflesia arnoldii and Amorphophallus titanum).
The cons of visiting Batu Katak
- It is more difficult to get there and to find accommodation if you don’t have a contact.
- You may not see orangutans during your stay.
- The accommodation is basic, so if you’re looking for Western-style accommodation this may not be a place for you.
*I don’t necessarily find these real cons, but rather things to have in mind when planning your trip there.
Where to stay in Batu Katak
We have only experienced staying at Darwin’s Orchid Bungalow, which was a very holistic experience meeting amazing people, exploring nature at its finest and eating amazing local food prepared with love and care, all in a very unique location and away of the typical tourist buzz that is found mostly everywhere these days. The price for the room for 2 people including breakfast is 250K IDR (around 16€), and the treks are 300K IDR per person. You can read more about our experience in Orchid Bungalow here:
→ Our experience in Batu Katak in Sumatra, Indonesia
You won’t find Orchid Bungalow in any booking platform, but you can talk to Darwin through WhatsApp here: +62 81265000123. There are other options in Batu Katak, although not many, but having seen the vibe of the town I can’t imagine any of them being a wrong choice. An example is Batu Katak Guest House and Resto.
Alternatively, you can base yourself in Bukit Lawang and combine the two places in one experience. You can have a look in Booking.com or at accommodations below:
Closing statement
Seeing the orangutans in the wild has long been a dream of mine. Based on friends’ experiences with orangutans, both in Sumatra and Borneo, I thought it would be quite difficult to see truly wild orangutans instead of semi-trained orangutans on a feeding station. That was until I found out about Batu Katak and it really delivered. So, if you are planning a trip to Indonesia and seeing wild orangutans is within your plans, do not doubt it and go to Batu Katak!
Since you’re visiting Sumatra, you’ll probably find these posts useful:
What to do in North Sumatra, the secret Indonesia keeps from you
Our experience in Batu Katak in Sumatra, Indonesia
What to do in Lake Toba, Sumatra
If you’re planning a trip to Indonesia, have a look at these posts:
Perfect 3 days itinerary in Ubud, Bali
11 top things to do in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Perfect 3-day itinerary in Nusa Penida, Indonesia
Quick Gili islands guide: a starters kit for paradise seekers in Indonesia
Perfect 10 days Flores itinerary in Indonesia
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