Sighting of Rare Orangutans!
Sighting of Rare Orangutans!
Explore the wildlife and the rare Orangutan in the protected forest of Sumatra
Why this experience is unique?
Gunung Leuser National Park located in Northern Sumatra was declared a World Heritage Reserve by UNESCO in the year 2004. Known for housing the orangutans as well a rich forest reserve with several rare animal and plant species. This park is a heaven for nature explorers and adventurers alike.
The experience takes through this protected reserve. You will also have the chance to explore the behavior and natural habitat of the Orangutan with the trained guides. With only 7,500 Sumatran orangutans left, it becomes imperative to conserve the species. The orangutans play an important role in seed dispersal and have a fairly slow reproductive rate making them a really vulnerable species and their conservation important.
Pickup and transfer from Medan airport. Drive four hours to Bohorok Village by a comfortable vehicle. Once at the homestay, the rest of the day is free for leisure and village walks. Take a swim in the nearby lake or visit the beautiful local village. Your host, Erna provides really amazing cooking lessons if interested in one.
Step out early in the morning towards the national park. The day’s trek involves trekking deep into the forests and exploring the habitats of the orangutan. The community guides are well versed with the local animals and plants. They would inform you about the rare species found in the forest. As you walk deeper into the forest, if lucky you would also get to see the Thomas’ leaf monkey, white-handed gibbon, Siamang, long-tailed macaque, pig-tailed macaque, hornbills, and peacocks. Camp at the jungle during the evening.
The second day of your hike involves learning more about the Orangutan and their behavior. Orangutans are indeed a unique species and one the slowest to grow and reproduce amongst the mammals. They are known to resemble over 2 dozen human behaviors. Observe this rare species who are on the brink of extinction due to the human activities of oil extraction and deforestation. Trek towards the campsite post and lunch and enjoy the evening with Jungle skills, games, and local songs by the guides.
The penultimate day involves taking a short trek within the jungle and return to the camp. Enjoy the beauty of the jungle and swim through the Bohorok river in the afternoon. After lunch, board the traditional tube raft back to the Bohorok village to your guesthouse. In case you do not want to go on the raft we can arrange a jeep transfer back to the village.
Guests like to eat our Ladakhi food. They say it is delicious, even when it is prepared by an elderly ama (mother) like me. I always make sure I serve them the cleanest and healthiest food. My husband is a copper artist. When guests leave us, they say ‘Julley’, and hug us. It makes us feel happy.
I became a Mountain Homestay Host in 2018, and I have hosted many travellers since then. Running a homestay has helped me and my family a lot. Not only is the solar set up in our house useful for us, but even travellers prefer to stay in our homestay because of it.
The training we got in astronomy turned out to be a life-changing experience for our village. I felt happy and proud while mapping the position of the planets and sharing the secrets of the universe with the tourists. Tourists told me that even they didn’t know so much about the dark skies!
