Published on Sep, 2024

The best tour with the best guides I’ve ever had! Without exaggerating, our guide was the loveliest you could hope for. He was incredibly attentive, caring, and seemed to have some great connections. When we arrived at the jungle, we spotted a female orangutan within just 5 minutes. After she settled in a tree that wasn’t easy to see, our guide managed to get information about a male orangutan about 20 minutes into the jungle, even before anyone else knew about it, despite there being over six other groups around us. Seeing the male orangutan in all his glory was incredible, and our guide knew their behavior so well. We were one of the few groups who stayed ahead of the male, no matter where he went. About 80% of the other tourists only got to see his back. I had my video camera with me, and our guide adjusted the tour to help us get the best shots possible. At times, I had to zoom out just to fit more than the orangutan’s head in the frame! Both the orangutans and our guide were so calm, I never felt fear—just pure joy and excitement. Our guide was not only experienced with the animals, but also with handling tourists. He challenged us with a brisk pace, but it was completely worth every drop of sweat. It never felt like he was pushing us too hard—it was like he understood our physical limits better than we did. After he saw that we treated the animals with care and respect, he allowed us to get close, but always kept us at a safe distance. At one point, a female orangutan climbed just two meters above my head. She glanced down at me, but continued on to grab some nearby food. It was magical to see these creatures in the wild. I think we saw four or five different orangutans, and it wasn’t just brief encounters—we had over three hours of contact with them. After the hike, we took a raft back, which was perfect because we didn’t have to walk anymore. Before that, we enjoyed a refreshing dip in the river, which was just what we needed to relax. For the rafting, I had a 40L dry bag for my cameras, but they packed everything tightly in plastic bags. In the end, my dry bag didn’t get a single drop of water on it during the trip downriver. I was very grateful for that! It was a mesmerizing experience, and our guide was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I’m already thinking about when I can come back, maybe for a longer tour. And as if all the positive things weren’t enough, there’s more. We had a private driver transport us from our hotel in Medan to the national park and back, and our guide even provided us with delicious Indonesian rice. Everything was taken care of, making the entire trip hassle-free. Everyone involved went above and beyond to make this an unforgettable experience—and they succeeded. I think it’ll be a long time before I find anything comparable to this!

Published on Sep, 2024

Ucok Sirait was a fantastic guide. He reached out the day before and checked I was aware of the timings and had his contact number in case of any problems - pretty essential basic stuff, but clearly reading the other reviews this does not always happen! Overall it was a great day walking through the rainforest to see the orangutans and other monkeys/wildlife. Ucok is very knowledgeable and happy to share his insight into everything from rubber plants through to ants!

Published on Jun, 2024

My wife, our 8 year old son and I had an amazing day at Bukit Lawang. The tour was beyond our expectations: jungle trekking, rafting, local food and, of course, orangutans (lots of them). Guides Ucok and Toni were kind, knowledgeable and caring towards our son. We learned a lot and can only recommend.

Published on May, 2024

A genuinely life-changing experience. If you can get past the grueling terrain and tiring trek, the opportunity to see orangutans in the wild is one you can’t pass up. My tour guide, Ucok, was phenomenal. The lunch provided with fresh local fruits was delicious. He made sure I had every opportunity to see the orangutans and other wildlife up close. 10/10 would recommend for any nature lover in at least moderately good physical condition. You won’t regret it!

Published on May, 2024

The driver came on time to my hotel in Medan and managed to cover the pothole-filled road to Bukit Lawang in 3 hours. My friendly and very knowledgeable guide Tondi then joined me to climb many stairs to the national park in perfect weather where after just 5 minutes we saw the first Orang Utans, albeit high up in the trees. Saw about 5 monkey species, turtles, insects and interesting flora. Delicious fruit snack and nasi goreng lunch, all of which Tondi had carried in his backpack (and was very careful removing all trash afterwards!). Finally, after a few hours of hiking, we came across, at only 10 meters away, an Orang Utan mother with her 3-year-old still nursing baby. It was a fascinating sight. The mother, not wanting to be accused of being a micromanager, watched her baby carefully but still let it practise climbing and swinging in the nearby trees and tast delicous leaves, interrupted by regular returns to sample Mommy's milk. Tondi was in text message contact with other guides so he could direct them and their groups to the location where we were mesmerized by our personal Orang Utan show. The other groups had not been as lucky - they had walked all day without seeing Orang Utans. It is was an unforgettable experience observing them in the wild, at very close distance, especially knowing that this only one of two places in the world where Orang Utans can be seen in the wild, the other one being Borneo, where a larger ground-dwelling species of Orang Utans can be found. Absolutely worth traveling here even from the other side of the world, and highly recommended!