Bukit Lawang - Sumatra

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra - Indonesia

Bukit Lawang is one of the top destinations in Sumatra, Bukit Lawang is a small village on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park located in North Sumatra. Bukit Lawang means Gateway to the Hills. Bukit Lawang is famous for the Bohorok Rehabilitation Centre now known as the Orangutan Centre.

The Gunung Leuser National Park is home to Orangutan, Thomas Leaf monkeys, Black Gibbons, White Handed Gibbons, the Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran elephants, clouded leopards, marbled cat, crocodile, sun bear and the Sumatran Rhinoceros.

View of Bukit Lawang trail

Bukit Lawang is 68 km from Medan. A bus trip will take around 3 - 4 hours. The road from Binjai to Bukit Lawang is the worst it has been in 10 years. The good news is that in Dec 2008 they started extensive repairs to the road, resurfacing it in many places.

White handed Gibbon

At the top of the village of Bukit Lawang is the Bohorok Rehabilitation Centre which has not operated since the flood. They still have a few orangutan in their care but no new animals are brought in for rehabilitation. There are 2 feeding sessions each day (8am and 3pm) open to the public where you have a good chance of the seeing some the orangutan that have been released to the wild. They often come back for an easy feed. You will need to get a permit to enter the National Park. Ask in your hotel as they can arrange the permit, you can arrange it yourself at the PHPA office at the beginning of Bukit Lawang or you can pay for your permit when you cross the river at the Orangutan Centre. Permit costs 20,000Rp.

  

Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking

 Sumatra Travel now have packaged tours to Bukit Lawang

The best way to experience the jungle is to go trekking. You can arrange 3 hours trekking, 6 hours or 1, 2, 3 days or more with the chance of spotting various wildlife as well as some beautiful spots like waterfalls and swimming holes.

The guides in Bukit Lawang need to be certified with the local PHPA office and need to renew their license each year. The guides will generally find you as they are always hunting tourists. Many of the current trekking guides have come from other areas of Sumatra and learned to be guides. If you are looking for an authentic trekking guide who grew up in Bukit Lawang then go to Indra Inn, close to Garden Inn and Jungle Inn. Ask for Iwan also affectionately know as Obiwan. Iwan's grandfather and father were some of the original trekkers to take scientists and then tourists into the jungle so his knowledge was passed down from them. I personally knew Iwan's father and brother, both called Indra and have been trekking with Iwan and totally trust him. He generally cares for the jungle and has a good understanding of the plants and animals that live there.
Cost for trekking is 65 Euros per night per person. This includes your food and coming back via tubing down the river. You can arrange for a half day trek, up to 4 hours for 20 Euros per person or a 6 hour trek for 35 Euros per person.
We now have package tours available for trips to Bukit Lawang from Medan. For more details on the tours check out our Bukit Lawang Tours page.

             

Obiwan - Trekking Guide Bukit Lawang

The guides have various campsites setup throughout the jungle, generally next to the river. Usually with small covered shelters which protect from rain during the night.

A short walk from Bukit Lawang is a bat cave. Cross the suspension bridge to Eco-Lodge Hotel and then turn left. Follow the trail for a pleasant 15 minute walk past corn fields and there is a small sign pointing you to the bat cave. Admission fee to enter the cave is 5000Rp.

Tubing can be easily arranged along the Bohorok river as many of the hotels hire out inflated truck inner tube tires. Be warned that many people have encountered problems. The river runs quite fast along the village and the river can rise very quickly when it has been raining.

Indonesian Cooking Classes

If you are interested in learning to cook some Indonesian dishes, Nora at Rainforest Guesthouses holds cooking classes for 100,000Rp. The classes will teach you how to prepare a 3 course meal, entry, main and desert. A selection of dishes are available for you to select.

Rafting trips from Bukit Lawang

Day trips can be arranged from Bukit Lawang to the Wampu River for a day of whitewater rafting. The Wampu River has grade 1 - 2 rapids so is perfect for beginners. You will need a minimum of 3 people to take on one of these trips though you may find other travelers in Bukit Lawang to join you. The day trips costs 880,000Rp (around US$78) per person and includes return transport to the Wampu River (around 2 hours there), raft, safety equipment, rafting guides and lunch. If you would like to pre-book one of these trips before you arrive please click here. contact us

 Bukit Lawang September 2007

On Nov 2 2003, Bukit Lawang experienced a flash flood that destroyed most of the village and killed over 200 people.  The village along the river was hit by a 30 foot wall of water, mud and trees coming down from the jungle. Illegal logging has been rumored to be the cause of the flood although Indonesian Government officials deny this. Accommodation has been rebuilt now although there are probably half the hotels that there used to be.

Bukit Lawang. September 2007

Internet, ATM and money exchange in Bukit Lawang

There currently is no internet access in Bukit Lawang. There was one internet cafe operating though closed for business in 2008.
There are no telephone offices like Wartel in Bukit Lawang. The closest of these services is in Bohorok, 10km away.  There are no ATMs, bank services or money transfer offices like Western Union. Again the closest of these are Bohorok 10km away or Binjai - over 2 hours by bus. Some money changers have started appearing again in Bukit Lawang although the exchange rate will be lower than you can get in the larger cities like Medan. Sam's Bungalows do money exchange.

How to get to Bukit Lawang

There are tourist buses leaving from most towns in North Sumatra to Bukit Lawang. In Medan you have the option of catching a local bus, very large, slow and crowded but very cheap, 10,000Rp. It will take 3.5 to 4 hours in the local bus as it also stops many times along the way to drop and pick up locals. You will need to get a becak or taxi to the bus depot in Medan - Pinang Baris. It will cost around 35,000Rp for a becak. A taxi will cost aroun 70,000 - 80,000Rp from the centre of Medan to get to Pinang Baris Bus Terminal.
You can also take a mini-bus from Pinang Baris for 12,000Rp. The mini-buses take around 3 hours to get to Bukit Lawang as they do not stop as many times along the way. The mini-buses do not leave from the main bus terminal. Travel down the road that runs past the bus terminal a few hundred meters and your will find the mini-buses outside the large pastry store (you can't miss it).

Private Transport from Medan to Bukit Lawang

If you would like a car to collect you from your hotel in Medan or from the airport and be taken to Bukit Lawang click here to contact us. Price is 600,000Rp (around 49 Euros) for up to 4 people. This is a quicker, safer trip of under 3 hours from your hotel or the airport. The vehicle used is a new air-conditioned Ford Everest SUV.
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