Journey through the Jungles of Sumatra

Itinerary

Itinerary:
Medan - Bukit Lawang - Tangkahan - Berastagi - Lake Toba - Medan
Duration:
14 days / 13 nights (flexible)
Price:
From £ 1,285.- per person (excluding flights)

Explore the remote rainforest of Sumatra, watch cheeky orangutans, float gently down the emerald green river on a tube and climb steaming volcanoes before relaxing in hot springs. Raw, untouched and rarely-visited, it’s secluded and steeped in mystery. Packed with wildlife, traditional tribes and staggering landscapes, its way off the beaten tourist track. Sleep in rickety jungle lodges, glide across shimmering Lake Toba to fascinating Samosir Island.

Days 1-3 – Motoring around Medan

Medan is Sumatra’s bustling capital and the gateway to North Sumatra. We have picked a small hotel just outside the city centre in a peaceful Kampung area with a swimming pool so you can relax and unwind after your international flight. The next morning you’ll be picked up by your becak driver (a motorised sidecar) and taken through the local countryside and villages with your guide. They will take you to a local family home where they make homemade banana chips and mini donuts that they sell to make a living. You can even try your hand at making some yourself!

Days 3-5 – Swinging with the apes

You’ll travel by private car deep into the Sumatran jungle. The journey will take between 3 to 4 hours. Take a walk on the wild side, trekking through dense Sumatran jungle and crossing rushing rivers to meet playful orangutans swinging between the treetops. Spend 2 days exploring Gunung Leuser National Park staying in a small hotel on the edge of the rainforest. Hike into the heart of the jungle, wobble across wooden bridges and scramble between the trees, eventually arriving at the optimum spot to witness semi-wild orangutans.

Days 5-7 – Deep into the jungle

From Bukit Lawang you’ll travel by private car and jeep into the jungle of Tangkahan, which will take roughly 4 hours. Get lost in the UNESCO World Heritage Sumatran jungle where the trees chatter with monkeys and the waters sparkle. This trip into the isolated jungle wilderness will take you into the untamed heart of Sumatra, packed with monkeys, exotic birds and giant rafflesia flowers. You’ll stay in a rustic bungalow right by the Kualsa Buluh River, and feel a million miles away from the modern world.

Days 7-8 – Volcano craters of Berastagi

From Tangkahan you will take a 3 hour drive to Berastagi. Head for the cool emerald hills where volcanoes puff smoke rings into the sky and lush fields stretch into the horizon, leaving the steamy lowland heat behind. While not a beautiful place itself, Berastagi is surrounded by some of Sumatra’s most breathtaking scenery. You’ll stay in Berastagi, and with a guide climb the Sibayak Volcano, its crater coughing tendrils of sulphurous smoke into the air.

Days 8-11 – Fairytale in Samosir

Next, you’ll travel by private car from Berastagi to Parapat where you will take the ferry to Samosir Island, stranded in the rippling waters of volcanic Lake Toba. You’ll stay in the small and brilliantly named village of Tuk-Tuk, with uninterrupted views across the lake and densely wooded jungles as the backdrop. You can visit the villages, head to Siminando, the centre of Samosir culture and visit the unusual Batak tombstones. It’s a beautiful, unusual and welcoming place.

You will then take a ferry back to the mainland, where your driver will pick you up and drop you at your hotel in Medan. You’ll spend one more night in the bustling capital before saying goodbye to Sumatran life and heading to the airport for your international flight back home.