Sumatra Orangutan Backpacker
Sumatra Orangutan Backpacker
Sumatra Orangutan Backpacker
5
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About
Based in Bukit Lawang, a small village at the entrance to Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra, Indonesia, we offer treks in the rainforest. Our goal is to provide you the best service and expertise whilst protecting the orangutans and the heritage of the rainforest.
Bukit Lawang, Indonesia
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Sumatra Orangutan Backpacker
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
5.0
19 reviews
Excellent
18
Very good
1
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Manuel K
8 contributions
Feb 2020
We went with Anto and Kakao and had such a great time.
We saw many orang utans, even holding hands with them. We saw many lizzards, monkeys, birds and waterfalls. Nature was astonishing, the walk was quiet hard but super fun. The rafting was really cool and totally safe.
The two had a lot to offer and to show. When necessary they were professionall when we were hanging around we ve been like friends. They also introduced us to the other locals. We spent the following days with them and we were singing, playing the guitar etc.
We saw many orang utans, even holding hands with them. We saw many lizzards, monkeys, birds and waterfalls. Nature was astonishing, the walk was quiet hard but super fun. The rafting was really cool and totally safe.
The two had a lot to offer and to show. When necessary they were professionall when we were hanging around we ve been like friends. They also introduced us to the other locals. We spent the following days with them and we were singing, playing the guitar etc.
Written February 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
luckyluke575
Waren, Germany9 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
We had a 1-day trekking tour and it was awesom. We saw many orang-utans from whom we took wonderful fotos and videos. We had encountered other wild animals too and the nature was stunning. We have been provided with a unforgetable experience.
Written August 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tim S
2 contributions
Aug 2019 • Couples
I highly recommend doing a tour with Anto and his team. We did a 3D2N with them in the jungle and enjoyed every second! The guides handled every Orang-Utan encounter properly so we could get very close to these amazing creatures without feeling unsafe.
Written August 30, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael
5 contributions
Jul 2018 • Friends
First: Thanks for the awesome jungle track!
Everything was pretty good arranged. Anto, one of the organisators, did a really really good Job. Airport transport to Bukit Lawang, Transport to the Hotel, really good food, nice Hotel and still an amazing 3 days Trip. The guide carried everything you need (food, water, cigarettes, ...). Reeeeally good.
Friend of mine and I booked a 3 days Track. Best decision ever! Asked for Amin and Ibo. The best guides in Bukit Lawang. You will see!
I hope I see you soon guys,
Michael.
Everything was pretty good arranged. Anto, one of the organisators, did a really really good Job. Airport transport to Bukit Lawang, Transport to the Hotel, really good food, nice Hotel and still an amazing 3 days Trip. The guide carried everything you need (food, water, cigarettes, ...). Reeeeally good.
Friend of mine and I booked a 3 days Track. Best decision ever! Asked for Amin and Ibo. The best guides in Bukit Lawang. You will see!
I hope I see you soon guys,
Michael.
Written July 14, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew D
Bantry, Ireland5 contributions
Mar 2018 • Friends
From the very start the guides were friendly and had information coming out there ears. Anto and cacao were our guides they were lovely people very friendly and passionate about there jobs.
In the first 30 minutes of a 3 day 2 nightbhike we had all ready seen the 4 types of monkeys.
We made our way further into the jungle and BAM our first orangutans we saw the lovely mina and her beautiful baby what an amazing creature.
All in all we saw many orangutans. And also the other 3 types of apes in the jungle and the 4 types of monkeys.
The trekking was great the food was spectacular and the places for camp were like they were not real.
Couldn't recommend this tour and guides highly enough. What an experience and defiantly will be going back for a 7 day trek.
In the first 30 minutes of a 3 day 2 nightbhike we had all ready seen the 4 types of monkeys.
We made our way further into the jungle and BAM our first orangutans we saw the lovely mina and her beautiful baby what an amazing creature.
All in all we saw many orangutans. And also the other 3 types of apes in the jungle and the 4 types of monkeys.
The trekking was great the food was spectacular and the places for camp were like they were not real.
Couldn't recommend this tour and guides highly enough. What an experience and defiantly will be going back for a 7 day trek.
Written March 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PixieOfAces
Karlsruhe, Germany19 contributions
Aug 2017 • Solo
This review has already been posted at the TrekSumatra page, but I also want to publish it here because this is how you can reach Anto my guide at the tour now. Besides I think my experience was mainly related to his skills as a guide.
I did a four days trek with the TrekSumatra team, altough I didn't know that before. However, I would have totally chosen those guys to go on a trek with. My group was pretty small, we were only 3 people, which was really nice and we could do a lot of bonding!
Our main guide was Anto, and for the first day we were also accompanied by Hendrik. The guides were extremely helpful, told us a lot not only about the local wildlife and showed us so many different animals, we also learned much about the Nationalpark and the diverse flora in the jungle.
Our main goal (seeing the Orang Utans) was totally met! I think we saw at least 10 Orang Utans (plus Babies) some from far and others (the well-known Semi-Wild ones) from extremely close. However I have at no point felt unsafe with the guides, we were in very good hands and were told a lot about the individual Orang Utans we met.
About the accommodation, there is really nothing to complain, we were pretty much constantly fed (sometimes I had no idea how to eat more, I was never hungry!!) and the food was so good, I tried to hire Eli the cook.
We were sleeping in tents under some half open huts (against the rain) and the guides always made sure we didn't leave any dirt behind! Some may complain about the hard ground, but I feel this is part of sleeping in the jungle and complaining about the ground is like complaining about the water temperature of the river! (Which was perfect by the way)
The hiking was alright, it involves a lot up- and downhill, mostly right through the vegetation. This actually gives an amazing jungle feeling and as along as the guides kindly wait for the last girl with the big backpack, it is all good. The walking distances were actually quite short and I think the guides adjust the treks to the type of their customers.
So thank you very much to all of the people helping (If Josi or Robet read this: Thank you guys and thank you Anto, Hendrik, Danny, Eli and all the others I am sorry I forgot your names!)
You were amazing and I will recommend this trip to anyone asking!
I did a four days trek with the TrekSumatra team, altough I didn't know that before. However, I would have totally chosen those guys to go on a trek with. My group was pretty small, we were only 3 people, which was really nice and we could do a lot of bonding!
Our main guide was Anto, and for the first day we were also accompanied by Hendrik. The guides were extremely helpful, told us a lot not only about the local wildlife and showed us so many different animals, we also learned much about the Nationalpark and the diverse flora in the jungle.
Our main goal (seeing the Orang Utans) was totally met! I think we saw at least 10 Orang Utans (plus Babies) some from far and others (the well-known Semi-Wild ones) from extremely close. However I have at no point felt unsafe with the guides, we were in very good hands and were told a lot about the individual Orang Utans we met.
About the accommodation, there is really nothing to complain, we were pretty much constantly fed (sometimes I had no idea how to eat more, I was never hungry!!) and the food was so good, I tried to hire Eli the cook.
We were sleeping in tents under some half open huts (against the rain) and the guides always made sure we didn't leave any dirt behind! Some may complain about the hard ground, but I feel this is part of sleeping in the jungle and complaining about the ground is like complaining about the water temperature of the river! (Which was perfect by the way)
The hiking was alright, it involves a lot up- and downhill, mostly right through the vegetation. This actually gives an amazing jungle feeling and as along as the guides kindly wait for the last girl with the big backpack, it is all good. The walking distances were actually quite short and I think the guides adjust the treks to the type of their customers.
So thank you very much to all of the people helping (If Josi or Robet read this: Thank you guys and thank you Anto, Hendrik, Danny, Eli and all the others I am sorry I forgot your names!)
You were amazing and I will recommend this trip to anyone asking!
Written February 21, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James H
8 contributions
Nov 2017 • Couples
Awesome experience, fantastic staff who are a wealth of knowledge and expertise. We undertook an over night hike, saw many orangutans and had a generally unforgettable time. Highly recommend aton and his team
Written February 11, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lia H
18 contributions
Jan 2018 • Friends
We booked the 2-day trekking tour with 1 overnight stay in the jungle. Since we were staying at Sam's Guesthouse, we booked the tour via Sam and his awesome staff.
Overall, Anto's (the guide) English was pretty good, so we could easily enjoy all his profound level of the local flora and fauna plus the wildlife itself. Lucky us, we were just the three of us doing the tour - in general the maximum is 6, so you will enjoy a quite private tour.
The most important thing for us was that the tour focused on wildlife being (and staying) wild! Thus we were looking for a tour that neither feeds the animals nor disturbs them in their natural habitat. Anto ensured at all times that we keep a decent distance and behaved calm and respectful when spotting furry friends. You might already have read about Mina (and Jackie), both semi wild Orang Utans on the lookout for groups - and food! When we met them along the way, Anto was calm and professional and briefed us extensively beforehand.
The tour itself included everything we were looking for- and even more. From great sceneries, and amazing amount of wildlife (4 out of 5 existing apes/monkeys with a total of 11 Orang Utans) to jungle treks and waterfalls - there was nothing to be missed. The first day has its fair share of hiking up and down (6-7 hrs, including several breaks). Totally doable, but a general level of fitness is required. The second day is all about enjoying the scenery with breakfast/lunch by the river, swimming and - to top all of that- rafting down the river.
The camp itself is located by the river and you can enjoy the jungle sounds whilst sleeping. One slight downside is the semi comfy sleeping arrangement - slightly thicker matresses as the other groups had would have been appreciated - but all in all we had a great time staying there. Kudos to the chef, the food was super yummy and presented with lots of love.
All in all, we would highly recommend this tour and Anto! Thank you for this magical experience.
Overall, Anto's (the guide) English was pretty good, so we could easily enjoy all his profound level of the local flora and fauna plus the wildlife itself. Lucky us, we were just the three of us doing the tour - in general the maximum is 6, so you will enjoy a quite private tour.
The most important thing for us was that the tour focused on wildlife being (and staying) wild! Thus we were looking for a tour that neither feeds the animals nor disturbs them in their natural habitat. Anto ensured at all times that we keep a decent distance and behaved calm and respectful when spotting furry friends. You might already have read about Mina (and Jackie), both semi wild Orang Utans on the lookout for groups - and food! When we met them along the way, Anto was calm and professional and briefed us extensively beforehand.
The tour itself included everything we were looking for- and even more. From great sceneries, and amazing amount of wildlife (4 out of 5 existing apes/monkeys with a total of 11 Orang Utans) to jungle treks and waterfalls - there was nothing to be missed. The first day has its fair share of hiking up and down (6-7 hrs, including several breaks). Totally doable, but a general level of fitness is required. The second day is all about enjoying the scenery with breakfast/lunch by the river, swimming and - to top all of that- rafting down the river.
The camp itself is located by the river and you can enjoy the jungle sounds whilst sleeping. One slight downside is the semi comfy sleeping arrangement - slightly thicker matresses as the other groups had would have been appreciated - but all in all we had a great time staying there. Kudos to the chef, the food was super yummy and presented with lots of love.
All in all, we would highly recommend this tour and Anto! Thank you for this magical experience.
Written January 21, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julia Fehrmann
6 contributions
Aug 2019 • Couples
The jungle trekking was a great expereience and a little adventure. Spotting the Orang Utans was the highlight. We saw many of them and got very close. Very unfogetable! But the nature is faszinating as well. We saw several animals like monkeys, peacocks and chameleon. I also liked very much that we showered in the river (Tip from me: bring eco-friendly shampoo) and slepet surrounded by the sound of the jungle.
But what made this not only a good but an awesome experience: our guides! They took very good care of us. It was amazing! Lunchbreak in the middle of the jungle with great food and fresh fruits, teaching us a lot about the jungle and just having fun with us!
Thank you very much Evo, James, Igal, Adjat, Hendrik.
At night we played cards with them and back from the jungle track we spend one more night making musik together (they are very good musicians! Playing the guitarre and singing!)
Thank you Anto for the perfect organization! He also helped us by organizing our time after Bukit Lawang.
I wouldn't miss this experience.
Tim & Julia
But what made this not only a good but an awesome experience: our guides! They took very good care of us. It was amazing! Lunchbreak in the middle of the jungle with great food and fresh fruits, teaching us a lot about the jungle and just having fun with us!
Thank you very much Evo, James, Igal, Adjat, Hendrik.
At night we played cards with them and back from the jungle track we spend one more night making musik together (they are very good musicians! Playing the guitarre and singing!)
Thank you Anto for the perfect organization! He also helped us by organizing our time after Bukit Lawang.
I wouldn't miss this experience.
Tim & Julia
Written August 31, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Don v
Ijmuiden, The Netherlands6 contributions
Apr 2018 • Solo
Great experience!! Anto did a great job communicating and advising me! A driver was waiting for me at the airport when I arrived. The people in Bukit Lawang greated me friendly upon my arrival and must one be the friendliest I’ve met during my travels.. I was given great accomodations ‘sam’s bungalows’ by the river for the night before and the night after the Jungletrek. The jungle trek itself: beyond expectations! Our guide Amin and Bimla did a great job with showing all sorts of animals and plants and teaching us about them. Not only this but they also were great entertainers (and bad card players;)). The food was delicious! My only regret is that I did not stay longer(3days/2nights). Thank you very much guys!! Keep up the good work! I think I will be coming back for the elephants you told me about:) 5 stars for you guys�����
Written May 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience