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Incredible Wildlife Experience

This trek was the highlight of my trip to Indonesia, and one of the best wildlife experiences I... read more

Reviewed April 15, 2020
hawkowl
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Sanibel Island, Florida
Best tour!!

Loved the tour, people, food, and location. The people here went above and beyond to ensure we had... read more

Reviewed December 3, 2019
seanhI4170KW
via mobile
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Reviewed December 22, 2011

Booking and pre-booking queries were swiftly responded to by Clare. Spent day one trekking through the jungle to the jungle camp - very wet and slippy under foot. I found it pretty hardcore, often only grabbing at vines saved me from slipping into the ether. Long long hard steep trekking day. Amazing meal cooked at camp, although too much cooked and hate to see food go to waste. Camp was tarpaulin over rocks, but managed to get a good night sleep. Took the easy option on Day Two to walk 'along by' the river...swiftly found that 'along by' meant walking straight down the middle of the rapids! At least it cooled us down :-) Day Three was rafting, unfortunately it was raining hard and so a high river meant not too many rapids. Yetno was our guide and he was good. Slight confusion at the very end as the agreed change and freshen up at the offices turned into just changing at a road side, making the onward a bit sticky and uncomfortable. Tough jungle trek at the time, but now it's over I look back and loved it!

5  Thank Millsl1
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 27, 2011

I cannot recommend this company and the trip enough, we had a brilliant time. As per other comments, to begin with Claire was very helpful when we were planning our time with expedition jungle. They made everything so easy for us. We did a customised trip, they picked us up from Medan, 2 days trekking in the Bukit Lawang jungle (and camped out there) had a night in the Bukit Lawang village then visited the semi wild orangutan sanctuary, then went over to Tankahan to go elephant trekking and washing them in the river. Also went river tubing on the last day. After that they took us back to Medan. Our guide Yetno was very knowledgable, looked after us well and was hilarious! He stayed with us for the 4 days. When we were trekking we saw wild orangutans, tomas monkeys, a yellow tipped gibbon, baboon, snake etc. We saw very little insects and luckily no spiders lol!! The trekking on the first day was really hard because of the heat and it was very hilly so I was exhausted!!! I am fairly fit and do alot of walking in the UK and found it difficult so I would definitely have a good level of fitness before you go. The trekking on the second day was so much fun!! It was fairly flat, and we walked through the river mainly so that was really cool.The food in the jungle was fantastic - i cannot stress that enough! They were the best meals we had in all of Sumatra and Bali. The room we stayed in Bukit Lawang was gorgeous!! The decor was balinese, the bathroom was outside so you could shower looking at the jungle and we had a balcony (with a hammock) where tomas monkeys would love to come and jump on while we were sitting there. It was overlooking the river and then the jungle where we also saw orangutans swinging through the trees. The accomodation was VERY basic in Tankahan, but worth it to see the elephants. All in all this was a trip of a lifetime and it was a brilliant company to choose. Thank you Expedition Jungle!

Date of experience: August 2011
4  Thank Tilly173
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed July 21, 2011

Just got back from Sumatra and wanted to let other travelers know about this great company. I was very impressed with Claire, one of the owners of the company. From the moment I contacted her, she was very helpful and quick to respond to all of our questions. My sister and I chose a custom made trip, and it was incredible. All of the details were taken care of, guides were very friendly, and accommodations were great. This is a company you can trust. We had a wonderful time.

Date of experience: July 2011
2  Thank Bethslar
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed December 20, 2010

We just returned from a trip to Bukit Lawang and Tangkahan. The eco lodge was adequate, but quite a distance from the village center and very basic. The hike to view the orangutans was challenging- about a 45 minute hike straight up a hill (very steep with steep steps). It also required crossing a river in a canoe. My brother is in great shape, so it was easy for him, but I was wiped out after the trip! He also enjoyed the Bat Cave trek and trekking back from the Orangutan feeding platform. Mega lodge at Tangkahan is even more basic than Bukit Lawang, but the staff are charming. The elephant trek was amazing, also enjoyed a dip in the river. Kinol is informative and was a great guide during the trip.

6  Thank rubybouvier
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 26, 2010

My boyfriend and I had been desperate to do a trek through the rainforest for years, so when we planned to go to Sumatra, this was a definite must. I contacted Expedition Jungle and was put in touch with Clare Rambe - she could not of been more helpful. Not only did she give us a more than reasonable price for our trip, she was very prompt in replying to the million and one questions I asked!

We are quite well travelled and our trek in the Bukit Lawang jungle was without a shadow of a doubt one of the best things we have done. Originally planning only 3-4 days max in the jungle, after all the brilliant information and photos sent by Clare, we rearranged our whole trip to fit in 6 nights in the jungle - and it was the best decision we could of made.

The guide we were given, Iwan, was phenomenal. So knowledgable and wise and we always felt extremely safe under his guidance. The 3 helpers who carried all our food and essentials were also fantastic and just as knowledgable as Iwan. I've read in places like the Lonely Planet that you can arrive in Medan and/or Bukit Lawang and there will be numerous guides offerring to take you into the jungle for a very small price per day. While you may feel comfortable doing this, I honestly feel booking first would be a much better option. Our guide, Iwan, only liked a maximum of 5 guests on any one trip, which is much better as it enhances your chances of seeing amazing wildlife and also means you get to know who you are trekking with really well. If you chose to book when you arrive, you run the risk of trekking with up to 10 people. Also, after your trip, you will realise how much passionate the guides are about their work, and how little they do it for. I think the price Expedition Jungle quoted was highly sufficient to cover suitable payment for the guides.

I wish I could put into words how amazing this trip was. We were really taken deep into the jungle - walking up the river, clambering up and down steep muddy slopes holding onto the vines, crawling up and over fallen trees. We were lucky enough to see plenty wildlife - wild orangutans, thomas leaf monkeys, pig and long tailed maccaques, snakes, hornbills, bright green tree frogs, beautiful butterflies and much more. We learned about different natural foods in the jungle and were cooked delicious food by our guides. We were also given the chance to help fish for tea and help prepare and collect food for dinner - e.g. banana plant flowers, certain vegetables, fish! etc.

While 6days/nights may seem quite a long time to be living wild, I wish we could of stayed longer. I think any shorter time means you wont get to really go deep into the jungle and experience that true jungle feeling. There is a lot of walking to do, and yes, you do sweat an awful lot! But so does everyone and there is beautiful fresh, clear water to bathe in in the river every day after walking.

The guest house that Expedition Jungle chose for their guests the night before and after the jungle is also amazing. The Garden Inn is situated right next to the river with a gorgeous view of the jungle from every window. The resaurant area is so relaxed with a lovely chilled atmosphere, hammock and more often than not, a local playing the guitar singing along with the guests. The owner welcomes everyone with open arms and a huge smile.

I cannot reccommend this enough. I also cant reccommend Expedition Jungle enough!! They genuinely were brilliant with their help provided when we were planning our trip to Bukit Lawang, and also offered a more than reasonable price.

(You'll also learn a song that will stick in your head probably for the rest of you life to the tune of Jingle Bells...

...Jungle trek, jungle trek in Bukit Lawang...!)

DO IT!

8  Thank LP1ECP
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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