About

Your Jungle Guide Team

We, Anto & Senta, are an Indonesian ∼ German couple who met on a jungle trek 10 years ago. Love of nature, adventures traveling and being in the precious rainforest connect us!

To preserve the jungle of North Sumatra and protect its endangered wildlife we work together with the local community of this area. Supporting the inhabitants of Bukit Lawang and nearby villages means to counteract illegal logging and hunting, and to give the value of their forest back into the mind of the community.

Therefore, our team consists of local people from the villages around Bukit Lawang who are experienced English-speaking guides. All of them are certified by the Indonesian Tourist Guide Association (HPI) and follow the Gunung Leuser National Park guidelines. They would love to introduce you to the cheeky monkeys, giant ants and especially to our close relatives – the Orangutans.

Anto grew up in the jungle of Gunung Leuser National Park and knows every corner of this green paradise. After he worked many years for other trekking companies, he decided to establish his own trekking crew to offer a wide range of individual trekking adventures. Anto and his guides will lead you through the jungle with passion and introduce you to their homeland, which is so exotic for us.

We welcome you to visit the divers island of Sumatra and the jungle paradise around Bukit Lawang!

“Our mission is to provide the most authentic, top quality experience for adventurous people like you who wish to discover the remarkable nature and Wildlife of North Sumatra.“

Our Team

We Are Here For You

Abir, Best Jungle Cook

Abir's homemade food is the best in the whole jungle of North Sumatra! He is a real chef and will be happy to show you some Indonesian cooking skills when you arrive at the campsite of your jungle trek. Abir is still learning English, but he's always willing to practice a little more, so dont be shy to ask him anything you want. Plus, it's never boring with Abir: he knows all the fun games to play at jungle campsites - we've laughed quite a few tears together with him.... Even if you're a vegetarian or vegan, Abir will create the most delicious dishes from fresh jungle ingredients - let him surprise you!

Aseng, Junior Guide

Aseng is the youngest member of our jungle guide team. He has been in training with our senior guides for 3 years and is eagerly learning every day. His knowledge of the jungle is impressive, now the only thing left for him is to learn English fluently. He will be with you as an assistant guide on your trek, taking care of everything "behind the scenes": He'll keep an eye out for wildlife, carry the food, decorate your meals, always be ready to lend a helping hand, and keep you motivated and in a positive mood. With Aseng on your trek, you'll feel cared for and entertained!

We organise your individual & sustainable jungle trek – let us invite you to a most unique and unforgettable experience in the rainforest of North Sumatra!

OUR COMMITMENT

for the rainforest and its inhabitants

Conflict Resolution between
Local Farmers and Orangutans

In Bukit Lawang and neighbouring villages, the rainforest directly encroaches on private land and plantations without any precaution. On paper, there exists a buffer zone (area between rainforest and agricultural land), but this is not strictly enough controlled by the government and thus not literally used as a buffer. The uncultivated land can be bought and is particularly lucrative for local farmers. Most local farmers have meanwhile decided to cultivate oil palms, as they bring in more money with less effort. Nevertheless, a few still cultivate fruit trees, cocoa or rubber in mixed crops, which creates a small but enormously important compensation for the large monocultures. But it is precisely here that conflicts arise again and again, especially between orangutans and humans…

A particular favourite food of the great apes, but also of some other animal species, such as the sun bear, is the in Indonesia extremely popular stinky fruit called durian. The large spiny fruits are harvested twice a year in large quantities – as long as no jungle inhabitant has had a go at them first! Unfortunately for both parties involved (farmer and orangutan), this happens regularly. If you book a jungle trek during the durian season, you will most likely not meet the impressive apes in the jungle, but already before the national park border in the “public land” area. Reason: the tempting fruits. Once an orangutan has found such a richly covered tree, it will make itself at home and do the farmers’ harvesting itself. What is a reason for joy for us (a close-up orangutan sighting) is an enormous loss for the farmer and often a death sentence for the orangutan as a result. As there is no compensation from the government for a lost crop, some farmers have no other option but to shoot the scavenger.

In order to prevent this, we want to distribute firecrackers to all landowners bordering the national park with the help of donations. These are intended to scare and intimidate the orangutans and thus push them back into the rainforest instead of settling down at the fruit tree for a few days. If an orangutan should destroy a crop anyway, we will pay compensation to the farmer to support his family and to bring the orangutan back to the rainforest safely and alive.

Where the national park borders private land in North Sumatra, about 500 orangutans die annually due to conflicts with humans. In order not to further diminish the small remaining number of wild Sumatran orangutans (only about 13,800 animals, 90% of them in the Leuser ecosystem), it is our greatest concern to mediate this conflict. Would you like to help us?

WE ARE VERY HAPPY ABOUT YOUR SUPPORT – EVERY CENT COUNTS!

We aim for the greatest possible transparency of the donations. Every mission will be documented with photos and videos. You are also welcome to join us in person and talk to the affected farmers and our team of course.

Pictures will follow soon!

OUR COMMITMENT

for Bukit Lawang

We support
~ Sumatra Animal Aid ~

Sumatra Animal Aid rescues, fosters, feeds, castrates & vaccinates the street cats and dogs of Bukit Lawang. Conny, passionate animal lover & head of the organisation, set up the project on her own in 2020 and has been financing it entirely on her own ever since.

Two fenced dog yards with huts for rescued dogs, as well as four cat houses have been built in Bukit Lawang so far due to Conny’s initiative. As a result, more than 130 cats and 40 dogs have already been castrated and a large number vaccinated. Sumatra Animal Aid not only helps the four-legged strays, but also supports the people in the village who lovingly care for the animals with a monthly salary.

YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP?

Conny and her four-legged friends are always happy about donations or the sponsorship of food for one of the cute strays in Bukit Lawang!

Caretaker Sinta with Princess

Sumatra Animal Aid headquarters

cat house 1 at Café Kolam

Newest member of Sumatra Animal Aid

Cat house 2 at Café Kolam

Cuddle session

One-to-one care for sick strays

Visit at cat house in Gotong Royong

New arrival: 6 orphaned kittens

Playtime

"Predator feeding"

Two happily adopted strays

Midday rest

One of the loving adoptive mums

Chicken visit at the cat house

Sumatra Animal Aid Cat House 1.0

Background Story:

Most people in Sumatra live in very poor conditions, which understandably means that little attention is paid to the health of their (domestic) animals. Often cats and dogs are poorly fed, suffer from diseases or, in the case of dogs, are sold to the meat market when the owners have no money left. When Conny’s team hears about such a situation, they try to buy the dogs. In one case, a former dog seller could even be won over as an active employee for the animal work. Now she lives off the salary she gets for caring for animals!

However, Conny and her team do not have an easy task: the nearest veterinarian is a 4-hour drive from Bukit Lawang, which makes it difficult to treat emergencies. There is no animal shelter in all of Sumatra. Many locals have little knowledge about the needs and treatment of animals, the idea of prevention is unknown to most and, above all, too expensive. The work of Sumatra Animal Aid therefore makes an enormous and lasting contribution to reducing the misery of street animals in Bukit Lawang and the surrounding area!