Individual jungle treks in North Sumatra | Ideal for photographers & explorers

Individual Trekking Tours

Discover the secrets of North Sumatra's Rainforest

Our individual jungle trek gives you the unique possibility to choose on your own, how many days you would like to spend in the rainforest, where exactly you want to go and what you would like to experience. Duration and intensity level of this trek completely depend on you! Especially photographers or filmmakers can benefit from our individual jungle trekking option as you don’t have to follow the normal routes of our standard treks. But also families with small children or adventures backpackers can arrange a personal jungle trek according to your wishes!

Trip Profile

Duration

Individual

Grade

Individual

Departure

Bukit Lawang

Arrival

Bukit Lawang

price per person

Individual

Inclusive

Meals & Camping Equipment

accomodation

tent with mosquito net

group size

1 - 6 People

Trip Highlights

You can decide individually where you want to go, how long you would like to stay & what you want to look for, e.g. ...
... see wild Orangutans and rare wildlife
... climb hills for stunning views over the densely wooded mountains
... go into the rainforest for 2 weeks or even longer
... look for the perfect photo spot, like salty mud holes or fruit trees which attract all the animals in the surrounding
... spot the Sumatran tiger or rhino
... follow the park rangers on their patrol to disarm traps and count the wildlife population

Previous Individual Jungle Treks

Fruit Tree Trek - especially for photographers

This 7 to 10 day trek is specifically designed for photographers & filmmakers, but of course also for anyone who wants to experience the genuine wilderness of North Sumatra and the deep, untouched jungle. However, the deeper you go into the rainforest, the more shy the animals are, as they are no longer used to humans (compared to the animals you may encounter on a 2-day trek, for example). In order to still be able to observe wild animals on a long trek, we have created the fruit tree trek. It owes its funny name to the fact that we will go in hunt of fruit-bearing fruit trees. As only a few trees bear fruit at a time, all the wild animals of this area of the deep jungle usually gather there which gives you the unique opportunity to observe and photograph these normally very shy animals at close range.

Especially for this trek we have assembled a highly experienced team of locals who know every corner of the national park. In addition to your English-speaking guide and assistant guide, you will be accompanied by a chef and 3 “scouts”. The scouts will be scouting the area before and during the trek to find a fruit tree as soon as possible. As soon as we have arrived at such a tree after a few days of hiking, we will set up camp at some distance. While the scouts continue to explore the surroundings and our chef prepares the camp and food, you and your guide will build a hiding place near the tree. From this hiding spot, you will be able to observe all the wild animals for several days and nights as they feast on the tasty fruit. So now you only need to be patient and wait…

Besides wild orangutans, siamangs and white-handed gibbons, various species of hornbills, binturongs, giant squirrels, sun bears and up to 4 different species of monkeys are very interested in the fruit. During dusk and at night, with a bit of luck, you will be able to observe various species of deer, porcupines, civets, a subspecies of Bengal cats, snakes and of course a lot of insects. The chances of such animal sightings are very realistic on this trek!

Once our scouts have spotted another tree and you are satisfied with your observations at the first tree, we will move on. Salty mudholes are equally attractive to some species (especially deer). In such places there is even a chance to spot a tiger (with a lot of luck!).

There is no standard daily schedule on our fruit tree trek, as we will be fully guided by where and when we can observe the most animals. On “trekking days” (days when we move further into the jungle) we will hike for about 6 to 7 hours, depending on where the next destination is. Since your team already knows which tree or mud hole to go to, they will choose the shortest and easiest route, while the scouts climb mountains and cross rivers on their search. Of course, it may still happen that you have to climb a mountain or cross a river – but your team will always help you, especially with heavy photo equipment, which must not get wet. However, we strongly recommend that you bring a waterproof case for all valuables! At around 4 pm, your team will choose a suitable place to camp in order to have the tent set up and a fire ready before sunset. We will all sleep together in our shared tent, which is big enough for everyone as it will be built from a wooden frame and a huge waterproof plastic sheet. For everyone there will be a thin mattress, a sleeping bag and a mosquito net. On “observation days” it is advisable to sit in the hiding spot and wait for animals, especially during dusk and early morning hours. During the often hot midday hours, you can take a nap and rest or join your team to find fresh ingredients for cooking and explore the area before returning to the photo hide in the evening and at night.

At the end of the trek, a scout will leave us to hike back to Bukit Lawang to let our rafting team know where we are. Equipped with rubber tubes, ropes and an air pump, they will join us at our last camp. This way, on the last day, we can make our way back down the river, thus giving you more precious time in the deep jungle, instead of having to make our way back halfway through. The raft trip can take up to 8 hours depending on our position in the jungle. As it can get quite cold in the river water, we will take breaks to have lunch and warm up. Back in Bukit Lawang, your guide will take you to your guesthouse where you can recharge your batteries (and those of your camera) and evaluate your photos at your leisure.

Prices:

7 days:

– from 3 persons: 6.000.000 IDR per person
– from 2 persons: 8.500.000 IDR per person
– from 1 person: 16.000.000 IDR per person

10 days:

– from 3 persons: 8.500.000 IDR per person
– from 2 persons: 12.500.000 IDR per person
– from 1 person: 25.000.000 IDR per person

4 day Nature & Wildlife Photographer Trek

On this individual jungle trek, booked by a nature and wildlife photographer, we spent 4 days and 3 nights in a remote part of Gunung Leuser National Park, with no other humans around. Day and night we were on the search for orangutans, other wildlife and good photo spots. It was not about walking as fast or as deep into the jungle as possible, but only about finding good photo motifs, setting up photo spots with a perfect angle and light incidence, and waiting for the perfect moment to give our photographer the best possible chance to take a satisfying photo.

Our team brought all the camping equipment with them, as the camp was set up in a different place each evening, and helped carry the photo equipment. We spent the last two days near the third camp as there were many animals in the surrounding area due to a fruit bearing durian tree. It was a pleasure to see our photographer friend in his element, who could be proud of his photo success at the end of each day…

– 4 days & 3 nights
– guide + team of 4 people
– all meals inclusive

Price for 1 Person: 425€ / 7.000.000 IDR

Trekking upstream alongside the Bahorok River

On this special trek we went with two lovely backpacking girls for 6 days & 5 nights upstream into Gunung Leuser National Park until that river junction where two rivers become the famous Bahorok River which meanders through Bukit Lawang. Upstream means we followed the river all the way up on its left or right riverbank – depending on where it was easier to walk. That means of course that we had to cross the river from time to time which can be a little adventures… Why would we do that? Because like that we arrived much faster in the deep jungle as we didn’t have to climb up and down the mountains of the National Park. After we arrived at the river junction on day 3, we had three more days to explore the area of the deep rainforest, which is elephant and tiger territory. Besides the footprints (as you can see on the pictures below) there is a high chance in this part of the National Park to spot them in real!

Are you curious about your own personal adventure?

– 6 days & 5 nights
– guide + team of 4 people
– all meals inclusive
– rafting back (around 3 to 4 hours)

Price for 2 people: 300€ / 5.000.000 IDR per pax

Don't Forget

Reviews

★★★★★ 5/5

Ideal destination for nature photographers

My passion is nature photography. I try to inspire people with good photos for nature. I travel a lot with my camera in my home country (Saxony-Anhalt/ Germany). But of course I also have photographic goals abroad. Observing, experiencing and photographing orangutans in their natural environment, in the jungle of Sumatra or Borneo, has been one of my dream goals for many years. Because I only had a limited time frame of 2 to 3 weeks for such a photo tour, perfect preparation was very important to me. Good photos are no coincidence and always require precise planning. An experienced local guide is indispensable. I met Anto and Senta in Germany and was impressed by their enthusiasm for Sumatra. After a short time it was clear to me that the destination of my next trip would be the Gunung-Leuser National Park on Sumatra. I had a lot of questions for Anto. I was interested in the weather, the possible animal species, the distances, the light conditions. I was interested in whether the guides would help carry the equipment and I was particularly interested in his reports on the orangutans. I know from Anto that the orangutans that are at the edge of the jungle mostly come from a programm be released into the wild. They let people participate in their lives without hesitation and now also have offspring. There is also the somewhat cautious population of wild orangs a little deeper in the jungle. The location for multi-day treks into the jungle would be Bukit-Lawang. We developed a program for my tour together. Senta and Anto understood very quickly what I wanted from this trip. For example, a possible rafting adventure was unimportant to me. It was important for me to find interesting animal species. That meant a multi-day jungle trek. Besides the orangutans there are Thomas‘s langurs, White-handed gibbons, Southern Pig-Tailed Macaques, Long tailed macaque macaques and giant squirrels and many more species. There is a variety of reptiles and insects, but also very interesting destinations for landscape photographers. In addition, Anto also familiarized me with the entire problem of the growing palm oil plantations. What can I say. I was enthusiastic about all facets of this journey and came back with a lot of photos. Because I was prepared for it, my equipment survived really heavy rain in the jungle. Anto is a perfect guide. He knows the nature of his homeland and he knows which animals are where and when. Senta managed perfectly all the questions with accommodation etc. I can warmly recommend Senta, Anto and the whole team "The Jungle Guide" to all interested nature photographers.