This trek does NOT start at 9am in Bukit Lawang like all other treks! Depending on the route the rangers have chosen, you will either start on foot near Bukit Lawang or you will first travel by motorbike/car to a more remote area of the national park. Our organiser Sandi will brief you on all the details before the trek and bring you to the meeting point oft the rangers on the day of your trek. Together with them you will start your 5-day adventure!
The rangers’ program is to protect the national park from illegal logging and poaching, to check the national park borders and to collect new GPS data. To do this, they patrol different sections of the rainforest every month – depending on eventual information they have received. Therefore, the patrol may be along the border of the national park or in its mountainous depths. So be prepared to cross streams and rivers, climb mountains and descend into valleys.
The daily routine will look like this:
In the morning after breakfast, the tents are taken down and the day’s march can begin. Each day you will hike for about 6 to 7 hours. Of course, there will be breaks and lunch along the way. Always keep your eyes open for illegal traps that the rangers will disarm, but also for wildlife. In the deep rainforest and in flatter areas, there is a realistic chance of spotting the forest elephants of North Sumatra! All the trails you can see in the jungle have been “created” by them. With a bit of luck you can spot wild orangutans, gibbons & siamangs, thomas leaf monkeys, pig-tailed & long-tailed macaques, silver leaf monkeys, serows (goat-like species), snakes, eagles and exotics such as the hornbill. At dusk, there is a good chance of spotting deer, mouse deer, sun bears and wild boar. As the wildlife is very shy in the remote areas of the national park, it will be difficult to observe them up close. However, you will most likely be able to admire many different insects at close range 😉
On the way, you can always look over the rangers’ shoulders as they work, ask them questions and, of course, help them!
At around 4 pm, your ranger team will look for a suitable place to camp. Now you are welcome to help put up the tent made of sticks or bamboo poles and a big plastic tarp or to collect firewood for cooking. The food will be cooked from ingredients brought by the rangers from Bukit Lawang and fresh ingredients that you will collect during your trek, such as fern, the inside of banana plants, young bamboo or even fish! There will be tea or coffee and biscuits as well, and in the evenings there will be lots of chatting or games to pass the time….
On this very special and unique rainforest adventure, you will experience the jungle not as a tourist, but as part of your ranger unit, making a lasting positive contribution to our rainforest, which is essential for our survival…
Are you curious? Feel free to contact us at any time with your questions and ideas.
Note: As this special trek is not exclusively for tourists, but is led by the rangers of the national park, we ask you to follow their program and their rules or instructions. Also, we ask for your understanding to carry your extra tent (if you wish), sleeping bag and mattress on your own, as the rangers will already provide all camping equipment (tent material, cooking utensils & food).
