Ultimate Orangutans

Today is the arrival day at the Sumatran city of Medan. Upon arrival at the hotel the day is yours to refresh before we meet for our welcome dinner and discuss the adventure ahead.

We begin the workshop this morning and have a full day of overland travel today to access a remote village which borders the Gurung Leuser National Park; our base for the next four days. The lodge we use as home base is a newly-completed ecolodge owned by our engaging and knowledgeable local jungle guide and his wife. We will arrive in the early evening to a delicious dinner and a comfortable bed. Over dinner we will discuss what awaits us in this wildlife-rich jungle.

The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is quite distinct from the Bornean orangutan, noticeably in hair colour and the male's facial features. Their diet is varied and comprises over 400 kinds of food, mostly consisting of native forest fruits such as durian, rambutan, and jackfruit. Insects, palm shoots and young leaves are also eaten. Sumatran orangutan have less trouble getting enough calories in their diet compared to their Bornean cousins and end up with more free time in their day. As a result they are generally more social animals. It is not uncommon to see groups of infants playing together as their mothers watch on. Unlike Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutans almost never come down to the ground. The trees are their domain of safety and have everything they need to survive.

This region is also home to other primates including the Thomas's Leaf Monkey, Siamang gibbon, Macaques plus many rainforest bird species.

Each day we will venture into the jungle with our head guide and two of his most experienced team members to search for orangutans and other wildlife. Expect to witness incredible encounters with truly wild orangutans in their natural environment.

After breakfast we depart for the journey back to the city of Medan, arriving in the late afternoon. We will overnight in a downtown hotel.

Today we transfer to Jakarta in preparation for our morning flight the following day to Kalimantan/Borneo.

Early morning we take a short domestic flight to the island of Borneo, which although is only 73% controlled by Indonesia is the largest land area in the country's archipelago. Indonesian Borneo is known as Kalimantan, and we will be basing our stay here in the Tanjung Puting National Park which is home to approximately 6,000 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Tanjung Puting National Park was originally established as a reserve in the 1930s by the local Dutch government to protect the orangutans and proboscis monkey found here. In 1977 it was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and was given National Park status in 1982. There are three orangutan rehabilitation centres found within the park.

On arrival we will be met by our local jungle guide and transferred to our private riverboat, which is called a klotok. From the port it is approximately two and a half hours to the jungle lodge located in the national park. The lodge is simple, with clean, comfortable rooms which include air-conditioning and private bathrooms with western facilities and hot water. All of our meals will either be served at the lodge or aboard our klotok and are tasty and nutritious.

During our stay we will maximising our time in the field as we explore the national park’s main river by klotok in the search for orangutans. We will make visits to the orangutan rehabilitation centres and photograph at the feeding platforms, which have been set up in the jungle to support released orangutans. In addition to orangutan, wildlife which we expect to encounter as we cruise the river includes proboscis monkeys, langurs, macaques, hornbills and kingfishers.

We return to the port town in the evening on Day 13 and transfer to our hotel.

Today is the departure day and we will arrange a private transfer to the airport to suit your flight schedule.