Useful Info
Seeing a Sumatran orangutan in its natural habitat can be one of the highlights of visiting Bukit Lawang. Responsible trekking keeps the encounter focused on observation while respecting the animals and the rainforest they depend on.
Orangutans should be observed quietly without changing their natural behaviour.
Do not chase an animal, block its movement or try to attract it closer for photographs.
Your guide will help manage the encounter according to the conditions in the forest.
Visitors should never give food to orangutans or other wildlife.
Feeding animals can change their natural behaviour and encourage them to associate people with food.
Wildlife should continue finding and eating its natural food inside the forest.
No.
Orangutans are wild animals and should never be touched or handled by visitors.
Responsible wildlife tourism is about observing animals in their natural environment without direct interaction.
Do not approach wildlife simply to take a closer photograph.
Remain where your guide instructs you and allow the animal to decide where it moves.
A good wildlife encounter does not require standing directly beside an orangutan.
Follow your guide, stay on appropriate trails and avoid leaving anything behind.
Take all plastic, packaging and personal waste out of the forest with you.
Small actions from every visitor help reduce unnecessary disturbance in the rainforest.
Gunung Leuser is a natural rainforest rather than a wildlife park.
Orangutans choose where they move, feed and rest.
Guides can search areas where wildlife may be present, but animals are never supposed to be forced into an encounter.
That unpredictability is part of responsible wildlife trekking.
