Last Update: 22.01.2013
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Trekking gallery
Ketambe - Trekking into the Gunung Leuser Nationalpark
The main reason to come to Ketambe is to do a trekking tour into the Gunung Leuser Nationalpark. There are various possibilities to do a tour. We recommend to come to Ketambe and let organize your trip over there. Some guides in Medan will offer you their service, but mostly they don't know much about the jungle and how to find orangutans or other animals. Also they will ask much more money from you, than you will actually pay in Ketambe.
The guesthouses in Ketambe offer 1 day treks for beginners or people with short time and multiple day treks with camping and animal watching.
For trekking we provide the guide and if its neccesary, one or two porters. The permit for the national park, all food, drinks, cooking facilities and camping gear will be included in the price.
The cost of an organized trekking tour depends from the length of stay, the number of people going together and of the kind, quantity and cost of food and drinks you want to take with.
In general the price should be discussed with the owner of guesthouse, because he will organize everything. The total costs are also depending a bit from your bargain skill. If possible, bring the money in indonesian rupiah, because there is no money changer in Ketambe or Kutacane. So we will have to go to Berastagi or Medan first to have useful money.
Prices for the trekking tours are depending from the area you want to go, the number of people and the number of porters. 1-day trips are cheaper than multiple day trip, because there is nothing to bring for the night. If only a single person wants to go its more expensive than for 2 or 3 people. Trips to Mount Kemiri and Lake Tiga Sagi cost more than trips into the Ketambe jungle. The price also depends from the season. You can ask prices by email or phone (see contact).
If some guides in Medan offer you trekking tours for less than 350.000-400.000 IDR per day per person, they can not be serious or they don't have an experienced guide.
The following trekking tours are possible to organize:
On an one day trek usualy only a guide is going with you. Its possible to choose the area (Gurah - west, or Ketambe jungle east of the road). You will start walking from the guesthouse. Its a 20 minutes walk on the road until you turn into the jungle and walk on small trails for 6 to 8 hours. The guide can show and explain special plants. The main attention is to look for and spot orangutans, gibbons, monkeys and birds. A longer break will be for lunch on a camping ground beside the river. Over there its possible to take a bath or swim in the river.
In the afternoon there will be again time to spot animals. If you interesting, the guide will bring you to the area, where the Rafflesia flower is growing. If you lucky its in bloom, normaly in july/august.
For a 2-, 3- or 4-days trek it is necessary to take a guide and at least 1 porter with you. Its going deep inside the Ketambe jungle. There is individual daily walking time on trails and also into deep jungle. Ofcourse you will look for and spot orangutans, gibbons, monkeys, deer, wild pigs and birds (e.g. hornbill). Its enough time to see special plants and insects.
On the first day you will have a stop at the camping ground for taking lunch, rest and bath. You must cross the river once.
You will continue the walk until the 2nd camping ground beside the hotsprings. Over there a tent will be set for the night. You can enjoy taking hot, warm and cold bath, because the hot water is flowing into the river and mix up with the cold. The guide and porter will go fishing for having a barbecue for dinner. If you interesting you can join and see the special way of catching fishes. Later you will have dinner and ... talk, sing, smoke, relax, ..., enjoy the jungle noise, ..., sleep.
The program for the following days depends from your interest. Ofcourse you look for orangutans and other animals. But if you want to relax its possible to stay longer at the hotsprings. The trip also includes a visit to a beautiful waterfall. The way back will not be the same path you came before, so its a better chance to see more animals.
Mabye you don't believe, but there are nearly no moskitos at night, so it would be possible to sleep outside. There is no malaria. Because of safety reason (e.g. snakes) you should sleep inside the tent.
And the question about the leeches? Yes, there are leeches, especially after rain. The best way to avoid leeches drinking your blood, is to use closed shoes and long trousers. We will provide special leech-socks. Also there are some chemicals or tabacco-juice what can be used to push away the lovely worm. But at least one leech will find the way through all your preventions. Its not dangerous.
If you want to go for 5 or 6 days, there are 3 other choices. All are a bit more difficult than the treks above, because in parts the way is quite steep and its going up and down. If you walk very slow it can take more time. Overnight you stay in a tent. All food and drinks must be taken with. So one guide and two porters are nessesary. The starting point is about 1 hour by bus (direction north to Belangkeceran) for Lake Tiga Sagi and Mount Kemiri. For the Bukit Lawang trek you will start near Kutacane.
The peak of Gunung Kemiri is at about 3300 m. Its possible to reach the top and come back in 5 days if you accept about 8 to 10 hours daily walking time. We recommend a more relaxing hike in 6 days. So if you short in time you can go up to the 2nd highest mountain of the Leuser Nationalpark. From the top its an excellent view over the nationalpark.
To trek to the lake Tiga Sagi (three corners) - also called Lake Marpunga - it takes normally 6 days (3 days to go up and 3 days to come back). The lake is best visited in the dry season. In this time animals go to the mountain lake for drinking. So there is a good chance to find many animals over there (e.g. elefants, deer, pigs, if you lucky the sumatran tiger is also thirsty). But keep in mind, that there is no guarantee to see all these animals - they don't wait for you. On the way you also look for orangutans, monkeys and other animals.
It is possible to trek between Kutacane and Bukit Lawang within 6 to 7 days. You will see many orangutans and gibbons. In this part of jungle elefants were seen also. The hike is not easy and you will have to cross rivers more than 20 times. An expirienced guide and 2 porters are nessesary. The starting point is 1 hour by bus south of Kutacane. It can be organized (for extra charge) that your lagguage is in Bukit Lawang, when you arrive over there. The best is you leave your main lagguage in Medan or Bukit Lawang.
The highest mountain in the Leuser National Park is the Gunung Leuser. The peak is 3381 meters high and to reach over there it will take between 6 and 7 days. So the return trip is 12 to 14 days. A guide and at least two porters are a must if 2 or more persons want to do this difficult hike. Food and drinks for 2 weeks must be carried. Clean water for drinking its available from the mountain streams.
Not many people do this trek, so pathes are overgrown. Be sure to hire an expirienced guide, who did this trek few times before. At the lower areas you can still find monkeys and sometimes elefants. More up the mountain only birds can be spotted. From the top its an amazing view over the nationalpark, at least in the morning. Later clouds are coming up. The starting point of this trip is about 3 hours by bus to the north, near the city of Belangkeceren.
In Ketambe there is no expirienced guide for going to Gunung Leuser. We can hire a guide from Belangkeceren, but now they want to much money, if they work for us. So we have no recommendation. If you really want to go, try to find a guide in Belangkeceren by yourself.
More impressions from a trek into the Leuser Nationalpark
Alas river near Ketambe
River Alas - Evening light
