Bukit Lawang

Bukit Lawang is a small village in North Sumatra and is famous for the largest animal sanctuary of Sumatra Orang-Utan (around 5,000 Orang-Utans occupy the area), and also the main access point to the Gunung Leuser National Park.

Bukit Lawang rehabilitation center for Orang-Utans was founded in 1973. The purpose of the centre is to preserve the decreasing number of Orang-Utan population by rehabilitating Orang-Utans from captivity.

Directions & Map

To explore the country lane of Bukit Lawang or North Sumatra, we can assist with car rental.

Destination Highlights
Whether you need to know local public holidays or seasonal highlights, hopefully you will find the outlined facts below useful tools for your travel planning.

Please feel free to contact us if we can assist you further.

Travel Information
At Gunung Leuser National Park you find an enormous wealth of different plant species because of the great differences in altitude and the diversity in soil furthermore you find about 700 different species of animals who live in the Gunung Leuser National Park.

You can enter the Gunung Leuser National Park through the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and visit the Orang-Utan feeding platform.

A very special adventure of a lifetime is the Elephant Jungle Patrol. From Bukit Lawang by motorbike or car to Tangkahan to the Elephant Conservation Centre. You get the chance to join the rangers on their patrol keeping illegal loggers away. Four days are spent with your own wild born elephant trekking through the rainforest from Tangkahan to Bukit Lawang.

The province of North Sumatra lies just below the provice of Aceh on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra provinces on the southeast. The province stretches across the island of Sumatra between the Indian Ocean and the Strait Malacca. It has an area of 70787 square kilometre and the capital is Medan.

The mountains in the south and west are dominated by Lake Toba, formed from the caldera of an ancient volcano. Danau Toba - as the lake is called in indonesian - is the largest volcanic lake in the world. Several islands in the Indian Ocean are part of North Sumatra, most notably Nias which is famous as a surfing destination and its sea turtels.

Public holidays

2009
1 Jan New Year's Day
26 Jan Chinese New Year
9 Mar Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet)
26 Mar Nyepi (Hindu New Year)
10 Apr Good Friday
9 May Waisak Day (Buddha's Birthday)
21 May Ascension
17 Aug Indonesian Independence Day
20 Jul Lailat al Miraj (Ascension of the Prophet)
21 Sep Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
28 Nov Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)
18 Dec Islamic New Year
25/26 Dec Christmas Day/Boxing Day

2010
1 Jan New Year's Day
14 Feb Chinese New Year
26 Feb Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet)
16 Mar Nyepi (Hindu New Year)
2 Apr Good Friday
28 Apr Waisak Day (Buddha's Birthday)
13 May Ascension
17 Aug Indonesian Independence Day
9 Jul Lailat al Miraj (Ascension of the Prophet)
11 Sep Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
17 Nov Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)
7 Dec Islamic New Year
25/26 Dec Christmas Day/Boxing Day

Seasonal highlights

(outstanding programme)

Climate
The climate in Bukit Lawang is always humid, tropical and hot. During the rain season, October to March, it rains daily, towards the late afternoon and early evening. The intensity of the rain varies.