Welcome to responsible travel in North Sumatra
Respect The Jungle
Trekking in the Gunung Leuser National Park is a magical experience but only possible with a permit and with an official certified guide.
Rainforests are incredibly important and delicate ecosystems that animals, local communities and humans depend on.
It is therefore important that visitors prevent a negative impact when trekking in the jungle and help to preserve the critically endangered species within it.
Guidelines for the Jungle
"Take nothing but memories and leave only footprints"
These guidelines are designed to help you understand and ensure you enjoy your trek in an environmentally and respectful way!
Firstly, never go to the jungle if you are sick or have diarrhoea as you can leave and transmit the virus or bacteria!
* Never feed Orangutans or any other wildlife
* Never touch any animal
* Observe from a distance, always keep about 10 meters distance
* Do not call or lure Orangutans or any primate from the tree
* Do not make sudden loud noises or movement
* Do not open your rucksack in front of any animal
* Leave rocks, stones, plants as you see them
* Do not take any leaves, plants, berries or seeds out of the jungle
* Always stay on the track, follow your guide and never wander off alone
* Never litter in the jungle
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Our Eco-tourism Responsibility
Sumatra EcoVentures is committed to ethical and responsible trekking and outdoor activities in North Sumatra. Our aim is to help conserve the critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan and the other wildlife living in the rainforests here. We want our guests to be able to keep coming back to enjoy observing the amazing nature and culture in and around Bukit Lawang. We do this by:
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* Never take more than 6 guests in a group into the jungle and no more than 3 guests to the delicate forests around Landak River.
* By offering Eco-treks in different locations, we are taking pressure off the amount of tourists entering the jungle in Bukit Lawang.
* We support and offer treks/tour in the Eco-tourism destination in Tangkahan.
* We create employment for local people in these different locations.
* We ensure that all our guides follow the jungle guidelines
* A small percentage of our jungle trek profits will go towards buying native trees to be given to local landowners bordering the fragmented forests around Landak River to help regrow valuable tree coridors.
* As a new company we aim to establish collaborations with local organisations
Our Responsibility whilst Trekking
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* We check that are guests are healthy and are not sick before entering the jungle
* Before each trek, our guides will go through the Do's and Don'ts whilst in the jungle, ensuring that everyone understands
* Our guides NEVER feed Orangutans and they try to avoid the aggressive 'Mina'
* Our guides will never stay more than 30 minutes with one Orangutan, especially if there is another group in the area. We do not want to cause any stress to the Orangutans
* We always try to keep a 10m distance from the ex-captive Orangutans as well as other wildlife
* We always bring all our rubbish and fruit peelings out of the jungle and actively pick up rubbish