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Gunung Leuser National Park
is one of the biggest national parks in Indonesia (950,000 hectare). Actually,
it's a collection of various nature reserves and forests: Nature Reserve
Gunung Leuser, Nature Reserve Kappi, Nature Reserve Kluet, Sikundur Langkat
Wildlife Reserve, Ketambe Research Station, Singkil Barat and Dolok Sembilin.
Most parts of the national park lie in the region Aceh Tenggara (SE Aceh).
Other parts are situated in the region east Aceh, south Aceh, and Langkat (a
part of North Sumatra).
The Gunung Leuser National Park comprises more than 100 kilometres of the
Bukit Barisan Mountains. Because of that, the park consists of steep, almost
inaccessible mountainous terrain.The altitude ranges from 0 metre, in Kluet
(South Aceh), to 3,381 metre, on top of the Gunung Leuser (Southeast Aceh).
The Alas river cuts the park into an eastern and western half.
Apart from mountains you find several other ecosystems: beach forest, swamp
areas, lowland rainforest, alpine and mountain forest.
In Bohorok-Bukit Lawang is the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Station and in
Ketambe stands the Ketambe research station. The research station is not open
to tourists.
Access
The park is most easily attainable from Medan. From Medan, buses go to
Kutacane and Bohorok-Bukit Lawang.
The 233 km ride from Medan to Kutacane goes through Brastagi and Kabanjahe and
takes 5-6 hours. There also regular and faster minibus services between Medan
and Kutacane. You find the minibuses at the Pinang Baris bus terminal in Medan.
From Kutacane (mini)buses serve the Lawe Gurah Tourist Park, about 43 km from
Kutacane. From there you can enter the Gunung Leuser National Park. Kutacane
is not a nice place to stay. The best you can do is travelling to Ketambe.
The other way to get to the Gunung Leuser National Park is to take a bus to
the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Bohorok-Bukit Lawang.
These buses leave from Pinang Baris bus terminal in Medan several times a day
and will take you to Bukit Lawang in 3 hours.
You can also make the trip by taking a bus to Binjai, 22 km from Medan, and
from there a bus to Bukit Lawang. These buses leave more frequently from the
same bus terminal in Medan.
From the south you can reach Bohorok-Bukit Lawang with a bus from Brastagi.
In Bukit-Lawang you can enter the park through the Orang Utan Rehabilitation
Centre.
For a visit to the Gunung Leuser National Park you need a PHPA permit.
You get a permit from the PHPA offices in Medan, Tanah Merah (2 km north of
Kutacane) and Bukit Lawang. You need two copies of your passport or 2 passport
photo's and a copy of your visum stamp.
Permits are also available from Wisma Rindu Alam in Kutacane and Pondok Wisata
or Wisma Gurah (PHPA) in Ketambe.
Three other possibilities to access the Gunung Leuser National Park do exist
but are rarely used. One is in Kadang on the west coast, the second is
Sekundur, 100 km east of Medan and the third is Takengon in Aceh.
Accomodation
Kutacane Wisma Rindu Alam Ketambe Pondok Wisata Ketambe Wisma Sadar Wisata
Wisma Cinta Alam Lawe Gurah Wisma Gurah (PHPA) Gurah Bungalow (PHPA)
Bohorok-Bukit Lawang Wisma Bukit Lawang Cottages Wisma Leuser Sibayak PHPA
Guesthouse several losmen.
Addresses
Balai Konservation Sumber Daya Alam I, Jalan Sisingamangaraja Km. 5,5, Medan
PHPA Bukit Lawang Taman Nasional Gunung Leuser, Tanah Merah Kutacane, Aceh
Tenggara; Direktorat Bina Kawasan Pelestarian Alam, Subdit Taman Nasional dan
Hutan Wisata, Jalan Ir. H. Juanda 15, Bogor .
Trekking
You find guides in almost any losmen and at the PHPA offices. Organized
trekkings will cost you about 50,000 Rp pro person, a day. This will include
food, permits and camping gear.
Kutacane climbing Gunung Leuser 14 days retour climbing Gunung Kemiri 6 days
retour climbing Gunung Bendahara 6 days retour climbing Gunung Simpali 7 days
retour Kutacane-Bukit Lawang 6 days hot springs Gurah area 7 hours retour
Bukit Lawang Bukit Lawang-Brastagi 3 days Bukit Lawang-Brastagi 5 days (an
other route)
Flora
Because of the great differences in altitude and the diversity in soil, the
Gunung Leuser National Park has an enormous wealth of plant species. About
8,500 different species grow in the beach, swamp, lowland, mountain and alpine
woods of the park.
In the beach and swamp forest you find Casuarina trees (Casuarina sp.), Wild
Nutmeq (Myristica sp.), Campfor or Kapur baros (Drybalancops aromatica),
Nibung palms, Rotan (Calamus sp.), Mangrove trees or Api-api (Avicennia sp.)
and Pandan (Pandanus sp.). Along the rivers grows Pometia pinnata.
In the lowland forest, trees like Meranti (Shorea sp.), Keruing (Dipterocarpus
sp.), Camfor and Damar (Hopea sp.) and several wild fruit trees like Durian (Durio
zibethinus), Mango or Mangga (Mangifera indica), Wild Banana, citrus fruit and
wild jack fruit grow in abundance.
In the mountain and and alpine woods, several species of moss and wild
flowers: Gentians, Primula's, Strawberry, herbs, and wild orchids are found.
The Rafflesia Arnoldi or Bunga padma (Rafflesia sp.) grows here also. |
