Bukit Lawang with Kids: 5-Day Family Itinerary

Seeing orangutans in the wild was one of the main reasons we planned our family trip to Indonesia, and spending five days in Bukit Lawang with kids turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of our time in Sumatra. Bukit Lawang is best known as a gateway to Gunung Leuser National Park, where families can head into the jungle in search of Sumatran orangutans and other wildlife.

Our time in Bukit Lawang was much more than just an orangutan trek. We spent two days trekking and camping in the jungle, went river tubing back to town, explored a bat cave, walked through the surrounding countryside and visited a local market. We also took a day trip to Tangkahan, where we had the chance to spend time with Sumatran elephants.

Travelling to Bukit Lawang with kids is best suited to families who are comfortable with a bit of adventure. The jungle trekking can be hot, humid and physically demanding, the overnight camp is very basic, and some of the activities are far from polished tourist experiences. For our family, that was a big part of what made the trip so special and why it earned a spot on our favourite places to visit in Asia with kids.

In this post, we share our complete 5-day Bukit Lawang family itinerary, including our orangutan jungle trek in Gunung Leuser National Park, what it was really like camping overnight with kids, our experience in Tangkahan, and the other activities we enjoyed around Bukit Lawang. We also share the practical details and honest observations we think other parents should know before planning a family trip here.

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Our 5 Day Itinerary in Bukit Lawang with Kids

Day 1: Sumatran Elephant Encounter in Tangkahan

The main reason we visited Bukit Lawang in Sumatra was to trek into the jungle to see orangutans, but when we found out they also have an elephant encounter, we eagerly signed up. On two previous family trips to Thailand, we’ve enjoyed elephant encounters with our kids, and couldn’t pass up a chance to see elephants in Bukit Lawang.

The Journey to Tangkahan

Tangkahan was once heavily affected by illegal logging, but in 2001 local residents began protecting the surrounding rainforest and developing ecotourism as an alternative livelihood. Tangkahan’s elephant conservation program has used trained Sumatran elephants and their mahouts for patrol and conservation work in and around Gunung Leuser National Park.

Our journey to Tangkahan began with a 2-hour drive on a slow, winding road through a never-ending stream of palm oil plantations. It’s a sobering sight to see how much jungle has been demolished to make way for palm oil. Our guides stopped along the plantation to explain how the palm oil is extracted and the uses for it. They also spoke of the detrimental effects it has had on their ecosystem.

We enjoyed passing through little villages along the way to see what rural life is like in Indonesia. Seeing cute little school kids in their uniforms was a real highlight.

Tangkahan Hot Springs

When we reached Tangkahan, we changed into our swimsuits and walked a short distance to a nearby river. Here, a natural hot spring flows from a small inlet into the river. We all swam across the river to enjoy the warm thermal waters. As it was a very hot day in Indonesia, most of us chose to spend the rest of our time in the cooler parts of the river, rather than the warm thermal spring water.

Jungle Walk with Sumatran Elephants

Afterwards we had a quick, but delicious lunch before beginning our elephant encounter. We left the restaurant and walked to another nearby river, where we rolled up our pants legs and crossed over.

We met up with our elephant guide and the mahouts here to begin our hour-long walk through the jungle with the Sumatran elephants. There were four elephants with us and it was a joy to share a walk through their natural habitat with them.

It was a slow, deliberate walk as the elephants stopped to spray themselves with mud, or grab a quick snack from a nearby tree. It was a little muddy in spots and it was amazing to see their giant footprints in the mud.

It was incredibly hot and humid in the jungle, so we were very happy to stop and enjoy a riverside break for some locally grown pineapple. We all ate our fill of the sweet, juicy pineapple and then the kids got to feed the leftovers to the elephants, outer shell and all.

We continued our walk through the jungle for a while longer. The hour went by so quickly as we were having so much fun.

Washing the Elephants

We stopped at a shallow spot in the river where the elephants got to go in and enjoy a good cooling splash. There’s something so joyful about watching elephants play together in the water. It reminded us of a special experience we had during a recent family trip to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya with kids.

Once the elephants had sufficiently cooled themselves off, it was time for us to get into the river to bathe them. The elephants lay on their sides near the shore, welcoming us to brush them with small scrub brushes.

This was such a fun family experience. Our kids were all laughs and smiles the whole time. The handler gave our kids treats to feed to the elephants while they brushed them. The elephants went crazy for these treats and would explore the air with their trunks looking for more.

After the bathing was over, we each got a bag filled with food for the elephants, primarily pumpkin and sugarcane. Again, this is such a fun activity for the whole family. The elephants love these special foods and Our kids eagerly fed the food to the elephants, either placing it in their trunks or directly into their mouths.

Overall, we were very happy with our family-friendly elephant experience in Sumatra. The elephants appeared very healthy and well-treated.

Day 2: Orangutan Jungle Trek and Camping

Seeing orangutans in the wild was the main reason for our family trip to Indonesia, so we were very excited for our second day in Sumatra with kids. Today we were going to begin our 2-day jungle trek to see orangutans.

Jungle Trek to see Orangutans

After a hearty breakfast at our ecolodge, we set out for the day at 8:45 AM. The trek began through our village of Bukit Lawang and we quickly crossed a wobbly bridge over the river.

We entered a natural area and our guide stopped to talk about various plants important to the region. Our wildlife sighting got off to a great start. In the first 30 minutes, we saw groups of Thomas’s leaf monkeys and macaque monkeys.

We walked through a small rubber plantation where our guide stopped to show us the process of extracting and harvesting the rubber. We saw hordes of monkeys in the area and a view of a volcano in the distance.

As we were walking past a resort, our guide stopped to show us a Sumatra pit viper sleeping on a tree. Although it was small and motionless, it was very scary to see nonetheless.

It wasn’t long into our journey when the first excitement happened. We followed our guide onto a side trail as there had been reports of orangutans in the area. Unfortunately, the orangutans had already moved on by the time we reached the area, although we saw plenty of Thomas’s leaf monkeys and macaques. Oh well, that’s how it goes with wildlife sometimes.

Gunung Leuser National Park

Shortly thereafter, we entered Gunung Leuser National Park, one of the last places on Earth where wild orangutans, tigers, elephants, and rhinos live together. The jungle here is incredibly dense and lush and there’s just roots and vines all over the place. We saw more Thomas’s leaf monkeys, which were becoming a pretty common sight on our walk so far.

Our First Orangutan Sightings

Then, very suddenly, we were surprised to see our very first orangutan right there swinging in the trees in front of us. I had wanted to see a orangutan my entire life, and the thrill of seeing it is hard to describe.

He was on the move though, so we got a good view of him for a short period of time, but then needed to follow him down the trail for further viewing. At this point, what we could see was mostly patches of orange hair through tree branches, but it was still exhilarating!

Dominant Male Orangutan

Our second sighting came in short order as we came across a large, dominant, male orangutan, just sitting in a tree, staring at us humans. He was an absolutely magnificent creature and the opportunity to sit and admire him in his natural setting was something I will never forget. He was content to just sit there and watch us. He was so peaceful yet so powerful.

This was the first time I got to try out my brand new Nikon Monarch M7 8×42 binoculars. I researched wildlife viewing binoculars extensively before our trip and I was thrilled with how well they worked. Using them was like watching an ultra high-definition movie on IMAX. It was incredible. I would highly recommend them to anyone going wildlife viewing.

We stayed with the male orangutan for a long time, but eventually we had to tear ourselves away. We walked a few minutes down the trail and then stopped for a fruit break. It was here that we noticed the massive ants which are very common in this part of the jungle. They are some of the biggest ants I’ve ever seen.

Challenging Jungle Hiking to see More Orangutans

We continued our hike into the jungle and began the first of what turned out to be many long uphill slogs. Along the way we acted on a tip from another group of hikers who had seen three orangutans in the nearby trees. They were up in the trees and quite hard to see without my binoculars, but eventually a younger orangutan came down to a level where we could more easily see it.

And not to be forgotten, we saw more groups of Thomas’s leaf monkeys, a very active beehive and a beautiful Rhinoceros hornbill bird with a striking red-and-yellow horn structure.

We had delicious fried rice with egg and vegetables for lunch, which helped power us for the difficult hiking ahead. The afternoon section of the hike featured several long uphill climbs through the hot, humid jungle. To be honest, the jungle hiking was much more difficult than we expected.

Although we didn’t see any more orangutans on the remainder of our hike, we did see some new wildlife, including some small flat turtles swimming in a stream and some playful gibbons swinging in the trees.

Riverside Jungle Camping

We were very happy to finally reach our riverside campground where we practically drank our weight in water, as we had sweated profusely on the hike. We quickly changed into our swimsuits and went for an incredibly refreshing swim in the river. It was exactly what we needed. We were very hot from the jungle hike and the cool river water helped bring our temperatures down quickly.

Mother and Baby Orangutan

Then there was some excitement around camp. Someone had spotted a mama orangutan and her baby just outside of our camp. We immediately ran over and incredibly, there she was… a beautiful mama orangutan and her tiny little baby.

The baby was very playful swinging on the branches and off her mom’s limbs. Seeing a baby orangutan was at the top of my wish list and I couldn’t believe it was happening on our first day!

Sleeping in our Jungle Tents

To be honest, sleeping in the tents at this riverside campground was challenging. The air was perfectly still with no breeze. Even at night the ambient temperature was hot and humid. We all lay in our tents on top of our sleeping bags dripping with sweat. We eventually got to sleep, but it was not a sound comfortable sleep. That said, it was part of the adventure and we were grateful for all the amazing orangutan sightings we had on our first day.

What Parents Should Know About the Orangutan Trek

As instructed, we wore long pants tucked into our socks and long-sleeved shirts for our orangutan jungle trek. Although we were happy to have this extra protection against mosquitos and leeches, we encountered few mosquitoes and no leeches.

We did our orangutan jungle trek in July during the dry season. Your experience in a future year may be different, but we were pleased at the low level of mosquitos and leeches during our trip.

For more practical advice, read our guide to hiking with kids and see the hiking gear for kids we recommend for family adventures.

Day 3: Jungle Camping and River Tubing

After a poor sleep, we went out to enjoy the cool air on the rocks by the river. We were grateful when our guides came over with a tray of hot coffee, hot tea and some biscuits. It was a very nice way to start the day.

When more of our group was awake, they served breakfast, which was a plate of fruit a three-layer sandwich with egg, tomato, cucumber, and cheese.

Then we had another wildlife sighting in our campsite. It wasn’t an orangutan this time, but it was a very large tortoise. It had scaly legs, unlike I’ve ever seen before. It almost looked prehistoric.

Swimming Under a Waterfall

After a nice, relaxing start to our day, our guides took us to a nearby waterfall. This involved walking upstream a little bit, and then our guides ferried us across the deeper part of the river on inner tubes.

The waterfall was small, but incredibly beautiful and the natural jungle setting was breathtaking. Beneath the waterfall was a deep swimming area, which was the perfect way to blow off some steam and have some fun after the hard hiking the day before. You could also stand underneath the waterfall and feel its power.

Swimming in the River

After spending some quality time playing and swimming at the waterfall, we walked back to the main river to a fun spot where we could swim into the current and then be carried downstream swiftly. It was very deep, so there was no risk of hitting your legs or arms against rocks underneath. It was just a fun thrill ride down the river, which we did over and over.

After spending the entire morning at the waterfall and the river, we were called back to camp for our lunch which consisted of Ramen noodles and a massive plate of fresh fruit.

River Tubing Back to Bukit Lawang

After lunch, we concluded our orangutan jungle trekking adventure by tubing down the river from our campsite back to our eco-lodge. Our guides had devised an ingenious design of four big inner tubes strapped together with a guide at the front and at the back, each with giant bamboo poles to keep us in the right parts of the river.

We got to sit in the larger inner tubes and simply enjoy the super-fun ride down the river. The rapids were gentle, but there were several rapids that caused us to bounce around quite a bit and get wet. It was nothing scary, but certainly thrilling.

As if the thrilling rapids weren’t enough, the towering jungle hills around us made for the perfect setting. It was a very memorable way to end our two-day orangutan trekking adventure in Bukit Lawang.

Day 4: Bukit Lawang Bat Cave Adventure

Overnight we had a powerful thunderstorm. The rain fell extremely hard and the thunder was very loud. Although it was a short storm it felt like a significant amount of rain fell.

Walking Through the Countryside

We began our day with a fun walk through the village of Bukit Lawang. Thankfully the rain had stopped and the roads were reasonably dry. It was a good chance to see the many market stalls and restaurants that we hadn’t seen since we arrived several days prior.

As we walked through the village, we could see many bridges over the river. The ones we crossed during our stay seemed solid enough, but many of them looked very rickety!

We crossed one of the sturdier bridges and began walking through the outskirts of town with many small houses and their gardens. Our luck ran out however, and the rain started again. It was gentle at first, but within minutes it was raining heavily. We ducked into the lobby of a large hotel in the area to wait for it to subside.

Once the rain quieted down, we resumed our walk to the bat cave. The sky was very loud with many impressive claps of thunder. Our guide would stop occasionally to discuss the medicinal uses of the plants growing near the trail.

We passed a large rock with a small cave. Our guide told us a sun bear lives in the cave, but is a nocturnal animal. It would have been amazing to see a sun bear in addition to the orangutans, but it was not meant to be.

As we began our final approach to the bat cave, our guide stopped to warn us about leeches. With the rain, it had awakened them and they were now active along the trail. Thankfully, we had had our long pants tucked into our long socks, reducing the odds of a leech bite. Even with this extra layer of protection, Celine got bitten by one.

Exploring the Bukit Lawang Bat Cave

About 90 minutes after departing our eco lodge, we arrived at the gates for the bat cave. We hadn’t brought head lamps from home, so we were glad they had some extras for us to use.

The trail to the entrance of the bat cave wasn’t an easy one, especially given the rain. It was a muddy scramble up and over rocks and ladders. It was a lot of fun, especially for the kids, but we needed to watch our steps.

The bat cave itself was one of the most beautiful and fun caves we’ve visited with our kids. This is no pampered tourist cave and there are no easy boardwalks to follow. This is a purely natural cave which requires a good level of dexterity and balance to navigate.

During our visit to the bat cave, we visited many different chambers. Some were fully enclosed, while others were half open to the jungle. The fully enclosed ones were completely dark when you shut off your torches, while the ones open to the jungle were especially beautiful and exotic looking.

True to its name, the cave was home to thousands of bats. Most were hanging from the ceiling high above, while some flew around the cave. They are cute little things if you take a close look.

In addition to the bats, we saw some other cave dwellers. We were excited to see some swallows nesting in little holes in the cave wall. We were less excited to see some large spiders and creepy looking cave crickets.

All told, the bat cave was a much more fun and exciting adventure than we were expecting. We loved the adventure and the chance to see a different side of Sumatran nature.

Day 5: Bukit Lawang Friday Market and Village Tour

On our last morning in Bukit Lawang we hopped in a couple of motorcycle tuk tuks to go to the nearby village for their weekly market. Held once a week on Friday, we were lucky enough to get to experience it.

Before we hit the market, we stopped at a local elementary school. It must have been recess as all of the cute school kids were out in the school field. They were adorable in their little school uniforms. Many of them came up to say hello and give us a high five. A great way to start our day!

After our school visit, we continued on to the local market. This wasn’t a tourist market. It was a genuine local market. It was amazing to see the vendors with their goods laid out for purchase. Much of what was on display was local produce, with a wide variety of fruits, veggies and colourful chili peppers. The rest was fresh meat, fish, clothing, housewares and more.

After a thorough tour of the market, we hopped back into our tuk tuks to continue our village tour. Next stop was the rice fields where we learned more about this important local crop.

To be honest, we found the next few stops a little dull. We started with a visit to a tofu manufacturing facility, followed by a visit to a palm leaf roofing maker. We then visited a tempeh manufacturer, where soybeans are fermented to make another staple Indonesian soy food.

The tour got back on track with our final stop at a brown sugar manufacturer. We saw the trees which provided the sap, the sap extraction process, and the final steps to make the sugar. Tasting the final product was the best part! It had a caramel-y, burnt sugar taste. It was very good!

The best part of the village tour was the local kids, who came running out to meet our tuk tuks. They all waved and said “hello” in English with big smiles on their faces. Some of the more adventurous kids came up for big-fives. It was fun to share in their excitement as we met each other.

Is Bukit Lawang Worth Visiting with Kids?

For our family, Bukit Lawang was one of the most memorable stops on our family trip to Indonesia. Seeing orangutans in Gunung Leuser National Park was the main reason we came, but our time in Bukit Lawang with kids ended up being about so much more, from jungle camping and river tubing to exploring a bat cave and spending time in the surrounding countryside.

We would recommend Bukit Lawang to families who enjoy wildlife, hiking and more adventurous travel. The orangutan jungle trek can be hot and tiring, the overnight camp is very basic, and this is not the kind of destination where everything is polished or easy. That said, those challenges were a big part of what made the experience feel so special for us.

If your kids are comfortable with active days, simple accommodations and trying something a little outside the usual family vacation, Bukit Lawang is well worth considering. It gave us some of our favourite wildlife experiences in Sumatra and remains one of the places we still talk about from our trip.

Booking a Bukit Lawang Orangutan Tour

We visited Bukit Lawang as part of the Jungle Meets Beach tour with Sumatra EcoTravel, a 10-day itinerary combining several days around Bukit Lawang with time on Pulau Weh. Our package included the two-day orangutan jungle trek and overnight camp, river tubing back to Bukit Lawang, the bat cave and local village tour, along with transportation and accommodations for much of the trip.

We were very happy with our experience with Sumatra EcoTravel and especially liked having the details organized for us. That said, you certainly don’t need to book a 10-day Sumatra tour to experience Bukit Lawang. If you have less time, or you are arranging the rest of your Indonesia itinerary independently, there are plenty of shorter Bukit Lawang orangutan tours available.

GetYourGuide has a good selection of Bukit Lawang jungle treks, ranging from single-day orangutan tours to two and three-day trips with overnight jungle camping. A one-day trek can be a great option for families who want to see the rainforest and look for orangutans without committing to a night in a very basic jungle camp. There are also two-day options that are closer to the experience we had, with jungle trekking, camping and a return to Bukit Lawang by river.

For families, I recommend looking carefully at the length of the trek, whether transportation from Medan is included, whether the tour involves overnight camping, and the minimum age or fitness requirements before booking. Our two-day trek was an incredible experience, but the jungle hiking was hot, steep and tiring at times, and the overnight camp was very basic. A shorter Bukit Lawang jungle trek may work better if your kids are younger or aren’t used to long hiking days.

Follow Along on our Indonesian Family Holiday

Prior to coming to Bukit Lawang with our kids, we spent the first two days in Singapore with kids. Our flight from Canada was into Singapore and we chose to spend a few days exploring this world-class city as a family.

After an exciting five days of elephants and orangutans in Bukit Lawang, we flew north to the tropical island of Pulau Weh. During our stay in Pulau Weh with kids, we enjoyed some amazing natural experiences, such as visiting an active geothermal area, dolphin watching and some of the best snorkeling we’ve ever done.

From Palau Weh, we spent five days in Bali with kids, enjoying the many beautiful temples and natural wonders of the island. We ended our family trip to Indonesia with an incredible visit to Borneo with kids, where we lived on a river boat in search of more orangutans!