We exited Bukit Lawang enroute to Lake Toba, having obliviously employed the services of a second road ninja on our Sumatran sojourn. Punctuated with surge and brake driving, Max Verstappen cornering and Tokyo drift, it was an eight-hour adrenalin rush that culminated in tantalizing views of Lake Toba from above, followed by a torturously dangerous …
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Gunung Leuser National Park is one of the few places in the world where you can observe critically endangered wild Sumatran orangutans in their natural habitat. Spanning 7,927 square kilometres and nestled within the Barisan Mountains, the park, named after the 3,119m Mount Leuser, protects a diverse array of ecosystems …
A small town in the Karo Highlands, North Sumatra, Berastagi is around 66k’s south of Medan and jump-off point to the strato sisters. Mount Sibayak and Mount Sinabung are both stratovolcanoes, cone-shaped, built up of alternate layers of lava and ash, characterised by steep sides and prone to explosive eruptions. Dormant for over 400 years, …
Perched prettily on the banks of the Bohorok River, Bukit Lawang is the poster child for village life. With imposing Gunung Leuser as a backdrop, a paved laneway its only thoroughfare, loquacious locals and wildlife drop-ins on the regular, it’s where Zen goes to holiday! Bukit (hill) Lawang (gate) is one of the gateway villages …