Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Sumatra: Orangutans, Berastagi and Lake Toba
8 days from Medan: two nights at Bukit Lawang for a guided walk in search of orangutans in Gunung Leuser, the Karo highlands and Mount Sibayak at Berastagi, and three nights on Samosir Island in Lake Toba.
8 days · Round trip from Medan · up to 12 guests
A white-handed gibbon climbing in the canopy of Gunung Leuser National Park Photo: Dennis Keller, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hylobates_lar,_Gunung_Leuser_National_Park_(35960748432).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Medan
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
One demanding day: about four hours of walking in Gunung Leuser on steep, muddy, root-covered paths in heat and humidity (day 3), with a two-hour easy option and a six-hour active option. Mount Sibayak is roughly 1.5 to 2 hours up and about 5 km return, with close to 400 m of climbing to a crater rim at a little over 2,000 m (the local guide confirms the route on the day), with a 6 am start; you can skip it and meet the group at the hot springs. Otherwise easy walking in villages and towns, and one 4.5-hour road day.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 4 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 295 (estimated price)
- Season
- Best May to September (drier months)
Highlights
Why this trip
- A guided walk in Gunung Leuser National Park in search of wild and semi-wild Sumatran orangutans, in small parties with licensed park guides
- Floating back to Bukit Lawang down the Bohorok river on inner tubes
- The Berastagi fruit market and the evening view of Sibayak and Sinabung from Gundaling Hill
- Steam vents on the crater rim of Mount Sibayak in the early morning, then a soak in the hot springs below
- Karo longhouses at Dokan and the Sipiso-piso waterfall falling into the north end of Lake Toba
- Three nights on Samosir Island: Batak stone chairs, a tor-tor dance and the hot springs at Pangururan
- A day on Lake Toba in a wooden boat chartered for the group, with a swim and King Sidabutar's tomb
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 295 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Medan
Kualanamu International Airport to central Medan, then the Kesawan heritage quarter
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Medan
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), about 40 km east of Medan, where a driver meets you for the transfer into the city, usually 45 minutes to an hour on the toll road. If you land by about 2 pm, join your See Sight Tours guide and the group at about 4 pm for a first walk as the heat goes out of the day. Medan is a trading city shaped by Malay sultans, Dutch tobacco planters and Chinese, Indian and Batak families, and it shows in a short circuit: Maimun Palace, the yellow residence of the Sultan of Deli, the black-domed Great Mosque (Masjid Raya Al-Mashun) nearby, and the shophouses and colonial offices of the Kesawan quarter, where the Tjong A Fie Mansion, the house of a Hakka merchant, stands on the main street.
Evening
Then we sit down to a welcome dinner and a briefing on the week ahead: the jungle walk, what the park asks of visitors around orangutans, and what to pack for the cool highlands.
Included
- Pick-up at Kualanamu International Airport (KNO)
- Late-afternoon walk with your guide: Maimun Palace, the Great Mosque and the Kesawan quarter
- Welcome dinner and briefing
Free time: Free until the late-afternoon walk
Activity: Land by about 2 pm to join the walk; later arrivals meet the group at the welcome dinner. The mosque may be closed to visitors at prayer times; dress covering shoulders and knees.
To Bukit Lawang and the jungle edge
Medan to Bukit Lawang on the Bohorok river
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bukit Lawang
- Drive about 3.5 h
Morning
After breakfast we leave Medan at about 8:30 am, before the worst of the city traffic, and drive north-west through Binjai and rubber and oil palm plantations to Bukit Lawang, about 90 km and three to three and a half hours; the last stretch is narrow and bumpy. Bukit Lawang is a village strung along the Bohorok river where it leaves the forest of Gunung Leuser National Park, and its guesthouses look straight across the water at the trees.
Afternoon
Lunch is by the river on arrival. In the afternoon a local guide walks the group through the village and along the forest edge, where Thomas's leaf monkeys and long-tailed macaques often come down to the trees by the path, and explains how the park works: the licensed guides, the rules around orangutans and why food never goes into the forest. The rest of the afternoon is free to swim in the river or sit on the balcony.
Evening
Dinner together in the village. Two nights here, so nobody repacks tomorrow.
Included
- Drive from Medan to Bukit Lawang with your guide
- Lunch by the river
- Afternoon village and forest-edge walk with a local guide
- Dinner in Bukit Lawang
Free time: Late afternoon free
Activity: Bukit Lawang has a simpler standard of lodging than the cities: rooms with private bathrooms and fans or air-conditioning, but not hotel facilities. The last 15 km of road is slow.
Orangutans in Gunung Leuser
Bukit Lawang into Gunung Leuser National Park on foot, then back down the Bohorok by tube
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bukit Lawang
- By boat
The day the trip is built around. We set off at about 8 am with licensed park guides, in small parties of no more than six guests per guide, and climb into the forest of Gunung Leuser National Park, part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra listed by UNESCO. The orangutans here are wild or the descendants of animals released by the rehabilitation centre that once ran in the village, and they move through the canopy where the fruit is. Sightings are likely but never certain. When we do meet one, we keep at least 10 metres away, keep our voices down, use no flash and never offer food, and the guides move the group on after a few minutes so animals are not crowded. Gibbons, leaf monkeys, hornbills and monitor lizards are part of the walk too.
Afternoon
Lunch is a packed meal of rice, fruit and tea in the forest. In the early afternoon we come out at the river and float back to the village on inner tubes lashed together, with life jackets on.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Guided walk in Gunung Leuser National Park with licensed park guides, park permit included
- Packed lunch in the forest
- River tubing back to Bukit Lawang, with life jackets
- Dinner in Bukit Lawang
Easier option: A shorter walk of about two hours on the lower trails with its own guide, back in the village for lunch.
More active option: A longer walk of six to seven hours deeper into the park with a guide, booked the evening before.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About four hours of walking on steep, muddy and root-covered paths in heat and humidity, with the tubing at the end. Wear closed shoes and long trousers. If you have a cold or a stomach bug, stay in the village: orangutans catch human illnesses. River tubing runs only when the water level is safe.
Up into the Karo highlands
Bukit Lawang to Berastagi via the Sembahe valley, then Gundaling Hill
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Berastagi
- Drive about 4.5 h
Morning
A slow morning in the jungle: breakfast on the river, time to pack, and an optional half hour on the bank at first light, when the forest is loudest. We leave at about 9:30 am.
Afternoon
The usual route runs back towards Binjai and then climbs south into the Karo highlands through the Sembahe valley, about 130 km and about four to four and a half hours, the longest drive of the trip, so we break it in the middle with a sit-down lunch on the way up and stop at a roadside fruit stall. As the road climbs the air cools; Berastagi sits at about 1,300 m among vegetable fields and orange orchards, a hill town the Dutch planters used as a retreat from Medan's heat.
Evening
We reach it mid-afternoon and walk through the fruit market, piled with passion fruit, mandarins and terong belanda, then drive up Gundaling Hill for the evening view of the volcanoes Sibayak and Sinabung. Dinner is on your own in town.
Included
- Drive from Bukit Lawang to Berastagi with a lunch stop
- Berastagi fruit market with your guide
- Gundaling Hill at the end of the day
Optional experiences
- Half an hour on the river bank at first light with your guide, before breakfast
Free time: Evening free in Berastagi
Activity: The drive of about 4 to 4.5 hours is the one day over our usual 4-hour limit, broken by lunch and a fruit stop. Berastagi is cool in the evenings; bring a warm layer.
Sibayak, hot springs and down to Lake Toba
Berastagi to Mount Sibayak and its hot springs, then Dokan, Sipiso-piso and the ferry to Samosir
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Lake Toba (Samosir)
- Drive about 3.5 h
An early start while the summit is clear.
Morning
We leave at about 6 am and drive half an hour up to the end of the road on Mount Sibayak, then walk up with a local guide on a track and rough steps for roughly 1.5 to 2 hours to the crater rim, at a little over 2,000 m, where steam hisses from yellow sulphur vents and on a clear morning you see Sinabung and the Karo plateau below.
Afternoon
Back at the road by about 10:30 am, we soak in the hot spring pools at the foot of the volcano and have lunch. The afternoon is a drive south, with two stops: Dokan, a Karo village with traditional longhouses on stilts under tall, curved roofs, and the viewpoint over Sipiso-piso, a waterfall dropping more than 100 m into a gorge at the north end of Lake Toba.
Evening
At Tigaras the car ferry crosses to Samosir Island in about an hour, and we reach Tuktuk, on the island's lake shore, by about 6 pm for three nights and dinner.
Included
- Mount Sibayak crater walk with a local guide
- Hot spring pools at the foot of Sibayak
- Lunch near the hot springs
- Dokan Karo village
- Sipiso-piso waterfall viewpoint
- Car ferry from Tigaras to Samosir Island
- Dinner in Tuktuk
Easier option: Skip the climb and sleep in; the vehicle brings you to the hot springs to meet the group for a soak and lunch at about 10:30 am.
Activity: The Sibayak walk is roughly 1.5 to 2 hours up and about 5 km return, with close to 400 m of climbing on loose stones and steps, slippery after rain. Bring long trousers and a warm layer for the summit. Ferry times are confirmed with your final itinerary.
Batak villages and Samosir's hot springs
Tuktuk to Ambarita, Simanindo and Pangururan, and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Lake Toba (Samosir)
- Drive about 2.5 h
Samosir is the heartland of the Toba Batak, and today we see it by road with a local Batak guide. First Ambarita, a few minutes from Tuktuk, where the stone chairs of the Siallagan clan stand under a banyan tree in front of carved and painted Batak houses; your guide explains how the village council met and judged here.
Morning
Then along the north shore to Simanindo, where the Huta Bolon museum occupies a former king's house and a troupe performs tor-tor dances with the gondang orchestra and the carved sigale-gale puppet, at set times in the late morning.
Afternoon
Lunch is a Batak meal in a village house. In the afternoon we cross the island's western neck at Pangururan to the hot springs at the foot of Pusuk Buhit, the mountain the Batak hold as their place of origin, for a soak in warm, mineral water with views over the lake.
Evening
Back in Tuktuk by about 4 pm, with the evening free; the cafés on the shore serve fish from the lake.
Included
- Ambarita stone chairs and Batak houses with a local guide
- Huta Bolon museum and Batak dance performance in Simanindo
- Batak lunch in a village house
- Pangururan hot springs
Free time: Evening free in Tuktuk
Activity: Simanindo's dance runs at set times; we plan the day around them and confirm with your final itinerary.
A day on the lake
By boat from Tuktuk along the Samosir shore to Tomok, then back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Lake Toba (Samosir)
- By boat
A day on Lake Toba itself, the crater lake of a supervolcano whose eruption about 74,000 years ago was one of the largest known, and today the biggest volcanic lake in the world, almost 100 km long. A wooden boat chartered for the group collects us from the Tuktuk jetty at about 9 am and follows the east shore of Samosir, below the cliffs of the old caldera wall. We land at Tomok to walk up a lane of stalls to the stone sarcophagus of King Sidabutar, carved with his face, centuries old and still visited by his descendants.
Afternoon
Then the boat pulls out for a swim in clear, cool water off a quiet stretch of shore, and lunch is on board or at a lakeside village. We are back in Tuktuk by about 2 pm. The afternoon is free: walk the shore road, rent a bicycle or a scooter, or sit by the water.
Evening
In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner by the lake.
Included
- Private wooden boat for the group on Lake Toba
- Tomok and the tomb of King Sidabutar
- Swim stop on the lake
- Lunch on the boat or by the lake
- Farewell dinner in Tuktuk
Easier option: Stay on the boat at Tomok; the walk to the tomb is about 300 m on a lane with a gentle slope.
Free time: Afternoon free in Tuktuk
Activity: Bring a swimsuit and sun protection; the lake is at about 900 m, so the water is cooler than the sea.
Back to Medan and home
Tuktuk by boat to Parapat, then by road to Kualanamu International Airport
- Breakfast and lunch
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
A last breakfast with the lake in front of you, then at about 8 am a boat crosses from the Tuktuk jetty to Parapat on the mainland in about 40 minutes, while the morning light is still on the caldera walls. From Parapat the road climbs out of the caldera and runs north-east through Pematangsiantar and tea and oil palm country, joining the toll road towards Medan for the second half.
Afternoon
It is about 170 km and three and a half to four hours, with a stop for coffee and a sit-down lunch on the way. We drop you at Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) in the early afternoon, or at a hotel in Medan if you are staying on; your guide checks your flight before saying goodbye.
Evening
Book a flight leaving from about 4:30 pm onwards, or stay a night in Medan and fly the next day; we can arrange the hotel.
Included
- Boat from Tuktuk to Parapat
- Drive to Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) or central Medan, with lunch on the way
Activity: Book a flight leaving from about 4:30 pm onwards. Road times on this route vary with traffic around Pematangsiantar.
- Medan1 night
- Bukit Lawang2 nights
- Berastagi1 night
- Lake Toba (Samosir)3 nights
- Medanend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: May to September is the drier part of the year around Lake Toba and the highlands, with clearer mornings on Sibayak and calmer boat days. The rainforest at Bukit Lawang gets rain in every month, usually as afternoon showers, and the trails are muddy all year. October to December is the wettest stretch. Orangutans can be seen year-round; where they are depends on which trees are fruiting.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want to see wild or semi-wild orangutans and are content with a likely, not certain, sighting
- People happy with one hot, muddy jungle walk and one early volcano start, each with an easier option
- Those curious about Batak and Karo culture as well as wildlife
- Solo travellers who want a small group and a guide from start to finish
Not for you if you want
- Anyone expecting hotel comfort in the jungle; Bukit Lawang has simple riverside lodges
- Travellers who want guaranteed close encounters or to hold or feed animals
- Those who cannot walk on steep, slippery ground for at least two hours
- A beach holiday: the swimming here is in a river and a cool lake
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Medan1 night
- Bukit Lawang2 nights
- Berastagi1 night
- Lake Toba (Samosir)3 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 1 in Medan, 2 in Bukit Lawang, 1 in Berastagi and 3 in Tuktuk on Samosir Island
- Central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard in Medan, Berastagi and Tuktuk, and riverside lodge rooms in Bukit Lawang, all with private bathrooms; we name each hotel when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up and drop-off at Kualanamu International Airport (KNO)
- A private air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group throughout
- The car ferry from Tigaras to Samosir Island
- A wooden boat chartered for the group on Lake Toba, and the boat from Tuktuk to Parapat
- Inner tubes and life jackets on the Bohorok river
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from day 1 to day 8
- Licensed park guides in Gunung Leuser National Park, no more than six guests per guide
- Local guides in Bukit Lawang, on Mount Sibayak and on Samosir Island
Activities
- Medan: Maimun Palace, the Great Mosque and the Kesawan quarter
- Bukit Lawang: village and forest-edge walk
- Gunung Leuser National Park: guided walk in search of orangutans, with the park permit
- River tubing on the Bohorok
- Berastagi: fruit market and Gundaling Hill
- Mount Sibayak crater walk and the hot springs below
- Dokan Karo village and the Sipiso-piso waterfall viewpoint
- Samosir: Ambarita stone chairs, the Huta Bolon museum and Batak dance in Simanindo, Pangururan hot springs
- Lake Toba boat day with Tomok and King Sidabutar's tomb
- All entrance fees for included sights
Meals
- 7 breakfasts
- 7 lunches, including a packed lunch in the forest and a Batak meal on Samosir
- 5 dinners: the welcome dinner, two in Bukit Lawang, the first night on Samosir and a farewell dinner by the lake
Not included
- International and domestic flights to and from Medan
- Indonesian visa on arrival or e-VOA
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed above
- Drinks
- Tips for guides, drivers, park guides and boat crews
- Optional activities, such as the longer jungle walk
- Personal expenses and laundry
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 295 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Seven nights' accommodation, 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 5 dinners, airport transfers, a private vehicle and driver, the Samosir ferry and a chartered boat day on Lake Toba, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, licensed park guides, river tubing, both hot springs, the Simanindo dance and every park permit and entrance fee in the day plan.
Will we definitely see orangutans at Bukit Lawang?
Not definitely. The orangutans in Gunung Leuser are wild or semi-wild and move with the fruiting trees, so sightings are likely on most days but never certain. The licensed guides know the forest well, and you will also see gibbons, leaf monkeys, macaques and birds. We never use feeding to draw animals in.
How do you make sure the orangutan walk is ethical?
We walk only with licensed park guides, in parties of no more than six guests per guide. We keep at least 10 metres from orangutans, never feed or touch them, use no flash and move on after a few minutes. Anyone with a cold stays out of the forest, and we do not visit captive animals.
Is river tubing on the Bohorok river safe?
Yes, when the river is at a normal level, and we only run it then. Local tubing crews steer the lashed tubes, everyone wears a life jacket, and the stretch back to the village is short. After heavy rain the river rises and the crews stop tubing; we then walk back to the village instead.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, so the group fits in one vehicle and one boat, and in the forest it splits into parties of no more than six with their own park guide.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the welcome dinner in Medan to the airport on the last day. Licensed park guides lead the jungle walk, and local guides join in Bukit Lawang, on Mount Sibayak and on Samosir Island. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderate. The jungle walk is about four hours on steep, muddy paths in heat, and Sibayak is roughly 1.5 to 2 hours up and about 5 km return. Both have an easier option: a two-hour walk on the lower trails, and meeting the group at the hot springs instead of climbing.
Is there a single supplement for solo travellers?
Yes. A room of your own is from CAD 295 more, shown before you book with no surprises later. Solo travellers join the same group, at the same tables and on the same terms as everyone else; if you would like to share a room, ask and we will tell you whether a match is possible.
When is the best time to visit Sumatra for orangutans and Lake Toba?
May to September, the drier months, when Sibayak's summit is more often clear and the lake is calm for the boat day. Orangutans can be seen all year, and the rainforest gets showers in every month. October to December is the wettest time.
Do I need a visa for Indonesia?
Most visitors, including Canadians, need a visa on arrival or an e-VOA bought online before travel, valid for 30 days, with a passport valid for at least six months. We send the current fee and steps with your booking confirmation.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose. If you would rather travel independently, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, drivers and guides for your dates.
How does booking work?
Choose a start date and send a request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken until then. Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes: the small group starts from CAD 1,745.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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