Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
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When you take this trek you are:
- Financially supporting local forest rangers, who are also trekking guides surviving on minimal government wages.
- Supporting local businesses who are putting their lives back together after a flood in November 2003.
- Educating yourself on the plight of the orangutan - maybe you will be moved to do something to help.
Financial support - Financially supporting local forest rangers, who are also trekking guides surviving on minimal government wages - Our guides work for minimal wages approx USD90.00 per month as forest rangers, predominantly working at the orangutan feeding platform as well as taking tourists across the river to the National park. They supplement this income by taking tourists trekking. When there are no tourists their income is sufficiently reduced.
The flood - The flood is believed to be caused by illegal logging killed 200 people in the village and left around 400 families homeless. The floods washed away 402 houses and heavily damaged 400 cottages, 402 kiosks, 8 bridges, tourist bungalows and one primary health center. By staying in the tourist bungalows at Bukit Lawang and taking part in tourist activities such as tube rafting, village tours or just eating at local restaurants you are helping to generate income for local villagers.
It is clear than the locals are now fully aware of the consequences of illegal logging and this activity is no longer tolerated in Bukit Lawang.
Supporting Sustainable low impact eco tourism - The bungalows at Bukit Lawang and Tangkahan are 90% family run, income derived from tourism goes straight back into the local community. Most businesses have only 3- 6 bungalows. Limited power and road access has made it difficult for "big" tourism to take hold here. There are limited employment opportunities here, young local men often work in restaurants and bungalows supported by tourism.
Low impact Activities - The activities at Bukit Lawang and Tangkahan are relatively low impact, trekking on defined trails only, following guidelines to ensure minimal impact to the Orangutans, tube rafting & swimming in the river.
Elephants used for trekking in Tangkahan work for a maximum of 2 hours per day and are well fed and washed daily in the river. These elephants were once used for illegal logging, it is important for their survival that they have employment. The owners of the elephants are newly committed to protect the rainforest and genuinely care for the elephants.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
