Bath and Wash Sumatran Elephants from Bukit Lawang
Bohorok, Indonesia
Trip Type: Eco Tours
Duration: 10 hours
Join this small group tour for a full-day elephant adventure of a life time where you can wash and bath with Sumatran elephants in the Kualsa Buluh River at Tangkahan. There are 7 elephants based at Tangkahan, who work together with the rangers to patrol the forest and keep illegal loggers and poachers out. Join these elephants for their afternoon bathing and help to support this local community initiative.
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Join this small group tour for a full-day elephant adventure of a life time where you can wash and bath with Sumatran elephants in the Kualsa Buluh River at Tangkahan. There are 7 elephants based at Tangkahan, who work together with the rangers to patrol the forest and keep illegal loggers and poachers out. Join these elephants for their afternoon bathing and help to support this local community initiative.At 9am depart from your guest house in Bukit Lawang when you are picked up or from the agreed meeting point to start your journey to Tangkahan in Gunung Leuser National Park. This National Park is one of the largest national parks in the world containing over 800,000 hectares of rain forest in this UNESCO World Heritage site.
The car trip to Tangkahan takes approximately 2.5 hours from Bukit Lawang on bumpy unsealed roads through villages and palm oil plantations. On arrival in Tangkahan at approximately 11:30am you have the opportunity to explore Tangkahan. You can go for a walk through the village and surrounds or wander through the river to enjoy the scenery, visit a hot spring in the river and explore the small waterfall.
At 1pm return to have lunch at a local guesthouse (at your own cost). At 3pm, head off to the Conservation Response Unit. Elephant bathing and washing starts at 3:30pm, where you will get to meet the elephants and wash and bath with these gentle giants in the Kualsa Buluh River. Elephant bathing finishes at 4:30pm and you will return by car to Bukit Lawang for the 2.5 hour journey.
At approximately 7pm your tour concludes on your return to the village of Bukit Lawang at your guest house or agreed drop off point.
Please bring a change of clothes and a towel as you will most probably get wet!
Tangkahan Eco Tourism area is a hidden paradise in Gunung Leuser National Park, in the Langkat district of North Sumatra. The peaceful jungle retreat is located along the Kualsa Buluh River next to the dense rainforest, just 2.5 hours far from Bukit Lawang. It is the perfect place to lay back from strong traveling and spend a memorable time with seven rehabilitated adult Sumatran elephants and a few small calves.
This tiny, remote village was built on the logging trade in the 1980s and 1990s. As the local people became aware of the damage caused by these activities, they collectively decided to stop illegal logging and transform the area into a functional, self-sustained ecotourism destination. In April 2001 the community formed the Tangkahan Tourist Institute (Lembaga Pariwisata Tangkahan - LPT) and fixed regulations prohibiting the exploitation of the surrounding rain forest. The Conservation Response Unit (CRU) was formed and this a team of Sumatran elephants and their mahouts help safeguard the national park to protect it from legal logging and hunting. Joining the elephants with their afternoon bathing will support this local conservation initiative.
The car trip to Tangkahan takes approximately 2.5 hours from Bukit Lawang on bumpy unsealed roads through villages and palm oil plantations. On arrival in Tangkahan at approximately 11:30am you have the opportunity to explore Tangkahan. You can go for a walk through the village and surrounds or wander through the river to enjoy the scenery, visit a hot spring in the river and explore the small waterfall.
At 1pm return to have lunch at a local guesthouse (at your own cost). At 3pm, head off to the Conservation Response Unit. Elephant bathing and washing starts at 3:30pm, where you will get to meet the elephants and wash and bath with these gentle giants in the Kualsa Buluh River. Elephant bathing finishes at 4:30pm and you will return by car to Bukit Lawang for the 2.5 hour journey.
At approximately 7pm your tour concludes on your return to the village of Bukit Lawang at your guest house or agreed drop off point.
Please bring a change of clothes and a towel as you will most probably get wet!
Tangkahan Eco Tourism area is a hidden paradise in Gunung Leuser National Park, in the Langkat district of North Sumatra. The peaceful jungle retreat is located along the Kualsa Buluh River next to the dense rainforest, just 2.5 hours far from Bukit Lawang. It is the perfect place to lay back from strong traveling and spend a memorable time with seven rehabilitated adult Sumatran elephants and a few small calves.
This tiny, remote village was built on the logging trade in the 1980s and 1990s. As the local people became aware of the damage caused by these activities, they collectively decided to stop illegal logging and transform the area into a functional, self-sustained ecotourism destination. In April 2001 the community formed the Tangkahan Tourist Institute (Lembaga Pariwisata Tangkahan - LPT) and fixed regulations prohibiting the exploitation of the surrounding rain forest. The Conservation Response Unit (CRU) was formed and this a team of Sumatran elephants and their mahouts help safeguard the national park to protect it from legal logging and hunting. Joining the elephants with their afternoon bathing will support this local conservation initiative.
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