Private Tour: Gunung Leuser National Park Trekking Tour with Orangutan Viewing from Medan

If you are thinking of booking this tour and expect a trip as per the description on the website then please do think again. The Orangutan Sanctuary including the rehabilitation centre and feeding area have been closed for nearly 18 months. Our guide told us this 20mins before we arrived at the entrance to the National Park after we had been driving in the car for nearly 3 hours. He then informed us that as the Orangutans are now semi wild there is no guarantee that we would see any. The Park Ranger then reiterated this when we met him before introducing us to our guide, and explained that revised tour information had been sent out to local operators over a year ago but many of them were still selling tours that are no longer operational. Had we known this we wouldn't have booked the trip or wasted our money and our time - this particular trip was the focal point of our holiday and we were extremely disappointed. When we looked at our local tour operators schedule it was as follows: 0730 Hotel pick up and drive to National Park 1100 Arrive at National Park the roads beyond Medan are worn out especially within the plantations 1200 Jungle Trek 1400 Return from Trek and lunch 1500 Depart National Park for Plantation visit 1600 Leave Plantations and return to Medan 1900 Arrive a Hotel This is very different to the tour described on this website. We had to negotiate with our local guide and the park ranger for a 4hr Trek and a picnic which took 45mins to organise. We finally left the Park Station at 1145 and with a great guide managed to see a few Orangutans. He also took us to the feeding area to show us it was derelict and on our walk back showed us the now closed Orangutan Sanctuary. We were lucky, some people aren't so fortunate. I would strongly recommend that Viator amend the description of this trip and be honest about the structure of the tour and what's included - otherwise other people will waste their money and time and feel like they've been deceived as well. We will await a response from Viator and a suitable conclusion that reflects our disappointment and we hope that the listed tour is perhaps amended or taken off this site.

Amazing day out. Would 100 recommend this trip. Guide was great, orangutans were great. Wow what an experience!!!