My first encounter with an orangutan was when we saw a “domesticated” one named Jenny in Ark of Avilon Zoo in Manila. It was nice to see her because she seems to be playfully innocent and wants to interact with people.
But after visiting the Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan Province of Indonesia in the island of Borneo, I learned that these animals are born to be wild. We need to protect them from becoming extinct because of the destruction of their natural habitat, and from poachers who sell them to zoos around the world.
Here’s our awesome experience in Tanjung Puting National Park which has the largest wild population of Orangutans in the World:
Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:
- KOMODO DRAGON’S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
- MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
- MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
- YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food 🙂
- BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
- BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
- ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
- ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute’s Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)
Going to Tanjung Puting, National Park, Kalimantan Indonesia Province, Borneo
You can fly from Jakarta (CGK) to Pangkalan Bun (PKN) via Kalstar or Trigana Air.
(For more info, check out Flights to Pangkalun Bun )
From the airport it is a 30- minute drive to Kumai Port, the jump- off point to board a klotok.
(Tip: It’s better to book with an organized tour and make sure that airport transfers are included.)
The Klotok is a 2-level live-aboard boat, named after the sound it makes: “klok tok tok tok”
For an overnight stay on a medium klotok, good for 4-5 persons: here are prices (as of October 2012) to give you an idea:
2 people = Rp 1.9 to 2.2M per pax
3 people = Rp 1.4-1.6M per pax
4 people = Rp 1.3-1.5M per pax
(Tip : Avoid the high season from June to August, otherwise you have to book 1-2 months in advance)
We navigated through the waters of the Skonyer River “snaking” inside the 415,040 hectares of Tanjung Puting National Park.Lunch onboard the Klotok
After a one-hour cruise, we stopped for lunch with home-cooked Indonesian food 🙂
Lunch usually consists of fresh seafoods (crabs, fish, prawns), vegetables, tempe, and…
Freshly- cooked sambal concocted from Tomato, Chili, and Shrimp head paste 🙂 My favorite!
Throughout our trip in Indonesia, our food onboard the klotok was consistently voted one of the best meals on the trip. Thanks to home-cooking-oriented cooks onboard our boat!
After every meal, I usually look forward to a serving of freshly brewed Indonesian Java coffee with evaporated milk. The 3-in-1 White Coffee pack is good too, but a little bit too sweet for my taste.
Tree Planting @ Pesalat Village
After lunch, you can visit the Pesalat Village to plant some trees to contribute to the preservation of the forests in Borneo. (Photo above shows a cut-down Iron Wood Tree)
One of the biggest problems in Borneo is that natural forests are being converted into Palm Plantation to produce Palm Oil.
Palm Oil is an edible vegetable oil used for consumer goods and a key component in Biofuel production. Indonesia and Malaysia are the biggest exporters of Palm Oil in the world.
Because of its huge demand, forests are burned to the ground to give way to Palm Trees. The forest fires cause the smoky haze problem in Borneo.
I planted a tree naming it, “Ang Mahiwagang Halaman” dedicated to my boys.
CAMP 1: Pondok Tanggui (3PM Feeding Time)
We arrived at 3PM just in time for the afternoon feeding of the Orangutans.
We hiked on flat land for 20 minutes to reach the designated feeding grounds.
It was a bit surreal seeing the orangutans in the wild for the first time.
Orangutans are intelligent and act like humans. They eat leaves and tropical fruits like Banana, Mango and Wild Durian.
You have to observe quietly and keep a safe distance from the Orangutans.
They are photogenic, love to mimic people and feel at home posing for the camera.
They look really cute upclose trying to eat as many bananas as possible.
After an hour, we headed back to the boat and departed for Camp 2…
It takes 2 hours to go from Camp 1 to Camp 2, and along the way you’ll see the magnificent sunset in the forest of Borneo.
Admittedly, part of the thrill of the Tanjung Puting National Park experience is going outside of your comfort zone and spending the night in the wild forest of Borneo – considered as the Amazon of Asia.
Dinner in the Rain Forests of Borneo
We decided to go directly to the Camp 2 dock and had our dinner under the stars.
The best part of the meal was the Chicken Sate and a special serving of grilled river prawns.
Our night ended with us sleeping under the nets with a simple cushion bed onboard the klotok. Evenings are cool in the forest, and conducive for late- night conversations.
(Note: Alcohol and Pork are not allowed as a respect to the Muslim traditions)
Day 2: ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute’s Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)
Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:
- KOMODO DRAGON’S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
- MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
- MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
- YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food 🙂
- BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
- BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
- ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
- ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute’s Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)
For more info about Tanjung Puting National Park, visit the official website: Indonesia.Travel
- Tanjung Puting National Park : Re-introducing Orang Utans to the Wild
- Camp Leakey: Renowned Orangutan Research and Rehabilition Center
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If you have tips on awesome food and travel destinations, please email me at anton@diaz.ph.
Full Disclosure: I wrote this blog post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I have no business relationship with any company mentioned in this post or any organization promoting it. As a policy, I don’t accept advertising from food and travel places we feature in the blog. Our trip was courtesy of Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia to promote travel to Indonesia.
P.S. Get a chance to win an all expense paid trip to the Komodo National Park in Indonesia by joining the Wonderful Indonesia International Quiz!
” Experience an adventure into the utimate exotic paradise and witness the legendary Komodo Dragon “The quiz is open for international participants and do not apply for Indonesia. The gameplay of the quiz is quite simple, winners of this quiz is based on the most points scored by participants.” Join the Quiz now: Wonderful Indonesia Quiz
P.P.S. Rimba Lodge Option
Most people would opt to sleep overnight in the Klotok but you have the option to stay in the Rimba Lodge resort. (about Rp 1,350,000 or $150/night)
The accommodation is decent with a clean restroom and situated inside the wild forests.
Tip: Rimba Lodge has a gift shop where you can buy your Orangutan-inspired shirts and souvenirs.
Amazing trip 🙂
This a nice trip to Indonesia. I love to travel all the time but I need time and money. Thanks for sharing these pictures.