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indonesia
I
n this Indonesian jungle, the sun is obscured. It pokes out between layers of colossal leaves on towering trees.
It flickers as the branches move, weighed down by the arms of the “jungle men” — orangutans — which are ambling across the forest sky and moving easily between the boughs. They’re safe in this rare protected region of the Sumatran forest. I start my journey into the forest on the
road from Sumatra’s biggest city, Medan. In provincial traffic on the route north, a young child rattles around on the back of a cow cart in front of me. She stares at us with little interest, focusing instead on the lychees she’s gorging on. Juice sticks to her grinning cheeks as her cart bounces along the semi-paved road. One of the few other travelers winding along the green walls of the rainforest, she’s clearly used to both foreign strangers and cattle carts. Just up ahead is one of the island’s most visited regions — the gateway to the jungle trails. Bukit Lawang is northern Sumatra’s
popular jungle access point. It’s a small town, unassuming and better prepared for tourists than some of its island neighbors.
24 • postcards
While Sumatra is one of the largest islands on Earth, it’s relatively sparsely populated. The roads up to Bukit Lawang from the Medan are good; well maintained to support the supply routes for the palm oil that’s currently ravaging the country’s rainforests. On the ride up we see the barren stretches of burned land, the spoiled earth. It’s a stark contrast, then, upon reaching the rainforest’s green density and watching the monkeys leap from the tops of the trees to the roof of my eco-lodge cabin. I spend three days in total walking in the
jungles of northern Sumatra. With its easy trails and the constant accompaniment of a guide, the route is straightforward. South of Bukit Lawang, it’s possible to make treks that last four or five days; arduous but very rewarding. Here, my guide swears it’s possible to find small jungle elephants and one of the most critically endangered species on Earth: the Sumatran tiger. But if you want to meet the orangutans and experience the rainforest, your focus should be the trails leading from Bukit Lawang. Early in the morning, mist hangs below the forest’s green boughs. Its inhabitants
Previous pages: Sumatran orangutan climbing a tree in Gunung Leuser National Park, northern Sumatra
Clockwise from top: Palm oil deforestation on the edge of the rainforest; Sumatran tiger; treading a jungle path
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