Orangutans

Click Here For Part I : Orangutan Rehabilitation Centres

There are more of these places for wild oranguatans than of "rehabilitants", but since seeing the apes in the wild often involves more inconvenience and results in poorer photos, far fewer tourists visit them. Some also argue that wild orangutans should be left alone by tourists, though this is naively overlooking the fact the loggers destroying their habitat pose a far greater danger to wild orangutans than do tourists peeking at them from below.

KINABATANGAN RIVER (Sabah, Malaysian Borneo)
Perhaps the most popular option, where wild orangutans are the easiest to see. Sadly the reason for this is that there is so little forest left along the river that they just can't hide! That said, a range of other wildlife, notably crocodiles, proboscys monkeys and elephants are easy to see here too.

The main tourist area is near the village of Sukau, where there are several upmarket lodges catering to tour-groups. This is where wildlife is easiest to see.
While almost everyone goes to expensive lodges here on a tour, Sukau can in fact be reached by public transport (5 RM) from a turn-off at the Sandakan - Lahad Datu road, and there are 2 cheaper accomodation options in/near the village (a very basic 10 RM Rest House that can be booked via Karim's Coffee Shop, and the scenically located 20 RM Sukau B&B outside the village by the riverside). Boat rental can also be arranged independently in Sukau(from ca. 40 RM/ride - not per person!). Most budget travellers visit "Jungle Camps" further up the river, booked through guest houses near Sepilok. They are very basic but away from the crowds (though Uncle Tan's can get crowded - go to the Jungle Sanctuary if that bothers you). However, wildlife is less plentiful than near Sukau, and if you only want to stay a day or two, their packages (from 150 RM for a 1 night stay with transport, food, accomodation and boat-rides, additional nights only 20 RM) also work out more expensive than going to Sukau independently(especially for 2 or more people).

DANUM VALLEY (Sabah, Malaysian Borneo)
Probably the very best place to see wild orangutans in pristine habitat (though the forest outside Danum is logged). Apart from orangutans, it has the complete range of Bornean wildlife and great trail-systems. It is relatively little visited as guidebooks tend to describe only the very expensive option there. That is Borneo Rainforest Lodge, costing ca.150 USD/day. Fortunately, it is also possible to stay at the nearby Danum Valley Field Centre, where costs are more reasonable (from 20 RM/day for "camping" - no tent needed, and you can cook your own meals to bypass the overpriced restaurant). Both the Rainforest Lodge and the Field Centre have their offices in the Fajar Centre area in the nearby town of Lahad Datu, where both accomodation and transport to either can be booked.

BATANG AI NATIONAL PARK (Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo)
The only place to see wild orangutans in Sarawak, it is a very underrated and undervisited park indeed, thanks to the fact the info on it in guidebooks like LP is misleadingly wrong, and the few upmarket tour-operators going there prefer to keep it their own domain, too. Even Sarawak Tourism Board could tell us no useful information about visiting, so we had to find out the hard way!

You can reach the park by taking a bus from Kuching to Sri Aman or Lubuk Antu, then another one to the Batang Ai Reservoir. From where the bus stops, boats can be hired (ca.200RM) for the very scenic ride across the reservoir (passing several islands, one of which has the expensive Batang Ai Resort, still well outside the park)and upriver to the park entrance at Nanga Lubang Buaya, where there is a ranger post and 2 Iban longhouses. One of the longhouses has a guesthouse for drop-in tourists for just 15 RM, but remember to bring in all your food as there is none available at this very remote place! There are 4 trails in the park, but to attempt the 2 longer ones you would probably need to hire a ranger-guide (officially costing 11 RM/hour). Seeing orangutans here is more difficult - plan on staying several days. However even just the remote, unspoilt atmosphere and the gorgeous scenery alone would make the trip worthwhile!

GUNUNG PALUNG NP (West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
Just across the border from touristy Sarawak this place is practically unknown to tourists and guidebooks alike. In fact, apart from Danum it is probably the best park in Borneo! The trail-system and and the density of wildlife seen here is unparalelled. Several wild orangutans here have been habituated to observers by researchers who follow them daily, so they could usually lead you to one if you didn't find any on your own. Agile Gibbons, Maroon Langurs, hornbills are all over the research area in greater numbers than anywhere else.

The gateway to the park is the coastal town of Ketapang, where permits and guides must be arranged at park office (Jl. Kh. Wahid Hasyim 41/A) for a stay at the research centre at Cabang Panti, which is reached by a short bus-ride from the city, followed by a 20 km hike through partially logged forest. Ketapang can be reached by daily speedboats (6hrs) from the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak. Accomodation in the park is very basic, but costs only 20.000 Rp/day. You will also have to take a compulsory guide from the Ketapang office for 50.000 Rp/day, whom you shouldn't expect to be of any real use - but with trails usually marked every 50 metres, you can easily explore the area on your own anyway.

KUTAI NP (East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
Another place forgotten by tourism, where wild orangutans are very easy to see and access is also very easy. Proboscys monkeys and gibbons are also easy to see here. Unfortunately the forest itself is badly devastated in the park, which is partly the reason why the wildlife is so easy to see here - a bit like at the Kinabatangan in Sabah, though there is more forest and far fewer tourist in Kutai!

The park is just a few hours up the coastal road from the East Kalimantan capital of Samarinda. First visit the park office (Jl. Awang Long)in the town of Bontang to pick up your permit and the latest info on prices. The road north of Bontang to Sangatta provides access to 3-4 different places you could visit.

Your first stop in the park could be Teluk Kaba on the coast (an hour's walk off the road), which has great board-walks through beautiful mangroves where you might see otters or monitor lizards. There is basic accomodation here, but the forest is devastated. The next possible stop is the Sangkimah ranger post just off the Bontang-Sangatta road. It is located in some of the least damaged forest in the park, and has short trails to explore. Then go on to Sangatta, where there are several cheap hotels. Here a boat must be hired to see proboscys monkeys dowstream from town (50.000 Rp), or to reach the orangutan research station at Mentoko upstream (150.000 Rp), which has the best tral-system in the park, and offers the best chances to see orangutans, hornbills, pheasants, etc. If you want guides (not compulsory here), they cost 50.000/day here, too. Again, bring your food to any of the above places except Sangatta!

GUNUNG LEUSER NP (Sumatra, Indonesia)
The only park with a wild population of Sumatran Orangutans. Most tourists get no further than Bukit Lawang on the SE edge, but those who wish to see wild orangutans usually go on to Ketambe/Gurah, reachable by bus via Kutacane from Medan. At Gurah there is a good trail-system in hilly rainforest with cheap guest house accomodation and guides who are at least for now less ferocious than those at Bukit Lawang. Wild orangutans are easy to see, though other wildlife, apart from primates, is scarce. With the park being huge there are obviously other access points too, but Gurah is the easiest and as good as any. Note that the Gurah area (but NOT Bukit Lawang) is in Aceh and may now suffer from the political troubles affecting that province, though.

OTHER PARKS IN INDONESIA
There are more parks in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) where wild orangutans are still found. I omitted Tanjung Puting from the above list, as most visitors there will only see "rehabilitated" (human-raised) orangutans at Camp Leakey.

Three or more interesting parks in the interior of West Kalimantan are Bukit Baka - Bukit Raya NP, Betung - Kerihun NP and Danau Sentarum NP. These are good places to get further off the beaten track, but seeing their wild orangutans is harder than in Kutai or Gunung Palung. My info on visting these parks (plus a lot more) can be found at: http://www.nature-conservation.or.id/kaliman.html

VOLUNTEERING?
Several people have asked me about possiblities for volunteering in the "rehabilitation centres". Well, the bottom line is that because in Indonesia or Malaysia hard-working locals can be hired for as little as 1-3 USD/day to do manual work, there is certainly no REAL need for Western workforce.
However, recognizing that many rich Westerners wish such an alternative holiday, a few agencies (including OFI itself) offer "volunteer-programs" at rehabilitation centres. For paying a handsome sum you will get the opportunity to get even closer to cute apes and get those even more impressive photos and tales for your friends at home. Just don't fool yourself into thinking you were actually doing anything needed/useful there - at best a fraction of the money you paid might trickle down to conservation, though you will never really know.

ANY FEEDBACK?
Prices in particular may well have changed since my last visits to these places. Let me know if you have more recent info! OTOH, the previous version of this post has also attracted some emotional and naive criticizm by former volunteer-tourists disagreeing with my comments on the rehab centres they "worked" at.
While I don't mind INFORMED criticism, please consider that I based what I say on over a year spent in Borneo (plus many months in Sumatra), having visited all the reserves described (plus many more) myself, and speaking to the local staff (usually in Indonesian/Malay) working in them.

For comprehensive and up to date account on the conservation/rehabilitation of orangutans you might wan't to read the following book:

Our Vanishing Relative: The Status of Wild Orang-Utans at the Close of the Twentieth Century, by H. D. Rijksen, E. Meijaard
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This Travel Tip first appeared in Lonely Planet

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