Hanging out with Elephants from Tangkahan - Conservation Response Unit ...

Hanging out with Elephants from Tangkahan - Conservation Response Unit Sumatra

Tangkahan well-known as the hidden paradise of Gunung Leuser National Park, is an Eco Tourism area 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 driving on a bumpy road through Palm oil plantations and rural villages.

This tiny, remote village was practically built on the logging trade in the 1980s and 1990s, because the people became aware of the damages by such activity. They collectively decided to stop illegal logging and transform the area into an functional, self-sustained ecotourism destination. So in April 2001 the community banded together to form the Tangkahan Tourist Institute (Lembaga Pariwisata Tangkahan – LPT) and fixed regulations prohibiting the exploitation of the surrounding rainforest. So the Conservation Response Unit (CRU) was born – a team of Sumatran elephants and their mahouts that helps safeguard the national park to protect it from encroachment.

You can spend time with the mahouts, help wash the elephants in the river and walk alongside the elephants as they explore their natural jungle environment.