SUMATRA - An island of disappearing rainforest and mysterious Karo Batak...

SUMATRA - An island of disappearing rainforest and mysterious Karo Batak people

Orangutans - the single reason we decided to visit Sumatra. This is why our first adventure is a trek through the mysterious green jungle of Gunung Leuser National Park, which is  located in the Barisan Mountains, between the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh.

An Orangutan

The area, which covers nearly 8,000 square kilometers, is currently inhabited by about 5,000 orangutans. Entry into the jungle requires a permit and though sightings of orangutans and other wildlife can never be guaranteed, using a local guide can drasticaly improve your chances. Named after Leuser Mountain, the National Park covers a wide range of ecosystems. It is classified by UNESCO as one of the most important and biologically diverse areas in the world, perfect terrain for the conservation of animal species.

Bukit Lawang is a small tourist village on the bank of the Bahorok River in Northern Sumatra, 86 km northwest of the city of Medan. It is known as the largest animal sanctuary of Sumatran orangutans and also the main access point to the Gunung Leuser National Park.A flash flood hit Bukit Lawang on the 2nd of November 2003. The disaster destroyed over 400 houses, 3 mosques and 8 bridges. 239 people were killed, and around 1,400 locals lost their homes. Thanks to several international cooperation agencies, the site was rebuilt again in July 2004.

Bukit Lawang Village

Next we decide on a slightly unusual visit. During a lesson, we will disrupt students at the village elementary school. In Indonesia children have to go to school 6 days a week. They need to wear uniforms, their shoes have to be black, closed-off and with laces.

Bukit Lawang School

The first six years of primary school are followed by three years of ‘lower’ high school  and another three years of ‘upper’ high school. Primary shool is a general education, and ‘lower’ high school is education focused on a specific skill or job. For the primary school there are no tuition fees, but schools are creative in finding ways to charge extra costs. The children studying at ‘lower’ or 'upper’ high school need to go to villages outside of Bukit Lawang which accounts for extra transportation costs. Thus, the costs for the children’s education consists of books,  transportation, uniforms and tuition fees.

Tangkahan is well-known as the hidden paradise of Gunung Leuser National Park. It is an Eco Tourism area in the Langkat district of Northern Sumatra and is located along the Kualsa Buluh River next to dense rainforest, just 2 and a half hours from Bukit Lawang.

Tangkahan

This tiny, remote village was built on the back of the logging trade in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2001 the local community became aware of the damaging impacts of unscrupulous deforestation and banded together to form the Tangkahan Tourist Institute. The TTI introduced regulations prohibiting the exploitation of the surrounding rainforest and created The Conservation Response Unit: a team that helps safeguard the national park from commercial abuse and detrimental policy. they actively act against illegal logging and the community transformed the area into an functional, self-sustained eco-tourism destination.

You can spend time with the mahouts, help wash elephants in the river and walk with them as they explore their natural jungle environment.This village is also located by the river, and right on the riverbank we find powerful and friendly creatures that make us here.

Elephants in Tangkahan

There are currently 9 adult elephants and two babies living in the Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary. They are cared for by specialist caregivers, and when you pay the entry fee (all of which helps support the sanctuary), you can spend the day with an elephant. You can bathe elephants in the river, feed them their favourite snacks or explore the jungle with your new leathery friend.

Sinabung Volcano is a stratovolcano on the Karo Plateau in Northern Sumatra, 40 kilometers from Lake Toba Supervolcano. This volcano is still active and has erupted frequently in recent memory. First in August 2010, then in 2013 eruptions occurred through September and November, and in 2014 it was particularly active, erupting during January, February and October. On June 26th 2015, a particularly big eruption meant that at least 10,000 people were evacuated to limit fatality. One year later in the May 2016 eruption, seven people were killed by deadly pyroclastic flow.

Sinabung Volcano

Unfortunately, nature's worst enemy is still the human race. This is self-evident when looking at the destruction left behind after the sustained logging of a tropical forest. All for the purpose of a monocultural palm oil plantation.

In Sumatra tens of thousands of square kilometres of forest have been destroyed, often under central government concessions given to palm oil companies the power to conduct deforestation.

Defgorestation in Sumatra

Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil across the world and is rapidly expanding its plantations and workforce to meet a growing global demand. Deforestation has massive environmental and social impacts. 2.5 metric tons of effluent or liquid waste is made for every metric ton of palm oil that is produced. This effluent affects nearby fresh water, spoiling habitat and water sources further downstream for both wildlife and humans.

Deforestation creates a destructive reduction in biodiversity which alters entire ecosystems upon which endangered species rely. Animals particularly at risk are Sumatran elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses and the various species of orangutan that can be found only in the forests of  Sumatra.

Some of these animals such as the orangutan are arboreal and try to stay in the trees whenever possible, they are often burned alive during the slash and burn of forests.

We head into the rainforest yet again, this time to Ketambe.

Ketambe 

Ketambe is a small and peaceful city in the southernmost part of Aceh. In the 1970s, the Indonesian government sought to increase its influence in the region by constructing a hotel and, in addition to Bukit Lawang, Ketambe became the official entrance to Gunung Leuser National Park.

Kutacane is a town in the Aceh province of Indonesia and is the seat of the Southeast Aceh Regency. Kutacane is a fairly large city with about 100,000 inhabitants is built along the main road and is a place where roads cross and people meet. Kutacane is also known as the main gate to the Gunung Leuser National Park.

A mosque in Kutacane

Our tropical forest exploration is over. We are moving forward, this time we are heading south. A nine hour drive through colorful villages,  past rice fields and the green hills are exhausting. However, we cannot wait to reach our destination - one of Sumatra's greatest natural wonders waits for us.

Lake Toba  is located in the middle of the northern part of the island of Sumatra, with a surface elevation above sea level of about 900 metres. The lake is 100 kilometres long, 30 kilometres wide, and 505 metres deep, and in the middle is a small island called Samosir. It is included in the UNESCO Global Geopark, it is special because of it’s inhabitants – the Batak people, originating from Mjanmar and Thailand. For centuries, the Bataks lived in isolation and were one of Sumatra's most warlike people, remaining faithful to cannibalism until the early 19th century, when they also formally adopted Christianity.

Lake Toba

Lake Toba is the site of a massive supervolcanic eruption which is estimated to have occurred 74,000 years ago, a scar caused by a climate-changing event. It is the largest-known explosive eruption on Earth in the last 25 million years.

Tuk-Tuk is the center for tourists who spend their nights on the island of Samosir, as it offers many hotels, villas, cafes and shops with traditional Batak wooden products. In the evenings, tourists can enjoy traditional Batak music and dance performances. Boats and canoes are available to hire at the water sports centre, you can also rent a bike or scooter to explore local villages and the surrounding area.
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The Tomok Batak Museum is one of the attractions on the island of Samosir, located at the end of Tomok Village. The museum is one complex comprised of the Tomb of King Sidabutar and the Sigale-Gale Statue. It is beautiful and very unique, utilizing the shape of a Batak traditional house of average side using brown wood. You can see products of the Batak culture illustrating the lives of past Bataks.

Batak Museum 

On the island of Samosir, there is a slightly different museum to the Batak Museum. It is a whole museum village, with wonderful village houses.

Batak Museum Village

However, Batak houses are not a thing of the past, Batak people on Lake Toba still live in houses like these today. How do we know this? – we are convinced when we visit a real village.

The Toba Batak people live in permanent villages and cultivate their own irrigated rice and vegetables.

Local Batak man in  his house

Irrigated rice cultivation can support a large population and the Toba live in densely clustered villages of around ten homes each to save farming land. All of these villages are located near watercourses and fields.

Each Batak group has its own rules and traditions guiding village layout. Toba Batak houses are laid out side by side with their front gables facing the street. Traditionally, each house would have had a rice barn granary opposite which would be a complementary row in the village. The street formed between the row of houses is used as area to facilitate the drying of rice.

The houses are constructed from wood and bamboo, using ijuk fibres for binding and for the thatched rooves.

The colours used in designs are red, white and black. The red signifies a zest for life and is the colour seen in traditional wedding clothes. Black is the colour of death, and white represents the colour of God's holiness.

Ornamentation is very important in Batak houses. An intaglio carved gecko protects the occupants from evil spirits.

Lake Toba and the island of Samosir that we are exploring, are the heart of the Bataks culture.

The life of Batak people, however, is intertwined deeply with tradition and coexistence with nature. This is where time stopped.

Lake Toba and its surroundings are magical. Just like the whole of Sumatra! An island of extinct species, mighty volcanic peaks and rainforest! An island of opposites. An island of humanity. An island of magic.