Explore Kerinci - Exploration of Sumatera: Destinations

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SUMATRAN TIGER TREK

Our longest and most wild trek, the Sumatran Tiger Trek takes you deep into primary rainforest and through Sumatran tiger habitat. You’ll hike up ridge trails, cross jungle streams, visit peaceful waterfalls, and even take a dip in the the magnificently blue Lake Kaco. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot siamang gibbons, mitered leaf monkeys, hornbills, and a variety of birds and other wildlife. And yes, a few of our guests have even had the good fortune of seeing sun bears and Sumatran tigers, with a huge majority at the very least seeing pugmarks, scratches on trees, scat, and sometimes even a tiger’s nearby “aum” call. While the itinerary below is for five days/four nights, for this Sumatra jungle trek we also have 3D/2N or 4D/3N options as well.

- DAY 1

After breakfast at your guesthouse in Lempur, take a short ride to the trailhead to begin your Sumatra jungle trek. The first part of the trek takes you through a hutan adat, a traditionally managed forest buffer zone where forest products like cinnamon, bamboo, ratan, fruits, andmore are sustainably harvested by the village. Eventually, you’ll reach the boundaries of the Kerinci Seblat National Park, crossing over the shallow Manjuto river in to primary rainforest.

If you started the trek late, make camp there, orcontinueup Bukit Lintang to the hill campsite. Bukit Lintang is known for having very healthy wildlife populations, sobeon the look out for wildlife as diverse as wildboar to Malayan tapir, sambar deer to Sumatran tigers.

- DAY 2

Pack up and continue your journey through the Sumatran wilderness. Head down the others ide of the

hill, listening and watching for siamang gibbons and hornbills, who each begin their enchanting calls in themorning. Keep eyes on the path for anysigns of tiger pugmarks, tapir tracks, or other wildlife signs.

After roughly five hours of trekking, arrive at the unnamed waterfall where you’ll make camp. Enjoy swimming in the fresh mountain water, ride the natural rock slide beside the waterfall in to the pool below, or continue exploring the surrounding rainforest. Turn in forthenight.

- DAY 3

Enjoy a peaceful breakfast surrounded by birds singing their morning songs against the backdrop of the bubbling waterfall. Break camp and continue trekking through the primary rainforest of the Kerinci Seblat National Park, making your way back up Bukit Lintang, and down a fairly steep trail out of the hills. This slightly more lowland forest has a different feel, with taller trees growing in this more level landscapeOn thisthirdnight, you’llmakecampnear a smallcreek.

During the hike, learn about jungle survival from your guide – how to find drinking water, how to identify edible fruits, plants, and other foods for foraging.

On this third night, you’ll make camp near a small creek.

- DAY 4

From the jungle stream, continue hiking through lush, untouched forests until you arrive at Lake Kaco, the brilliantly blue swimming hole and natural aquarium deep in the forest, arriving in the afternoon. Follow in the footsteps of Bear Grylls and jump off the tree hanging over the crystal clear waters, and swim around with the abundant fish and brilliantly-colored fresh-water crabs that make the lake their home. The cool, underground spring-fed natural pool makes for a rejuvenating break after so many days of trekking.

Set up camp in the forest surrounding the lake. Before bed, take a night-walk for chances of spotting nocturnal creatures like civets, colugo, slow-loris, flying squirrels, and a variety of tree-frogs and insects.

- DAY 5

Wake up next to Lake Kaco and enjoy a leisurely morning, swimming and relaxing in the lake. Eventually, pull yourself away and continue roughly three hours along forest trails looking for birds, wildlife and signs of other animals as you make your way out of the forest.

Take a break at the Siluang Bersisik Emas waterfall before you exit the forest and continue your walk through idyllic rice paddies on your way back to Lempur village.

You’ll arrive back in Lempur generally by mid- to late-afternoon. Spend the night back in the Lempur guesthouse.

CONDITIONS

Each day has roughly six to seven hours of trekking, including rests and stops to study the environment, with only the last day being around four hours. Of course, times can vary wildly depending on if you’re blazing through the forest (why??) or taking more time to observe your surroundings more closely.
No comfy accommodations here! You’ll be sleeping rough in tents on sometimes uneven/rocky ground, with very thin camping mattresses, under the forest canopy for four nights. Plus two nights in a very simple family-run guesthouse in the village. But you’ll be having an experience of a lifetime.
Also, as it is a rainforest, expect and prepare for rain at some point during your trek, no matter what season you’re travelling in.
Terrestrial leeches can be abundant at times. While harmless, they can certainly be annoying – this is not a trek for the pampered.
This is also not a zoo – the animals here are very wild and extremely wary of people, and the lush environment itself makes visibility difficult. While seeing tracks and other fresh signs of a variety of wildlife is very common, actually spotting large mammals is rare.
Since you’ll be hiking in the middle of the Bukit Barisan mountain range, at elevations between 1100m to 1500m above sea level, temperatures are relatively cool – expect highs of around 25°C during the day, and down to around 15°C at night.
Food is very traditional local fare. Vegetarian and vegan options are available, if you let us know ahead of time.
Like all of our trips, you travel at your own risk. Keep in mind that you are visiting a wild and extremely remote area of rural Sumatra, with wild animals and other dangers that come from being in a natural landscape. Quality medical care is also very far away. It’s your responsibility to make sure you are covered with valid travel and medical insurance.

*Note: While this Sumatra jungle trekking itinerary is for five days, if you're short on time you can trim it down to four days/three nights or even three days/two nights, while still having good opportunities to see wildlife and be in Sumatran tiger habitat. You may not go as far as the unnamed waterfall, especially on the three day trek, but will still visit Bukit Lintang, prime Sumatran Tiger habitat, and Lake Kaco. If you want to spend even more than five days exploring the rainforest there, we can arrange that as well. Let us know what best fits for you and we'll make it happen!

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Explore Kerinci 7:53:00 PM

TOUR AROUND KERINCI

Day ZERO - From Iport To Home Stay

Day 1 - Sungai Penuh

Arrive in Sungai Penuh and head straight to your homestay to meet the family and drop off your things.
Some activities to do in town:

Walk through the old neighborhood of Pondok Tinggi filled with traditional Kerinci longhouses. Head to the nearby Mesjid Agung. Built in the traditional style in 1874, it’s the oldest mosque in town, and still actively used.
Visit the lively Pasar, or wet/dry market, in the center of town. Get some Sarabi and other goodies for breakfast.
From the Pasar, grab a Bendi (horse drawn carriage) to some of the nearby batik workshops where you can watch the creation process (and maybe even participate!).
Take a motorcycle ride up to Bukit Khayangan or hike up the hill behind Sungai Penuh to get a beautiful view of the Kerinci valley from Mt. Kerinci in the north, to Lake Kerinci in the south.
In the late afternoon, head to Bukit Sentiong on the edge of town for the grilled corn stands and a nice view of Sungai Penuh and the Kerinci valley at sunset.
In the evening, visit Pasar Malam, the carnival-like night market, to eat Martabak, Sate, and other lovely street foods.
Drive up to Tapan Hill at night for some wildlife spotlighting (an additional cost for renting a vehicle and driver).

Day 2 - Danau Kerinci and Lempur

In the morning, head to the village of Pulau Tengah on the edge of Kerinci Lake. Meet up with some fisherman there for some canoe rides and to watch/participate with them as they fish.
Visit an English class at the local high school in the village.
Stop for lunch at one of the restaurants that sits atop or next to the lake.
Head further south to the hills around Lempur to see cinnamon farmers at work.
Explore the village of Lempur and the nearby lake of Danau Lingkat to take a ride on the bamboo rafts and enjoy the scenery.
In the evening, follow a local honey hunter as they harvest honey from wild Indonesian honeybees.
Meet up with your host family in Lempur and turn in for the night.

Day 3 - Lempur to Kayu Aro

After breakfast, head to the rice fields to watch the farmers plant and harvest the Lempur heirloom rice Beras Payo. Participate if you want to get your hands dirty!
Say goodbye to Lempur and head up to the Kayu Aro area. Don’t forget to pick up some Dendeng Batokok, grilled beef strips from heaven native to the area, in the town of Siulak Deras on the way up.
Walk through the endless green tea fields and take a tour of the old tea factory in village of Bedeng VIII (Delapan).
Eat lunch in Aroma Pecco, a small pond and oasis in the middle of the largest tea plantation in the world.
Visit the sugar processing ‘factory’ (really just some people in a shed pressing and boiling raw sugar cane juice).
Explore the coffee farms that are switching over to organic Arabica coffee with the help of a local NGO.
Head to the village of Pelompek and meet your host family.
Explore the village and check out the other highland farms in the area that produce cabbage, potatoes, chilis, etc.
Head back to your homestay for dinner and turn in for the night.

Last Day - Back to Iport

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travelling

Explore Kerinci 5:34:00 PM

Pasumpahan Island

PASUMPAHAN ISLAND

Pasumpahan island is one of the tourist sites in the city of Padang, with an area of 5 hectares, Pasumpahan island has a beach with white sand and clear sea water ready for your visit. Not only that, the appeal of the underwater coral reefs are still awake you shall see with snorkeling or diving.

There are several points of dive sites that can be visited by tourists around Pasumpahanisland include Gosong Island, Snake Island, Sirandah Island and Pandan Island. For those who can not dive, you can walk around the island to enjoy its natural beauty. Don’t forget to bring a camera to capture the beauty.

Transportation

Located in the South Coast area of West Sumatra, approximately 45 km from the city of Padang and about 200 meters from the Sikuai island. From Padang, first you use a motor vehicle to the direction of the Bungus Port precisely Banana Beach. The entrance to the Banana beach through an alley after Pertamina base.

Accommodation

Pasumpahan island don’t have lodgings for tourists. Most opt for camping in the middle of the island using tents. If camping is not your taste, there Bungus In the port named Tin Tin Homestay accommodation that provide tours to the nearby islands, including Pasumpahan Rp .500,000 / person.

Tips
Due Pasumpahan island is uninhabited island, so we recommend you bring food and drink enough, especially if you are camping.

wildlife

Explore Kerinci 9:53:00 PM

THE BUKIT DUABELAS NATIONAL PARK OF JAMBI (Primitif)

OVERVIEW

The Bukit Duabelas National Park in the province of Jambi is a relatively small park among Indonesia’s large national parks. Covering only 60,500 hectares, the Park was only recently established in the year 2000, mainly to allow the regrowth of secondary forests and to protect the home of the forest people known as the Kubu, sometimes called Suku Anak Dalam or orang Rimba. European anthropologists have called them Kubu bat since this is felt to be demeaning, tribe members call themselves Orang Rimba meaning People or Children of the Jungle.

The northern part of the Park is primary jungle, but the remainder are tracts of land that were formerly deforested, or were production forests that have now been reforested and allowed to revert to tropical rainforests. The Park is in fact a most important water catchment area for the province.

Bukit Duabelas, literally translated meaning the Twelve Hills, is a lowland park with undulating contours. This is the habitat of some of Sumatra’s endangered species including tapirs, gibbons, clouded leopards, sun bears, wild cats and crested serpent eagles. There are also endangered plant species.

The Orang Rimba or otherwise known as the orang “Kubu”, are an isolated tribe who have lived within these jungles for years and have continued to live the simple life from nature. There are several theories and legends as to who they are and where they come from.

One story relates that when the Sultan of Palembang (now South Sumatra) held continuous feuds with the Sultan of Jambi, the Jambi Sultan asked for help from the Sultan of Pagaruyung (now in the province of West Sumatra), who then sent soldiers to Jambi. On their way to Jambi a group of the Minangkabau soldiers lost their way in the dense jungles and never found their way out. They then established themselves here, living a simple life in the Jambi jungles.

Another story says that the Kubu were pirates along the Indian Ocean, who sought refuge in these rainforests.

Another ethnologist, however, believes that the Orang Rimba are Wedoids similar to those living in the southern Indian subcontinent, who can be identified by their tall posture, curly hair, rather dark skin and deep set eyes. These could have been soldiers, mercenaries paid by the Sultan of Jambi in the fight against the Sultan of Palembang, who have later stayed and settled in the territory.

The Anak Dalam tribe lives in and from the forest, and survives chiefly on hunting, gathering, agriculture and fishing.

Today, a number of travel agents in Jambi offer tours to visit the Anak Dalam of Jambi in the Bukit Duabelas National Park.

ACTIVITIES
TO STAY,
TO STAY

To visit the Park one best stay two or three nights. There are no hotels in or near the park but there are simple lodgings available for visitors.

GETTING THERE AND AROUND
GET THERE
To get to the Park, you must first fly to the province’s capital city, Jambi. There are regular flights from Jakarta, Medan and Batam to Jambi. The Park is some 180 km from Jambi’s airport, and it takes around 5 to 6 hours’ drive to reach the park.

To enter the National Park, you must first have a permit from the Park’s authorities. Travel agents can obtain your permit, guide you through the Park and visit the village of the Anak Dalam.

Volcano

Explore Kerinci 2:22:00 PM

Danau Gunung (Mt.) Tujuh

This mountain is just across from Mt. Kerinci, but is a much easier (3-4 hour) hike. At about 2,000 meters you will find a large, pristine crater lake surrounded by virgin rainforest and seven mountain peaks that rise for another 800 meters or so. It’s the highest volcanic crater lake in SE Asia. At the top, if your guide has arranged for it ahead of time, you can rent some of the local fisherman’s dugout canoes and paddle across the lake to set up camp.

Gunung Tujuh is a massive, extinct volcano whose eruption in ancient times blew apart the top of the mountain, eventually forming a large, 4.5 km long lake in the crater left behind. Being completely within the Kerinci Seblat National Park, the surrounding peaks (of which there are 7 – hence the name “Tujuh” in Indonesian), are covered in primary rainforest, and home to a wide variety of birds and wildlife. Supposedly, the lake, at around 2000 meters, is the highest in Southeast Asia. Being up there, with the clouds clinging to the primeval forests all around, it truly feels like you’ve stepped into a prehistoric lost world.

Tour Info : http://www.explorekerinci.com/2015/07/mt-tujuh-adventure.html

Treking

Explore Kerinci 2:13:00 PM

Ladeh Panjang : The highest wetlands in Southeast Asia

The Ladeh Panjang Wetlands, at the western foot of Mt. Kerinci and deep within the Kerinci Seblat National Park, is the highest wetlands in Southeast Asia at over 2000 meters in elevation. The trail there takes about 6 hours or less of fairly easy hiking, with four of those hours through primary rain forest of the Kerinci Seblat National Park. Two lakes can be found within the 150 hectares of wetlands, Danau Singkarak and Danau Sakti, the latter of which takes a further three hours to reach. The marshlands and the primary forest surrounding it are home to a wide variety of wildlife, including barking deer, tapir, and tigers.

For Itinaries info : http://www.explorekerinci.com/2015/07/ladeh-panjang-wetlands-treking.html

Volcano

Explore Kerinci 11:08:00 AM

Mt. Kerinci

Mt. Kerinci is the highest volcano in Sumatra island. its about 3,805m above sea level. the creates wall is of 600m x 580m, the temperature is about 5'C on the top of Mt. Kerinci and visited but climbers from town especially to celebrate the independence day of Indonesia Republic and New year. To reach the top of Mt. Kerinci can be seen on cleardays billowingsmoke and steam from its rocksrewn summit.

At 3,805m, Gunung (Mt.) Kerinci is Indonesia’s highest non-Papuan peak, and the highest volcano in SE Asia (actually the highest volcano in all of Asia east of Iran and west of the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia).

It takes a good eight hours, depending on your fitness level, to reach the summit. Generally, people start their climb early in the morning and set camp at one of the shelters near the tree line. In the darkness of the next morning, they scramble up the scree towards the summit for another two hours to greet the rising sun and unsurpassed views of the surrounding area.

Climbing the mountain is not the only thing Gunung Kerinci is good for. Its forested slopes are famous amongst birdwatchers and provide primary habitat for a slew of other creatures, including the Sumatran tiger.

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