Gunung Leuser National Park is one of the biggest and the most diversed national parks in Indonesia (950,000 hectare), covering 7,927 km² in northern Sumatera, Indonesia. The national park, named after 3,381 m height of Mount Leuser, protects a wide range of ecosystems..Actually, it's a collection of various nature reserves and forests: Nature Reserve Gunung Leuser, Nature Reserve Kappi, Nature Reserve Kluet, Sikundur Langkat Wildlife Reserve, Ketambe Research Station, Singkil Barat and Dolok Sembilin.Most parts of the national park lie in the region Aceh Tenggara (SE Aceh). Other parts are situated in the region east Aceh, south Aceh, and Langkat (a part of North Sumatra).
Generally this park may represent each of this charachter of Beach and swamp forest, lowland rainforest , montane or moss fores up to subalpine forest.
The Gunung Leuser National Park comprises more than 100 kilometres of the Bukit Barisan Mountains. Because of that, the park consists of steep, almost inaccessible mountainous terrain.The altitude ranges from 0 metre, in Kluet (South Aceh), to 3,381 metre, on top of the Gunung Leuser (Southeast Aceh). The Alas river cuts the park into an eastern and western half.
Apart from mountains you find several other ecosystems: beach forest, swamp areas, lowland rainforest, alpine and mountain forest.
At least 130 species of mammals are recognised to belong to this park like the Sumatran tiger ( panthera tigris sumatraensis ) Sumatran elephant ( elephas maximus ), Sumatran rhinocheros ( dicherorinus sumatraensis ), Orangutan ( pongo pygmaeus ), Siamang ( hylobates syndactilus ), macaques, clouded leopard ( neofelis nebulosa ), ajak ( cuon alpinus ), and various sub of deers and sambar. Also noted at least 325 species of birds live inside the park.Reptils and fish may also represent the still diversed ecosystem.
In Bohorok-Bukit Lawang is the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Station and in Ketambe stands the Ketambe research station. The research station is not open to tourists. An Orang Utan sanctuary of Bukit Lawang is located inside the park.. Estimated there are up to 5000 orangutans inside the parks, Together with Bukir Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat national parks it forms a Worlds Heritage Site. . It is the only place in the earth where four of world's spectacular animals ; the orangutan, rhinocheros, elephant and tiger are found together..
The Best Season to Visit:
June to October Every Year
Contact:
Lembaga Pariwisata Tangkahan - LPT (Tangkahan Tourism Institution) Visitor Center, Kawasan Ekowisata Tangkahan (Tangkahan Ecotourism Area)
Desa Namo Sialang, Tnagkahan Mobile phone: 08126567432, 081361662387, 081361674113 Email: tangkahan_ecotourism@yahoo.com
