Halaban Ecotourism is a new tourist destination and was designed in mid-2023 to create more awareness about protecting the Gunung Leuser National Park area from encroachment. A little community flanked by multiple oil palm plantation firms need special attention and maintenance. Halaban Ecotourism has approximately 20 unique wild elephants, with no more than 1400 wild Sumatran elephants remaining on the entire island of Sumatra.

Halaban is located 105 km from Bukit Lawang, 4 hours away by car. Halaban is a village located close to the border between the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh. Halaban is expected to become an ecotourism destination in the future, providing easy access to wild Sumatran elephants while also providing jobs for the local community in the fight against illegal logging activities both inside and outside Gunung Leuser National Park. For the ecotourism future in this village, SUMECO and Gunung Leuser National Park are teamed up on making Halaban Ecotourism as one ecotourism destination where to see wild elephants in Sumatra.

According to studies undertaken by Mongabay, the wild Sumatran elephant population today ranges between 1,000 and 1,400 individuals scattered across the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Bengkulu, and Lampung.

Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus).

Sumatran elephants are a subspecies of Asian elephants found solely on the island of Sumatra. Sumatran elephants are smaller than the Indian elephant subspecies. The Sumatran elephant population is declining and has become a very threatened species as a result of human killing, and its habitat has been converted to plantation lands due to aggressive invasion. The Sumatran elephant is Indonesia’s largest mammal, weighing up to 6 tons and standing up to 3.5 meters tall at the shoulder. Baby Sumatran elephants have a 22-month gestation period and can live to be 70 years old on average.

Sumatran elephants in the Leuser Ecosystem and surrounding forest areas in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, are regrettably being threatened by the conversion of forests into cropland and palm oil plantations. Other severe risks to their dwellings include wood concessions, illegal logging and burning, mining, quarrying, and road and settlement expansions. All of these actions have disastrous consequences, including forest loss, severe fragmentation, and direct risks to animals, whether through poaching or killing as a result of human-wildlife conflict. Clearing elephant habitat leads to greater human-elephant contacts and significant confrontations, as evidenced by the recent spike in elephant poisoning rates.

Wild Sumatran Elephant Watching.

Visiting Halaban Ecotourism may ensure sightings and allow you to come up close (50 meters) to wild Sumatran elephants; nothing compares to viewing a truly wild Sumatran elephant roaming through Sumatran shrubs and forest. They are massive, clever, and completely wild, and the tiny sensation of danger only adds to the amazing experience of encountering an elephant. You will learn considerably more in a few minutes with a wild herd than in days with a captive individual, as you witness their behavior free of chains, disturbed rocking, and human interaction. The way the entire herd protects a little youngster and the care with which Sumatran elephants treat the sparse foliage is just magical.

Sustainable Development of Halaban Ecotourism Through Wild Sumatran Elephants.

Halaban’s sustainable ecotourism development method in the initial stages, in 2023, still relies on ecotourism activities to see wild elephants that have fixed movement areas. As it’s known, this implementation was initialized in Tenggulun, Aceh Tamiang, in March 2023, when, during the process of tourism development, we accidentally discovered many illegal logging activities carried out by local communities that had become our future challenge to its development.

Our continuous efforts for sustainable development of Halaban ecotourism have never shifted away from ecotourism elements based on conservation and empowerment of local communities, which in the future are expected to be able to increase the protection capacity of Gunung Leuser National Park, carried out by authorities together with the surrounding community.

The application of economic value through conservation-based ecotourism activities in Halaban is expected to have positive impacts on public awareness of environmental sustainability in the surrounding areas, especially for the biodiversity of Gunung Leuser National Park. Ecotourism in Halaban has a significant part in ‘creating economic benefits’ since it creates jobs in remote places that have not been touched by the government.

How Do We Find Wild Sumatran Elephant?

Starting from Bukit Lawang at 6.30 a.m., the journey to Halaban Ecotourism will take 4 hours driving to reach the point where the car will stop and the remaining distance will be covered exclusively by hiking.

You have nothing to worry about since lunch and supper as well as your drinking water are covered throughout the journey. Especially, you will eat lunch before you begin the hike.

At the village, we have our SUMECO team who are local villagers will be waiting for you and they will be your guide to lead your hike through few hours trekking in the bushes and jungle inside the park. Then it will be the moment for you to spot the wild Sumatran elephants.

For several years monitoring, this park area in Halaban village has become the fixed movement route for wild Sumatran elephants to wandering.

After seeing the elephants and taking enough photos and videos, you’ll walk back to your car, which will take you back to Bukit Lawang.

We understand it will be a bit exhausting, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because only 1400 wild Sumatran elephants remain in the wild, and this trip is critical to the conservation efforts to protect the biodiversity of Gunung Leuser National Park through ecotourism.

Price:

• 1 day activity to see Sumatran elephants, costs 100 EUR per person (min 2 people).
• 2 days and 1 night activity to see Sumatran elephants, costs 190 EUR per person (min 2 people).
• 3 days and 2 nights activity to see Sumatran elephants, costs 290 EUR per person (min 2 people)
• 4 days and 3 nights activity to see Sumatran elephants, costs 390 EUR per person (min 2 people).
• 5 days and 4 nights activity to see Sumatran elephants, costs 490 EUR per person (min 2 people).

We focus on quality, and you must inform us three days in advance for jungle tours (trekking) to see wild Sumatran elephants in Halaban. The activities inside Gunung Leuser National Park through Halaban will cover the exploration of biodiversity, especially the endemic species. During the activities, an expert on local wildlife will assist you with species identification. The price includes transportation (4 hours driving from Bukit Lawang to Halaban and 4 hours driving from Halaban to Bukit Lawang or 5 hours driving from Halaban to the airport), food, a tent, a guide, documentation during the expedition, and expertise on local wildlife. A nocturnal hike is included in all packages.