Itinerary

 

DAY 1 ~ Pangkalanbun – Kumai River – Proboscis Tour – Houseboat

Welcome to Pangkalanbun, the main entry point to Central Kalimantan

 

(Note: Kalimantan is the Indonesian portion of Borneo, but is in Indonesia - a little confusing I know).

 

Upon arrival at Pangkalanbun Airport, be greeted by the local guide and transferred to the Kumai Port to board a local klotok boat for a scenic journey along the Kumai and Sekonyer Rivers.

 

Cruise along the Kumai River for about 20 minutes, then enter the much smaller Sekonyer River, which marks the border of Tanjung Puting National Park. The lush vegetation along the river bank transitions from Nipa palm (a palm tree only found near estuaries, as they grow in salty water), to Pandan trees

 

Lunch will be served on board.

 

While cruising through Tanjung Puting National Park, you're likely to see a wide variety of tropical animals. The area is renowned for its spectacular ecological and biological diversity, and contains mangrove swamps, rainforest and dense jungles filled with rare primates such as orangutans, proboscis monkeys, macaques and even leopards.  

 

Enjoy a lovely dinner surrounded by nature and then be lulled to sleep by the chorus of nature under a blanket of stars.  Dinner will be served onboard the boat. (L, D)

 

DAY 2 – Houseboat – Pondok Tanggui – Camp Leakey – Houseboat

After breakfast on board the klotok boat, you'll cruise upstream along the Sekonyer River towards Camp Leakey. Continue for about two hours to reach Camp Leakey, the most famous place for orangutan research in the world.

 

Over the years as many as 200 orangutans have been reintroduced to the wild here. Today the camp only operates as a feeding platform, but orangutans are still fed and medically monitored by the local rangers. There are no more re-insertions because the local orangutan population has already reached sustainable numbers.

 

It is estimated that Tanjung Puting National Park is home to between 4,000 and 6,000 individuals spread across the 1545 square miles - the largest population of orangutans in the world. There are only three feeding platforms in Tanjung Puting providing supplementary food to the orangutans so as to limit their reliance on feeding and to encourage them to forage in the jungle. Most of the orangutan in the park are born in the wild, and the ones that do come to the feeding sites are generally mothers with young offspring and animals that have been recently released.

 

Cruise upstream for about one hour to reach Pondok Tanggui. After a short walk through the forest, you'll arrive at the feeding platform.  Feeding Time at Pondok Tanggui is at 9:00am. This will be an unforgettably close encounter with orangutans as they begin to descend from the forest canopy for ‘breakfast’.

 

After watching the orangutans for a while you'll return to the boat and cruise downstream to Pasalat Rainforest Station where several institutions and NGO’s are working on local conservation efforts with a strong focus on reforestation in order to preserve the natural habitat of orangutans.

 

Then head further up river. Around 1:30pm, disembark at Camp Leakey for a 30-minute walk along a wooden platform then, follow a jungle path with a chance to observe more wild animals along the way such as gibbons, long-tail macaques and wild pigs.

 

The feeding at Camp Leakey takes place daily at 2:00pm when rangers bring bananas and other fruits to wooden platforms in the jungle.  Slowly, local orangutans start coming down from the forest canopy. Watch as they swing from branch to branch with surprising grace and agility in what will surely be an unforgettable experience. Sitting with the park rangers, only 30 feet from the feeding platform, the orangutan encounter will be surprisingly close.

 

Orangutans enter the feeding platform from anywhere in the jungle, with dominant males usually coming first followed by females coming one after the other with their offspring.

 

Return to the boat and around 4:00pm start cruising again. At this time of the day, many proboscis monkeys, can be seen gathering in large groups around the banks of the river, making for an unbelievable photo opportunity. There is also a chance to spot a few orangutans in this area as they come to pick up fruit from the pandan trees - their favourite fruit- late in the afternoon.

 

Dinner is served onboard the boat. (B, L, D)

 

DAY 3 ~ Houseboat – Kumai – Lopus Daya Village

After breakfast on the boat, disembark for a 5 hour transfer by private car to Lopus Village.

 

Lunch will be served en route at a local restaurant.

 

Upon arrival in Lopus Village you'll enjoy sightseeing around the village, and a free afternoon.

 

In the evening after dinner you'll be welcomed by the Dayak Tomun with their Bagondang ceremony. Here you'll have a chance to dance with the Dayak people who will serve the rice wine. Enjoy the ceremony and head back to the longhouse.

 

Dinner and overnight in a traditional longhouse. (B, L, D)

 

Note: Please bring a small bag for the goods/clothes needed for one night in the longhouse. The main luggage will be dropped of at the hotel for the following day. Sleeping bag, towel and air mattress will be provided for the stay in the longhouse. 

 

DAY 4 ~ Lopus Dayak Village – Kudangan – Pangkalan Bun

After breakfast in the longhouse, drive to Kudangan Village to see another longhouse and jurung (rice storage building).

 

After the visit, make the five-hour drive back to Pangkalan Bun. Lunch is served en route at a local restaurant. Arrive in the late in the afternoon in Pangkalan Bun and check in to the hotel. Dinner is served in a local restaurant.

 

Overnight in the hotel in Pangkalan Bun. (B, L, D)

 

DAY 5 ~ Pangkalanbun - Departure

After breakfast at the hotel, enjoy the rest of the morning at leisure until transport (provided) to the airport for the onward flight. (B)

 

End of Trip

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(Code: B – Breakfast, L – Lunch, D – Dinner)

 

 

Land cost from:  $1,825 per person

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Please note all rates are subject to change according to rate of exchange fluctuations.

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For a more detailed or customized itinerary, optional extensions and activities, please call or email us. 

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