Across the news channels are the terrifying realities of the demise of the beautiful orange primate. Genus Pongo, better known as the orangutan, is a native animal of only Borneo and Sumatra islands. Sumatran Orangutans are facing critical displacement and destruction in their natural habitats.
Sumatra Cheeky Monkeys collaborate with local partners, villagers and ethical guides to offer ecological tours enabling visitors to observe orangutan families in their jungle home and explore other extraordinary wildlife, flora and fauna.
Sumatra is the largest island in Indonesia and the sixth-largest in the world. The Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca envelop this elongated island. Sumatra is diverse and boasts the Bukit Barisan mountains, wild and open plains, lowlands peppered with swamps, lush mangrove forests and multifaceted river systems. Dense tropical rain forests once dominated the landscape, but deforestation has resulted in orangutan inhabited rain forests being only in Sumatra and Borneo.
Sumatra Cheeky Monkeys tours traverse the biodiverse landscape of Gunung Leuser National Park. The park houses over 750 species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds, not to mention exciting, otherworldly collections of flora: which includes the worlds largest and tallest flowers ‘Rafflesia Arnoldi and Amorphophallus Titanum’. There is documentation of scientific identification of over ten thousand varieties of plants in this area.
Sumatra Cheeky Monkeys has a comprehensive collection of treks that have been explored, mapped and created by the Agus who is fondly known as the King of the Jungle. “Jungling’ is a transformational experience; there is always a chance that guests will encounter the wild and partially-cultivated orangutans and oodles of rare birds and other wildlife”.
The most popular of the Sumatra Cheeky Monkeys treks is ‘The Journey of a Primate’: guests can walk along the same path as some of the worlds rarest primates. This trek is designed for moderately active ‘junglers’ and will explore the forests, flora and fauna whilst being on high alert for monkeys, macaques and orangutans. There are opportunities for swimming at the foot of cooling waterfalls, tracking footprints and identifying local plants.
The Ultimate Kingdom trek is the unparalleled choice for adventurously buff ‘junglers’. Four or five days are spent exploring and traversing challenging terrains that take guests over the Bohorok and Jambur Batu rivers, past cooling waterfalls, through dense jungle and up and down undulating hills. The biodiversity of nature on this trek is peerless; Sumatra Cheeky Monkeys guides will share essential information on the animals and plants as guests walk through these seemingly untouched lands. The Ultimate Kingdom crisscrosses through the deepest jungle and affords guests the opportunity of sighting wild Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran elephants, Sumatran monitor lizards, tortoises and brightly coloured river butterflies.
The Sumatra Cheeky Monkeys’ riverside home is set in sprawling gardens interspersed with impressive lawns. Guests are lulled to sleep by the intriguing sounds of the jungle. Back at ‘base’ after a long and exciting day of trekking, guests can revitalise their tired bodies with cooling showers before idling on their jungle terraces. The chefs at Sumatra Cheeky Monkeys offer a creative ‘fresh from the garden’ menu: they grow many of the staple ingredients in the kitchen garden. The warm tropical climate of Sumatra is perfect for home-grown pineapples, coconuts, hibiscus, tapioca leaf, spinach, eggplant, watergrass, bananas and of course, chilli. The comprehensive menu offers mouthwatering local Sumatran and country-wide Indonesian dishes; and has excellent vegetarian alternatives. Guests with special dietary requirements are recommended to contact Sumatra Cheeky Monkeys, in advance, to arrange individual meals.
The Cheeky Monkeys team is a friendly bunch and Agus can often be heard singing his favourite Indonesian songs accompanied with nothing other than his guitar. Cheeky is the resident dog and is clearly the boss. You can meet all of them and find more information on the exceptional offerings they have; please visit https://sumatracheekymonkeys.com/
