Travel Guide Bukit Lawang

Near the Bahorok River, in the village of Bukit Lawang (around 90 km northwest of Medan), lies the "rehabilitation" center for Sumatran orangutans (there's another in Kalimantan).In Indonesia, "orang-utan" means "man of the forest". It is said that they can speak, but refuse to do so, so as not to be forced to work. Indonesians are so fond of these big apes that they keep them as pets, although more and more local residents consider the practice morally questionable. Today, the species is protected and monkeys kept in captivity in private homes are seized and returned to the wild. This return is not without its difficulties, which explains the creation of the center in 1973. Since then, many animals have been released. Some people claim that the remaining animals are used to attract tourists, thus supporting the local economy.In any case, a terrible flood caused by abusive deforestation (witnesses spoke of a 20 m high wave!) caused severe damage on November 2, 2003: no fewer than 400 houses, 8 bridges and 35 hotel structures were destroyed, 239 people (including 5 tourists) were killed, and around 1400 locals were left homeless.