Floating down the Bohorok River through the jungle on a lashed-together inner tube.
The Bohorok runs straight through the middle of Bukit Lawang, and floating down it on a lashed-together inner tube is how most people finish a jungle trek. The water comes off the mountains and is genuinely cold when you first sit in it, which after a day of climbing in the humidity is the whole appeal.
Guides tie several tubes together into a raft, sit you in the middle and steer with their feet and hands, fending off the boulders. Some stretches are a lazy drift with forest leaning over both banks and the guesthouses of the village going by; others are short, splashy rapids where you get soaked and grab the rope. It is not whitewater rafting and it is not trying to be. Most floats are over in fifteen to thirty minutes depending on where you put in.
The river deserves more respect than its holiday-fun packaging suggests. Bohorok levels rise very quickly after rain upstream, and in November 2003 a flash flood down this valley destroyed most of the village and killed well over two hundred people, including tourists. That history is why local guides take water levels seriously and why trips get cancelled on days that look sunny in the village.
So the honest advice is simple: go, it is good fun and a fine way to end a trek, and take the local call on conditions as final. If the river is running high and brown, the answer is no, whatever you have already paid.
Cara ke sana
Tubing launches from points along the Bohorok in and just upstream of Bukit Lawang, and everything is arranged in the village through guesthouses and guides, usually a day ahead or on the spot. Most trips involve a short walk or a motorbike ride to the put-in and a float back down towards town, so no transport arrangements are needed beyond getting yourself to Bukit Lawang. Multi-day treks routinely finish with a tube float back to the village instead of walking out, which is the most enjoyable way to do it and is usually included in the trek price. Bukit Lawang itself is three to five hours from Medan by road, depending on whether you take a private car or a shared minivan.
Masa terbaik
The drier months, roughly May to September, mean clearer, more manageable water and fewer cancellations. Late morning or early afternoon is the most comfortable time to be wet, once the day has warmed up. Avoid the heaviest rains around November to December, and remember that rain falling in the hills upstream raises the river here regardless of the weather you can see, which is why local advice on the day matters more than the forecast.
Baik untuk diketahui
Go with a guide who knows the river rather than hiring a tube and improvising, which people do and occasionally regret. Wear sandals with a heel strap and leave phones, cameras and wallets behind or in a properly sealed dry bag, because you will go under at least once. Skip it entirely if the water is high and fast after rain, and do not push a guide who has already said no. Wear something you can swim in and expect to be handed a life jacket on the better-run trips. The tubes come back upstream by motorbike, which is worth watching in itself.
With a guide and at normal water levels it is a manageable float with some mild rapids. After rain the river rises fast and responsible operators postpone trips. This valley suffered a fatal flash flood in 2003, so local caution about water levels is well founded and should be respected.
Basic water confidence is enough. The guides manage the tubes and the route and life jackets are usually provided, but you will get thrown around in the faster sections and should expect to go under. If you cannot swim at all, say so before you book.
Trips put in along the Bohorok in or just above Bukit Lawang and float back down towards the village. Guesthouses and guides organise the short walk or motorbike ride to the launch point, and the tubes are brought back upstream afterwards.
Usually fifteen to thirty minutes on the water, depending on the put-in point and the river level. It is a short activity rather than a half-day, which is why it is normally combined with a trek or a walk to the Landak River.
Yes, and it is the standard way multi-day treks finish. Instead of walking back out you float down to the village, which is usually included in the trek price. It depends on the river being safe on the day.
Tambahkannya ke dalam laluan merentasi Indonesia dan kami akan kira masa perjalanan dan kos antara setiap hentian.
Bina perjalanan anda
