Wild Sumatra Trekking
5 Good Reasons To Do This Trip!
From scree scrambling to rainforest roots, this Camino Women adventure is rated a Level 3 which means there's a mix of epic climbs and leisurely rambles.
Traipsing through tiger country is all thrills and no chills. Chances are these elusive big cats will keep to themselves, but if you get the chance to spot them, lucky you!
You’ll be huffing and puffing just as much as the volcano itself while summiting Mount Kerinci, but standing at the summit of the tallest volcano in Southeast Asia? Now that’s a feat!
You deserve some soaking after dozens of kilometres trekked. From natural pools to caldera lakes and real-deal hot springs, there are plenty of opportunities for unforgettable dips.
It wouldn’t be a Camino Women adventure without a local trekking expert to guide you along the way. They know the forest like the back of their hand and can spot a Sumatran ground cuckoo from a mile away.
Uncover more info by clicking the tabs below!
Trip Details
| Dates | Price AUD (per person twin share) |
|---|---|
|
|
Price
- $1,350 deposit.
- 2 week cooling off period applies.
- Lifetime Deposit. If you need to cancel, your deposit is transferable to other trips.
- Twin Share: we’ll match you with a roomie if you’re travelling solo.
- No private supplement available
Please refer to our payment terms in the FAQs.
Trip length
13 days, 12 nights
Meeting point
Santika Premier Hotel, Padang
Departure point
Santika Premier Hotel, Padang
Group size
Maximum 12
Participation requirements
- You’re open-minded and open-hearted.
- You try to embrace the little things.
- You don’t mind bush camping and washing in a river.
- You love adventure and the surprises that come with it.
- You are gracious to others and a team player.
Fitness
Level 3 – Moderate Plus
A fair amount of endurance and a slightly more than moderate level of fitness is needed for our Level 3 rated trips. Expect to walk for between 4 and 7 hours a day, that’s somewhere between 10 and 15 kilometres. Also keep in mind that we’ll need to cover that distance at a fairly moderate pace through undulating terrain. Some days may be solely devoted to trekking through isolated wilderness with jaw-dropping scenery, while others are dedicated to relaxation and cultural experiences.
Included
- Meals: 12 breakfasts, 11 lunches and 12 dinners
- Private vehicle transportation
- 2 nights hotel accommodation
- 5 nights guesthouse
- 5 nights wildlife camping
- A top-rated and English-speaking Tour Leader
Not included
- International flights
- Travel insurance (compulsory)
- Personal trekking equipment
- Late check-out at hotels
- Meals and drinks not mentioned in the itinerary
- Drinks with included lunches and dinners
- Tip kitty (See FAQs for more information)
- Personal expenditure
Accommodation Preview
Santika Premier Hotel, Padang
Cinnamon Guest House, Lempur Village
Family Resort and Homestay, Kersik Tuo
Overview
Trip Summary By Days
|
|
Welcome to Sumatra and welcome dinner over traditional Minangkabau cuisine | |||||
|
|
Transfer to Lempur, home base village for the next seven days | |||||
|
|
First jungle trek of the trip to Bukit Lintang | 8 | 7 | |||
|
|
Hiking day through Kerinci Seblat National Park, reach Lake Kaco and enjoy a swim | 8 | 7 | |||
|
|
Hiking day from Lake Kaco back to Lempur Village | 8 | 7 | |||
|
|
Round trip hike to Grao Sikai Hot Spring | 6 | 6 | |||
|
|
No hiking, spend the day in Lempur and wander in the area | |||||
|
|
Early morning 2.5 hour drive to starting point for hike to Mt Tijun, end the day in Caldera Lake | 3 | 4 | |||
|
|
Hike down from Caldera Lake to catch a ride to Kersik Tuo village | 3 | 4 | |||
|
|
Hike day to reach Shelter 2 campsite (3100m) | 10 | 7 | |||
|
|
Early morning to summit Mt Kirinci (3805m), head back down to Kersik Tuo | 10 | 7 | |||
|
|
Long drive from Kersik Tuo village back to Padang, farewell dinner | |||||
|
|
Goodbye, Sumatra | |||||
| Totals: | 56 |
Trip Map
Get to Know Your Wild Sumatra Trekking Itinerary
What You'll See & Do
Day 1: Welcome to Sumatra!
Welcome to Sumatra! Ever dreamed of jungles teeming with wildlife, treks up smoldering volcanoes and friendly locals? Great – you’re on the right trip!. This Indonesian island is like a living, breathing creature that inhales the sea breeze and belches fire. But before you go strapping on your trekking boots, you’ll land in the coastal city of Padang, once a bustling Dutch trading port.
Drop your bags and get to meeting up with your Camino crew at a welcome dinner over traditional Minangkabau cuisine, known for being spicy and oh so flavourful. Nothing brings a group together like testing your spice tolerance! Savour your cozy hotel bed tonight because there’s plenty of guesthouses and jungle camps to look forward to.
Included: Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Santika Premiere, Padang
Day 2: Lempur Village
The nine-hour bus ride today is a clear indication of one thing – you’re going as remote as it gets! Your excitement is no doubt running high this morning as the Sumatran landscapes pass by, out your window.
Lempur is a small village surrounded by misty mountains, and is the jumping-off point for treks in the Kerinci region. This will be your home base on and off for the next seven days, until you’re ready to head off for the steeper pastures of Mount Kerinci!
One look and without another traveller in sight, you’ll realise this sleepy hamlet is truly off the banana pancake trail. Join your Camino crew for a cuppa on the upstairs balcony of your guesthouse tonight. It might feel all new and exotic now, but this place will soon feel like home.
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Cinnamon Guesthouse, Lempur Village
Day 3: Bukit Lintang
You’ll be bouncing out of bed this morning, because today’s the day you’ll be taking your first steps into the jungle. As if the trek itself wasn’t going to get your heart pumping, you’ll be walking right through prime tiger country. Only 600 of these magical creatures are left in the wilds of Sumatra, and while chances of a sighting are slim, there’s nothing like the promise of seeing wild tigers to keep you alert and ready to hit the trail!
This section of the rainforest, known as a hutan adat, is carefully managed by traditional communities who cultivate and care for the forest, harvesting cinnamon, ratan and other products. After a seven to eight-kilometre trek, you’ll rock up to the edge of Kerinci Seblat National Park. You’ll be thankful for carrying your lightweight backpack with just your personal bare-essentials, and left wondering how the trekking assistants hiked so cheerfully all the way, bearing the brunt of all the camping and food paraphernalia to make your remote camp home for the night. Is there anything better than falling asleep with a full tummy to a rainforest chorus?
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Wildlife camping
Day 4: Lake Kaco
Set out on another seven to eight-kilometre trek this morning. While you were camped on the edge of the national park last night, you’ll spend today hiking through it. Keep your eyes peeled for pugmarks – tiger paw prints. This is one of the most beautiful sections of the rainforest, but we can’t promise wildlife sightings, because so many jungle dwellers are shy critters! Listen for the gibbons calling and keep an eye open for flashes of colourful hornbills or butterflies floating in the canopy above.
When you begin descending to the lower elevations towards Lake Kaco, you’ll know you’re on today’s homeward stretch. The electric blue lake looks as if a giant was mixing watercolours with shades of cyan and ultramarine.
Well don’t just stand there! Jump in! The lake is fed by an underground natural spring and your weary muscles will be grateful. You’ll camp along the lakeshore tonight, keeping an eye out for any animals that might come to steal a drink.
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Wildlife Camping
Day 5: Lempur Village
Kick off your third day of trekking in Sumatra with another refreshing dip in Lake Kaco. Take the time to simply relax and soak up your surroundings before lacing up your boots again. Come full circle, spotting the familiar rice paddies on the outskirts of Lempur Village on the horizon in the afternoon. It’s all in a day’s work at this point because your legs are getting stronger by the day, but today’s easier gradient is as good as a rest.
Look at you! You’re back to your home-away-from-home. Hit the showers for a well earned scrub and forage in your suitcase, which you haven’t laid eyes on for days, for a clean set of clothes!
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Cinnamon Guesthouse, Lempur Village
Day 6: Grao Sikai Hot Springs
Fuel up with a hearty breakfast this morning. May we suggest nasi uduk? This mouthwatering mixture of rice and coconut milk, with fortifying side dishes like omelette and fried tofu, is the perfect fuel for a day’s trek. Today’s hike has a special reward, but first there’s a drive to the trail start.
After a five to six-hour hike – depending on how often you stop to simply listen to birdsong or snap photos – you’ll arrive at your final destination, a hot spring in the middle of the rainforest. No, it’s not a mirage! Sink down into this natural hot tub that sits at the base of an active volcano, taking the time to reflect on the past few days and gossip with the gals. Eventually you’ll have to tear yourself away to make it back to Lempur in time for dinner.
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Cinnamon Guesthouse, Lempur Village
Day 7: Lempur Village
Rise and shine – whenever you want! There’s no early wake up call today. Give your aching feet and tired toes a break, spending the day flexing your social muscles instead and getting to know the village you’ve begun to call home. If you haven’t had a chance meeting or two already, you’ll meet some of the locals. You might chat with farmers working in the paddy fields or peak your head into a local school.
If luck allows, the local honey hunter might even let you follow him on a mission to collect the golden nectar from wild bees. No matter what, you’ll find yourself falling deeper in love with this corner of Sumatra..
Put your feet up tonight – tomorrow brings another day of trekking.
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Cinnamon Guesthouse, Lempur Village
Day 8: Mt. Tujuh
Day eight and it’s an early start and a sad moment to wave goodbye to Lempur, but you’re taking with you some memories that you’ll treasure long after you’re back home. On the road during the two-and-a-half-hour drive, look forward and strategise with your Camino sisters about tackling your biggest feat yet – Mount Tujuh.
An ancient volcano that once upon a time went a bit too Krakatoa, Mount Tujuh is now extinct, but the dense forests that cover its base are anything but. Head back inside the boundaries of the Kerinci Seblat National Park, climbing up, up, up until you reach the volcano’s caldera, the highest in all of Southeast Asia at 2,000 metres. On arrival, your weary feet will be singing the caldera’s praises, because this one has a lake at its heart, inviting them to soak away all those muscle aches. But first, it’s time to help make camp on its shore.
Don’t be surprised if you’re overtaken by a sense of mystique here. One look at the primeval forest surrounding you, you’ll be forgiven for believing you’ve stepped back into prehistoric times. Not to mention, legend has it that the Sumatran Bigfoot known as Orang Pendek, is said to roam these hills!
A simple camp dinner shared with your guides and your Camino crew tonight will feel like a celebratory feast – tuck in!
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Wildlife Camping
Breakout: Orang Pendek
Myth, folklore or a real deal cryptid? It seems as if every country has their own version, whether it be the Australian Yowie, American BigFoot, Kiwi Moehau, Himalayan Yeti – or the Indonesian Orang Pendek. Said to look half-human and half-orangutan and walk bipedally (that’s on two feet), this creature has been sighted many times near Mount Kerinci and particularly around Lake Kaco. Even highly revered biologists claim to have seen this potential hominid. After trekking through thick rainforest and seeing firsthand just how impenetrable it can be, even skeptics might start to believe that Orang Pendek is real, walking undetected in the Sumatran jungles.
Day 9: Onto Kersik Tuo Village
With the dawn brings the new sounds of nature. There’s plenty of time this morning to soak up the caldera scenery, but we bet you’ll be bounding out of your tent early anyway, to make as much of it as you can. How often do you wake up atop an extinct volcano after all? Soon it will be time to head back down the mountain to catch your ride to Kersik Tuo, a village nestled at the base of Mount Kerinci. Yes, you’ll be summiting the next peak within the next 48 hours! Spend the rest of the day kicking back and resting up for the grand finale of your Sumatran adventure – But first, hello shower and hello fresh set of clothes!
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Family Resort & Homestay, Kersik Tuo
Day 10: Mount Kerinci
Today is the most challenging trek of the entire trip, the climb up Mount Kerinci. You’ll make your way up the forested slopes. The thing about hiking in Indonesia – there are no switchbacks. That means it’s all straight up the volcano from here at 1,400 metres up! Listen for the enchanting song of gibbons, cheering you on from the canopy. If you’re lucky you might sneak a peak of these cheeky, cheerleader primates.
It’ll take all day, but eventually you’ll make camp above the tree line, the perfect base for a summit push tomorrow. You’ll be thanking yourself for doing all the hard work of getting here the night before when the alarm goes off in the morning. Bundle up this evening as you trade steamy jungle for mountain top chill and head off to bed early.
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Wildlife Camping
Day 11: Summit Day
Rise and shine sleepy heads! We pinky promise that the 4:30 am wake up call is worth cutting your beauty sleep short for. Don’t forget to pop on your head torch, because you’re starting your summit push while the sky is still blanketed in stars. You’ll reach the peak just as the sun is beginning to rise. The scenery is magnificent and you’ve worked so hard to reach this point. With the smell of sulphur hanging heavy in the air, it’s impossible to ignore that you’re standing on top of an active volcano. And not just any volcano, but the highest one in Southeast Asia!
Celebrate with your crew at the summit, sneak a peek of the lava burbling below and take a group photo or two.You’ll emerge from the forest victorious and very ready for your guesthouse bed in the afternoon. You – yes you – hiked to the top of a volcano today! None of this could be possible though, without your amazing guides and trekking assistants. Hug them hard – you’ve all shared so much!
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Family Resort & Homestay, Kersik Tuo
Day 12: Padang
It’s a seven-hour drive back to Padang, but we’re pretty sure you won’t care – come to the bus bare foot if you like – you deserve it! Together with your Camino sisters, don’t be surprised if your heart has a twinge of sadness as you watch the remote jungles you’ve called home for almost two weeks now slowly slip back into city sprawl. It’ll give you plenty of time to think about your incredible adventure in Sumatra, summiting active volcanoes, experiencing jungle life and catching up with locals in remote villages.
You might remember that Padang is known for its Minangkabau heritage and of course there are foodie delights to go with their traditional customs. After freshening up a bit, gather together with the Camino ladies at a local restaurant where spicy, pick-me-up dishes like nasi pedang, rice and a smorgasbord of fragrantly-spiced dishes and randang beef in coconut milk, pair perfectly with big belly laughs and joyful rememberings of all you’ve accomplished.
Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Santika Premiere, Padang
Day 13: Farewell Friends!
It’s pats on the back all around as you say sad farewells to your group and look back on almost two full weeks of trekking in Indonesia. How many people can say they’ve summited a volcano? If you weren’t already, you’re officially a Camino Woman now!
Swap numbers, emails, Whatsapps and everything in between, but don’t linger too long because you’ve got a plane to catch. Watch as Indonesia waves goodbye through smoking volcanoes and sparkling sea, soon disappearing behind the clouds. Whether you’ve decided to hightail it home to tell your friends and family all about your adventures or you’ve got yourself booked into an all-inclusive in Bali for a bit of R&R, safe travels!
Included: Breakfast
FAQs
Prior to the payment of your full balance, the final price may change if there is significant variation in the AUD:IDR exchange rate. Our trip pricing is determined by what the exchange rates are at the time of publishing the trip.
The pricing on this trip is based on an exchange rate of 1 AUD:10,32IDR.
A deposit of $1,350 is required to hold your spot. Payment can be made by credit card (fees apply) or bank deposit.
There is a cooling-off period of 2 weeks. (Applicable to all bookings made 110 days in advance.)
We have implemented a ‘lifetime deposit’ guarantee. Deposits are not refundable, but they are transferable at any time, right up until the first day of the trip.
The final balance of the trip is required 120 days in advance of the departure date. Our suppliers require upfront payment well in advance to guarantee availability.
Please refer to the full terms and conditions for further information.
Australians and New Zealanders, do not require a visa for short visits to Indonesia for tourism. You are eligible for the Visa-Free Entry scheme, which allows stays of up to 30 days.
Level 3 – Moderate Plus
A fair amount of endurance and a slightly more than moderate level of fitness is needed for our Level 3 rated trips. Expect to walk for between 4 and 7 hours a day, that’s somewhere between 10 and 15 kilometres. Also keep in mind that we’ll need to cover that distance at a fairly moderate pace through undulating terrain. Some days may be solely devoted to trekking through isolated wilderness with jaw-dropping scenery, while others are dedicated to relaxation and cultural experiences.
Most of our trips have a tip kitty because many cultures have interesting and diverse rules when it comes to tips. We’ve found it to be the easiest way to combat over-tipping, under-tipping or having the tip fall into the wrong hands. Ourgoal is for guests to relax and know that the complexities of tipping are taken care of, on their behalf.
We’ll be updating this section with the tipping amount and how it’s distributed, soon.
In July, Sumatra experiences its dry season, which generally lasts from May to September. The weather is typically warm and humid, with daytime temperatures ranging from 25°C to 30°C. Rain is less frequent during this time, making it a great month for trekking, exploring nature, and spending time outdoors.
On your first and last days, you’ll be staying at a 4-star hotel in Padang. The main guesthouse in Lempur, where you’ll be staying on Day 2 and Days 5-7, offers a variety of room types. Some rooms have twin beds, while others feature queen beds with additional small beds for a second guest. In Kersik Tuo, you’ll stay in smaller villas, each with one bedroom featuring both a queen and a twin bed. We always strive to provide the best possible accommodations at each destination, but please keep in mind that this is a remote rural area. While the guesthouses are very charming and cozy, they cannot offer the same bed arrangements as the hotel.
This trip begins in Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia and ends in the same place. We ask that you fly into Minangkabau International Airport (PDG) in Padang, as that is where your hotel transfer will be waiting for you. Included in the cost of your trip is a departure transfer from the trip finish hotel to the Minangkabau International Airport.
During the trek, you’ll only need to carry personal items, such as clothing and toiletries. Your main luggage can be safely stored at the guesthouse and will be picked up once the trek is complete. In addition to your main luggage, you’ll need to bring a backpack for the trek.
In the unlikely event of a health or security-related incident during a trip, we’ve engaged a local partner to assist. From our experience, there is not one framework that fits all, and every incident is unique and requires a different approach. With all trips, your guides are your day-to-day support. While behind the scenes, there is an active line of communication – between your guide, the on-ground support team, and Australian Ops.
