With this 3-night Orangutan tour on the island of Borneo and the Banjarmasin floating market, you will explore not only the jungles in search of free orangutans, but also delve into the daily merchandise of one of the largest floating markets in Asia. Although the jungle and the market are not in the same city, we have designed this trip so that you can connect two of the most interesting points in Borneo. If you are a lover of adventure but also of traditional culture, this trip is tailor-made for you. Get your camera ready because you will take the most beautiful photos of your time in Indonesia.
Arrive at Pangkalan Bun on the island of Borneo, better known by the Indonesians as Kalimantan. Upon arrival at the airport your guide will be waiting for you to transfer to the port of Kumai in about 15-20 minutes by car, where we will embark on a great adventure!
We will arrive at our traditional, wooden boat, called a ‘klotok’. The time of boarding the Boat will be at 11 AM but can be earlier if the boat preparation is complete. Our guide will reconfirm to our crew that everything is ready to go, and the cruise upstream starts on the famous Sekonyer river abroad a klotok. If your flight arrives early (before 12.00 PM), we can arrive on time at the first feeding time at 3 in the afternoon. Then, you can have the first close encounters with them.
The meaning of ‘Tanjung Harapan’ is ‘Cape of Hope’. This first camp has more wetlands and therefore has more mosquitos in the afternoon, so make sure you put on enough mosquito repellent. After visiting this rangers camp, you will continue your journey upriver- resting on the boat while we look for animals in the nearness of the Sekonyer River.
In the afternoon it is very common to see groups of proboscis monkeys and macaques in the treetops, jumping from one tree branch to another, or to even see crocodiles or lizards in the shallow waters on the sides of the river.
Prepare for the sunset and enjoy the exquisite food prepared by our jungle crew. The boat is moored on the side of the river to spend the night. Tonight, we can take a walk through the jungle to look for nocturnal animals such as snakes, tarantulas or even if we are lucky, we can find luminescent mushrooms or tarsier monkeys.
Meals: Lunch – Dinner
Accommodation: Klotok boat
Today you will wake up with the sounds and the colors of the jungle. Without a doubt, you will never forget how you woke up on the river, surrounded by the overflowing nature.
After an extraordinary breakfast on board, we will arrive on time to visit the Tanggui Camp at the feeding time for animals (9 AM). Little by little, you will see how the treetops begin to move and then you will see the silhouettes of the orangutans gradually reaching the feeding platform. Tanggui was a release camp for young orangutans that we rehabilitated- preventing the orangutans from moving away due to a lack of food and ending up outside the National Park, with the following risks of falling into traps of settlers or palm oil plantation fields.
After the orangutans begin to leave, you will return to the klotok to continue further upstream. You will witness how the colour of the river changes and you will have the opportunity to see crocodiles and large monitor lizards, along with Gibbons and proboscis monkeys. Of course, you will enjoy your lunch in this lovely setting.
You will arrive at Camp Leakey, the old orangutan rehabilitation centre. It was founded in 1971, when a student at UCLA University in Los Angeles called Birutte Galdikas, began studying the orangutans there. The name Camp Leakey comes from Birutte’s own professor, paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey. At least 200 orangutans have already been cured and returned to the jungle thanks to this centre.
However, since 1995 the Indonesian government has banned the introduction of more orangutans in this camp, so the orangutans are increasingly adapting to freedom. Today, this camp is used for behavioural and feeding research for orangutans. You can also visit the small museum founded by the scientist Dr. Birutte Galdikas.
After finishing the observing of orangutans in this camp, we will do a gentle trekking through the jungle back to the boat to search for free orangutans and other animals, if the weather conditions permit.
We will have the opportunity to learn a lot about the jungle from our local guides, of whom some of them were born in the jungle. They’ll explain how to look for animals or plants, and you can listen to their experience of life in the jungle.
The jungles of Borneo, that have given life and shelter to its inhabitants for millions of years, are jungles that under the watch of their ancestors, are still capable of fulfilling every single individual’s needs. Food, water, medicines, etc… But never throw anything in your mouth without your guide’s recommendation.
In the afternoon, if it does not rain, the boat will be docked near a congregation of fireflies and you can enjoy the show of its luminescence. Also if you want you can do some hiking at night, to see the nocturnal fauna with your guide.
Meals: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner
Accommodation: Klotok boat
Your stay ends today at the Orangutans’ rehabilitation centre. In the early morning, we will enjoy the last moments of the sounds of the jungle, before heading back to the port, to be transferred to the airport for your flight to Banjarmasin, the canal city of Borneo to visit the Banjarmasin Floating market.
When you arrive, we will bring you to the hotel. After check-in at the hotel, you will explore the city, browsing slowly between canals in the city. After that, you’ll return to the hotel to rest.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Swiss-Bel Hotel Banjarmasin
In the early morning at 5.30am we will visit the floating market of Lok Baintan on the Barito river, one hour from the hotel. We usually call it the Banjarmasin floating market.
You will enjoy a ride in Canoe, traditionally called Jukung, from where you can see the activities that are done daily in this peculiar floating market where they sell food and vegetables. You can also enjoy tea or coffee in a “floating bar” called Rombong.
After this visit, we will go back to the hotel for breakfast. At the agreed time, according to the schedule of your flight, you will have the transfer to the airport to catch your flight to your next destination. Here will end our service. We hope you had a nice time and we would like to see you again!
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation:
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