Tanjung Puting: Orangutan Klotok Tour & Jungle Night Walk

Summary

Sleep on a klotok see orangutans up close and night walks in Borneo’s wild heart

You’ll cruise deep into Tanjung Puting by klotok boat, sharing coffee at dawn and spotting orangutans at Camp Leakey and other feeding stations. Nights bring glowing mushrooms and maybe a tarsier sighting on jungle walks before falling asleep to river sounds. With local guides handling everything from airport pickup to meals, all you have to do is watch and listen — and let it sink in.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Explore Tanjung Puting National Park

• Visit Camp Leakey orangutan feeding
• Visit Tanjung Harapan camp
• Visit Pondok Tanggui camp
• Walk at night to see mushrooms and tarsier

Top questions

How long is the orangutan tour in Tanjung Puting?

The tour lasts 3 days and 2 nights onboard a klotok boat.

Is pickup included from Pangkalan Bun airport or hotel?

Yes, pickup and drop-off are included from Pangkalan Bun airport or your hotel.

Where do you sleep during the tour?

You sleep two nights onboard a traditional klotok riverboat.

Are meals provided during the trip?

Yes, all meals are included along with drinks like coffee, tea, juice, milk, and bottled water.

Do you visit Camp Leakey on this tour?

Yes, Camp Leakey is one of three camps visited for orangutan sightings.

Is this tour suitable for families or children?

Yes, infants can join with specialized seats available; families are welcome.

Are there night walks in the jungle?

Yes, there’s a guided night walk to spot glowing mushrooms and possibly tarsiers.

What wildlife might you see besides orangutans?

You may see proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques, kingfisher birds, hornbills, gibbons, and more.

What’s included

Your journey includes roundtrip pickup from Pangkalan Bun airport or hotel, two nights sleeping aboard a klotok boat with all meals provided (plus coffee or tea anytime), police registration for safety checks, drinking water throughout each day—even fruit juice or Coke if you want—an English-speaking guide who knows every bend in the river by heart, plus ranger-led walks both day and night through Tanjung Puting’s wildest corners before returning you safely back again.

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed wasn’t the orangutans or even the jungle — it was the smell of coffee drifting across the river at sunrise, mixed with something earthy I still can’t name. Our guide, Siti, handed me a mug as we sat on the deck of the klotok, this wooden boat that would be home for two nights. The engine coughed awake and we glided into Tanjung Puting’s tangled green. I kept thinking, is this really Borneo? It felt like stepping into someone else’s dream.

We stopped at Camp Leakey just as the forest started buzzing louder. Siti pointed out a flash of orange in the canopy — “that’s Tom,” she whispered, like we were meeting an old friend instead of a massive male orangutan. Later at Pondok Tanggui camp, I tried to pronounce ‘proboscis’ monkey (Li laughed when I butchered it), while gibbons swung somewhere above us. The air was thick but not heavy; every so often you’d catch a breeze that smelled faintly sweet, maybe from some flower I never saw.

At night, after dinner on the klotok (rice tasted better than usual, maybe because we’d earned it), we followed our ranger into the dark with only headlamps and nervous jokes for company. Mushrooms glowed near our feet — honestly looked fake until you blinked twice. Someone spotted a tarsier with those wild eyes; it froze and then vanished before I could even raise my camera. Sleeping on the boat felt strange at first but by morning I didn’t want to leave. Still think about waking up to that chorus of birds and distant monkey calls — makes city alarms feel kind of silly now.