Tanjung Puting National Park, located in West Kotawaringin Regency in Central Kalimantan Province, is one of the few places in Indonesia where you can see orangutans from up close. Approximately 416,000 hectares in size that consists of dryland dipterocarp forest, peat swampforest, heath forest, mangrove and coastal beach forest, as well as secondary forest, the park’s history as a conservation center goes as far back as the 1930s when the Dutch colonial government set it aside for the protection of orangutans and proboscis monkeys.

There are several ways to enjoy the wonders of Tanjung Pu ting, such as by boat, which allows visitors to watch proboscis monkeys on the trees from afar. You may also opt to get on a houseboat that sails for days through the Sekonya River. This allows for an unforgettable experience as you absorb the surrounding wilderness teeming with wildlife, such as birds, small monkeys, and snakes dangling from trees. If you’re lucky, an orangutan might just come close to the boat for you to snap a picture or two.

Most of the tours inside the park lead to the so-called camps, namely places where the orangutans are rehabilitated before being released back into the wild. Here, visitors get to admire the “men of the jungle” from a safe yet close distance as they sit around on their feeding platforms. Today, Tanjung Puting National Park has four research centers and is also home to gibbons, macaques, clouded leopards, sun bears, wild boars, porcupines, deer, and other wild animals including hundreds of species of birds and butterflies.