Mount Leuser

Mount Leuser rises to 3,466 metres on the western edge of the national park, the highest point in the park and one of the highest mountains in northern Sumatra. The climb is a serious undertaking — long, wet, leech-infested, and requiring full self-sufficiency for two weeks in the forest. The route from Kedah crosses several intermediate peaks, passes through dense moss forest in the cloud zone, and emerges onto a bare summit ridge with views (when clear) across the entire breadth of the park.

This is not a trip to attempt without proper preparation. Guides, porters, food and permits must be arranged in advance through licensed operators in Kutacane or Kedah; total costs for a small expedition run to several million rupiah a head. The dry season (May to September) gives the best chance of usable weather, though even then the upper ridge is often closed in for days at a time. For most visitors, a shorter trek from Ketambe or Kedah gives a sufficient taste of the high forest without the time and cost.

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A story
The mountain gave its name to the whole park but it is one of the least visited summits in Southeast Asia. The standard expedition takes between ten and fourteen days return through some of the wettest forest on earth — average rainfall on the upper ridge is over six metres a year — and the summit itself is often cloud-covered. The first recorded ascent was by a Dutch team in 1937; in some years there are fewer than ten successful summits.