What Is a Klotok Tour? Life on the Sekonyer River

The word klotok comes from the sound of the boat engine: klotok, klotok, klotok. In Tanjung Puting, a klotok is a two-deck wooden riverboat that serves as both your transport and your accommodation. There are no hotels inside the national park, and that is exactly what makes the experience so memorable.

What is a klotok like?

The lower deck holds the wheelhouse, the galley and the bathroom. The upper deck is your living room: a place to relax, share meals, watch wildlife and sleep at night. Every klotok travels with a crew of captain, cook, deckhand and guide.

Days on the river

Mornings start with hot coffee and the songs of gibbons. The klotok then chugs slowly along the Sekonyer River. Downstream the water is brown, but it turns black and clear like tea as you enter the Sekonyer Kanan towards Camp Leakey. The dark colour comes from tannins released by the leaves of the peat-swamp forest.

Afternoons are for the orangutan feeding stations and short forest walks. At dusk, proboscis monkeys gather in the riverside trees to sleep. After dark, fireflies twinkle in the nipa palms.

Eating on board

The cook prepares three meals a day in a tiny galley at the stern. Expect home-style dishes such as grilled fish, taro-leaf curry, fried tempeh and fresh fruit. Vegetarian diets and allergies can be arranged in advance.

Sleeping under a mosquito net

At night the crew lays out a mattress, pillow, blanket and mosquito net on the upper deck. The klotok moors along a quiet stretch of river and you drift off to the sound of the forest. For many guests, the first night on a klotok is the moment they never forget.

Want to feel it for yourself? Start with the Klotok Adventure 3D2N or choose the Private Premium Klotok for a private cabin.