Bukit Lawang river tubing means walking upstream along the Bohorok River, then floating back toward the village on a large inner tube steered by a local guide. One 2025 account describes a walk of almost 2.5 km and about half an hour on the water. Go only with a guide, a life jacket for everyone and clear, normal water.

Quick facts

  • A typical trip: in a TelusuRI travelogue (October 2025), a family of two adults and two children walked almost 2.5 km upstream to Batu Gajah, the highest starting point, then floated back for almost half an hour. A local operator said the walk usually takes 30 minutes; with stops, they needed almost an hour.
  • Equipment: used truck inner tubes, tied together by the guides at the start; in that account there were two guides for the family and everyone wore a life jacket.
  • Life jackets are not automatic: Kompas reported in August 2020 that tubers were not given life jackets, while rafting participants received life jackets and helmets.
  • Fatal accident: in June 2018 two visitors drowned after a tube capsized over a deep pool; the second died trying to help the first (Antara Sumut, 24 June 2018).
  • Current: the river "can have a strong current, especially after heavy rain" (Wikipedia), and TelusuRI notes it can be much stronger toward the end of the year as the rainy season begins.

This page is part of our Bukit Lawang travel guide. Wikivoyage calls tubing a popular pastime here; it is also one of the few activities where a bad decision about the day can have serious consequences, so this page puts safety first.

How does a tubing trip work?

  1. Meet your guide the evening before or in the morning, look at the river together and agree on the route, the price and the safety gear.
  2. Walk upstream along the riverside path. The TelusuRI family stopped to swim and to rinse off under small waterfalls on the way.
  3. Get ready at the start. The guides assemble the tubes and check that every life jacket is fastened.
  4. Float back down. Calm stretches alternate with rapids among large boulders; the guide steers and calls out rocks.
  5. Climb out near the village at a spot the guide chooses.

Wikivoyage notes that tubes can also be rented from stalls in the village, and warns: "Be careful on the water because currents are strong." Our advice is not to go without someone who knows the current state of the river, especially on your first trip.

Bukit Lawang village along the Bohorok River, surrounded by forested hills
Bukit Lawang village along the Bohorok River, where tubing trips usually finishPhoto: Madeleine Holland · CC BY 2.0

Is tubing on the Bohorok safe?

There are no official accident statistics for tubing here, so we can only point to what has been reported. Many visitors enjoy it without problems when the water is normal and a guide is in control. But the 2018 drowning happened on an ordinary tubing trip, and in 2020 Kompas found that tubers were not routinely given life jackets. The American Whitewater Safety Code (revised 2024) puts it plainly: always wear a life jacket, because a snug vest-type jacket helps keep a swimmer's head above water. Ask for one for every person, in a size that fits, and do not go if there is none.

How can you tell it is not a tubing day?

Rain upstream can raise the Bohorok quickly, and American Whitewater notes that a small rise in a wide channel is multiplied where the river narrows. In November 2020 a night-time flash flood raised the nearby Landak River in Bahorok by about 5 metres (Liputan6). Skip tubing that day if you see:

  • brown or muddy water instead of clear water
  • a river that is higher, faster or louder than the day before
  • branches or debris floating past
  • heavy rain overnight or over the hills upstream, or rain forecast by BMKG for the afternoon
  • a guide who hesitates, or who offers tubes without life jackets

For the rainy months and how they affect plans, see our guide to weather and the best time to visit Bukit Lawang.

What should you do if you fall in?

Follow your guide's instructions first. The American Whitewater Safety Code recommends:

  • Float on your back with your feet up and pointing downstream, using your feet to push off rocks.
  • Do not try to stand in fast-moving water. A foot wedged between rocks can hold you under; stand only in slow water or water below your knees.
  • Stay upstream of your tube, so you are not pinned between the tube and a rock.

What should you check before you pay?

Prices vary by provider and season, so we do not quote a figure. Ask instead:

  • How many guides come, and how many tubes each guide controls?
  • Is there a fitted life jacket for every person, including children?
  • Where do you start and finish, and is the walk upstream included?
  • Is there a dry bag for phones and money?
  • What happens if the river is too high on the day; can you reschedule?

Wear swimwear or quick-dry clothes, a T-shirt against sun and scrapes, and sandals with straps (flip-flops come off). Do not drink alcohol before or during the trip.

Who should skip it?

Our advice: tubing suits confident adults and older children who are at ease in water. Non-swimmers, young children, pregnant travellers and anyone with back or heart problems should think carefully, or choose a calm-water swim near the bank instead. If children come, tell the guide their ages in advance and keep them in a tube with an adult.

After tubing: a hot shower close to the river

The riverside path to the start also passes small cascades, covered in our guide to waterfalls near Bukit Lawang. Afterwards, a hot shower helps: Rindu Alam Hotel's bathrooms have water heaters, and the Superior Room, Deluxe Room and Family Suite have garden and river views. As of September 2026, rates start at IDR 500,000 per night for a Standard Room (room only). Check availability on our rooms page, and use the WhatsApp button on this page to ask our team about your plans.

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