After registering in Pangkalanbun, you need to travel 25km east to KUMAI , whose small port and couple of streets stand across broad Sungai Kumai from the edge of Tanjung Puting national park. Transport from Pangkalanbun winds up outside the market on the kilometre-long strip of Jalan Idris (last bemo back around 3pm); the adjacent Aloha and Cempaka losmen (c) are more welcoming than those in Pangkalanbun. The Pelni office across the road at the docks does tickets for the fortnightly Binaya to Java and Sulawesi, and the Lawit, Leuser and Tilongkabila also call here . Continue up Jalan Idris to organize your national park permit from the Departmen Kehutanan Taman Nasional Tanjung Puting (Mon-Thurs & Sat 7am-2pm, Fri 7-11am; tel 0532/61508). Having produced your permit from Pangkalanbun's police and another copy of your passport, you pay Rp2000 a person per day, plus Rp2000 a boat per day.

The next stage is to organize a boat into Tanjung Puting - access is by water only. Speedboats are expensive (Rp120,000 a day) and scare wildlife. Slower, quieter klotok are six-metre-long hulls powered by an inboard engine, with enclosed mandi, a wooden roof (which makes a fine vantage point), and room for four people plus two crew. Rates are fixed at Rp75,000 a day all-inclusive; sleeping aboard sidesteps the park's pricey accommodation, and the crew will cook for you. National park staff can help find a vessel, or you can head down to the jetties beside their office. Pack walking shoes, sunscreen, a hat and a torch; there are no shops inside the park.