About us
Meet the founders.
Who we are
A LOCAL COMPANY,
FOR RESPONSIBLE TOURISM.
Sumatra Paradise was founded by a guide born and raised on the edge of the Leuser National Park — where Sumatran orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos still share the same forest.
Every trek, every transfer, every guesthouse we work with is local. No large groups, just slow, careful travel through a part of the world worth protecting.
Co-founder · Bukit Lawang
Haidir
Haidir was born in Bukit Lawang and grew up walking these forests — first as a kid playing on the Bohorok river, later as a licensed jungle guide for Gunung Leuser National Park.
From the age of 16, he started working as an assistant to his father who guided tourists in the jungle. After a few years of training, he became a licensed guide himself and started taking his own groups in the jungle.
Haidir has a real passion for sharing the beauty and secrets of the rainforest and has been enjoying organizing treks for groups of various sizes, ages and nationalities for the last 20 years. He organizes tours throughout the whole of North Sumatra — but Bukit Lawang is still home, and you'll always find him somewhere near the river.
Co-founder · From France
Laetitia
Laetitia first visited Sumatra in 2010, while travelling on a trip around the world. She was supposed to stay for a couple of weeks — but fell in love with the place and the people, and ended up staying months instead. Sumatra feels like home to her.
She runs Sumatra Paradise alongside Haidir, bringing a traveller's eye to the way they welcome guests, plan itineraries and care for details from the first email to the last goodbye.
Laetitia speaks French and can accommodate all bookings requests in French if preferred.