Sightseeing: A pair of monkeys relax on a tree in the Way Kambas National Park, Lampung. (JP/Harry Nazarudin)

Located on the southernmost tip of Sumatra, Lampung is considered an alternative holiday destination for Jakartans.

Its proximity to the national capital means holidaymakers can reach Bandar Lampung, Lampung's capital city, in a four-hour drive (roughly 200 kilometers) plus a two-hour ferry ride.

The ferry ride itself offers a different view for Jakarta city slickers: Strings of islands through the Sunda Strait, a view of the wide-open Indian Ocean and a glimpse of the notorious Krakatoa volcano in the distance.

Lampung is well known for two favorite holiday spots: the white-sand beach at Kalianda and the elephant conservatory at Way Kambas. Way Kambas is about 40 kilometers from the city of Bandar Lampung, offering attractions featuring the 68 elephants currently registered there. But we were not there on a weekend and were informed there are no special attractions on weekdays. So, why go at all?

Fortunately, the night before, we had met Pak Yaman.

Yaman N. Azis is the chairman of HPI (Himpunan Pramuwisata), the Association of Tour Guides in Lampung. We met him in Yen Yen, a famous store on Jl. Kakap, Bandar Lampung, that specializes in Lampung souvenirs such as coffee, flavored banana chips and lobi-lobi (a local fruit) syrup.

When Yaman found out that we were not sure about going to Way Kambas, he got excited.

"Way Kambas National Park is not just about the elephants," he said. "We also offer a very interesting river boat tour through the forest that gives tourists an opportunity to see the animals in the wild."

We immediately made an appointment with him for the next day.

Although this river tour is not well known among Indonesians, it has been popular among tourists from Australia and England for some time, thanks to eco-tourism promoters.

The main attraction of the tour is access to the Way Kambas National Park, a 130,000-hectare park, of which the elephant conservatory is one part. The park itself is a surviving example of Sumatran rainforest, with animals such as Sumatran tigers, gibbons, kingfishers, pelicans and, of course, elephants.

The best times to enjoy the wildlife are either in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the animals are easily spotted. During the day, most animals stay in the shade; at night, it is too dangerous.

There is limited accommodation on site. Eco Lodges Indonesia (www.ecolodgesindonesia.com/satwa) operates a hostel there; there is also a lodge operated by the Way Kambas management.

We arrived at the main gate of Way Kambas National Park at about 3:00 p.m. From the main gate, instead of turning right toward the elephant conservatory, we went straight, along a narrow asphalt road.

This road cuts through a thick tropical forest, marking the beginning of our wild adventure. When we opened the window, we could hear gibbons shouting in the distance and several unfamiliar birdcalls.

We were surprised to see a wild boar, then a deer, comfortably sitting in the middle of the road. Yaman told us he had seen many animals on this road, including elephants and gibbons. Once, he said, he even saw a tiger, which ran for about five minutes before disappearing into the forest.

After driving for about 45 minutes into the forest, we finally arrived at the pier on the Way Kanan riverbank, where we were going to start our river tour.

There is a compound with five small buildings there, including a lobby and the lodge run by the park. We hopped into a five-person boat and donned our life jackets, ready to start our tour.

The scene looked like the setting for a Vietnam War movie: A 4-meter-wide river of brownish, muddy water, with thick vegetation on each side. When the boat started, we anxiously watch as the forest around us unwrapped itself.

The river does not follow a straight path. It's full of twists and turns; sometimes it felt as if the river simply disappeared into the woods. Yaman was correct in his predictions: By late afternoon, many animals had gathered along the riverbank to graze or drink.

First and most abundant were the birds, from bright blue kingfishers to an eagle perched at the top of a high tree. We passed a group of sunbathing pelicans, which, startled by the sound of the engine, flew away. We watched with amazement as they flapped their wings in slow motion, a scene till then made possible only by watching Animal Planet.

Land animals too, gathered along the banks of the river. We saw several groups of wild monkeys, gathering on a grassy area. One, curious about us, even climbed a tree growing out above the water. We also saw Sumatran deer, much bigger than the one we saw on the road, grazing along the riverbank.

The river, by then, was becoming wider, leading into a three-way intersection.

Here, the Way Kanan River splits into two branches, Way Batin and Way Kambas.

After spotting another deer, we saw something floating on the river - a fearsome square head that ducked below the surface as soon as it noticed our presence.

"That's a Sumatran crocodile," said the boatman. When I asked whether it could be a biawak, a common river lizard, he shook his head. "Biawak would swim away; only crocodiles dive."

It was close to 6:15 p.m. when we finally docked back at the pier. The sun was setting, radiating a brilliant yellow light over the forest and transforming the river with the bright colors of the evening sky reflected in its waters.

Together with a boatload of British birdwatchers ahead of us, we bid farewell to a group of monkeys on the way.

Eco-tourism, such as that we experienced on the Way Kambas river tour, has many unique features. There is no guarantee what you're going to see - but you'll definitely see something.

This element of surprise is always the most appealing aspect, whether you are on Komodo Island, dolphin watching at Bali's Lovina Beach Bali, or at Way Kambas.

Ecotourism is also very educational for children or young travelers, providing a way to interact with nature other than through TV or safari parks. Nature is not a mall - the things there are not for buying or touching - but the beauty it offers is immense.

Teaching children to respect this in our highly commercialized world is a treasure on its own.

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