Gunung Leuser National Park

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Gunung Leuser National Park, national park in northwestern Indonesia, on the northwestern end of the island of Sumatra. Gunung Leuser is located mainly in the region of Aceh and also in the province of North Sumatra. First protected in 1934 and later, in 1980, founded as a national park, the park covers 8,305 sq km (3,207 sq mi) and is one of Indonesia's larger parks. Two ranges of the Barisan Mountains dominate the area: the Pusat Gayo and the Serbculang. Among the highest peaks are Leuser (3,404 m/11,168 ft) and Kemiri (3,314 m/10,873 ft). The Alas River runs through the ranges, providing access to several parts of the park, while a road from Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, is the park's main access. Gunung Leuser is popular for its good hiking paths.

The park is Sumatra's most important center for the two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros. The rhinoceros is under threat of extinction, largely because logging, farming, and other forms of development have replaced its habitat. The rhinoceros is the smallest of its group, standing 135 cm (53 in) tall and 250 cm (100 in) long. Gunung Leuser National Park has several research stations that serve as orangutan rehabilitation centers. The centers help orangutans that have been raised illegally as pets adapt to wilderness.

A rain forest in the park offers habitat for a wide variety of animals, including elephants, tigers, gibbons, leaf monkeys, jungle cats, forest deer, otters, hornbills, and argus pheasants. In the higher mountains, the serown, or goat antelope, can be found.