Understand
For many years, travel in this part of Indonesia had been restricted by the Government due to a long war with an Acehnese separatist guerrilla force. More recently, on 26 December 2004, the coastal portions of the area were devastated by a huge earthquake triggering a tsunami, which is estimated to have killed up over 160,000 people in Aceh and completely devastated coastal infrastructure including the capital city of Banda Aceh, and made over 500,000 people homeless.
Since a peace agreement was signed in Helsinki on 15 August 2005 between the Indonesian Government and Gerakan Aceh Merdeka Aceh Independence Movement, the Indonesian Government, in cooperation with the European Union, has been working with the local militia to disarm weapons, with great success. After the tsunami, the UN and numerous international aid agencies moved in, in a quest to reconstruct the area.
Conservative dress is expected.
The largest portion of Leuser National Park is in Aceh Province, and provides habitat for many endangered species, including the Sumatran Tiger and forest Rhinoceros.
