The park is also popular for trekkers with a number of routes available. Some highly recommended treks include Lake Gunung Tujuh- a crater lake in Mount Tujuh; and the popular trek up to either Camp 2 or 3 of Mount Kerinci. It is also possible to trek to the summit. A trek to the summit usually takes 2 days and 1 night, including the descent, although the more adventurous claim it can be made in a single day, beginning around 5am.

There are tea plantations, which you may tour after getting permission from the locals. You can go sightseeing around the town, but mainly most people prefer to go trekking to see more of the nature reserve.

Most visitors arrive from Padang's Minangkabau International Airport. You may want to call your hotel or homestay in advance to arrange for personal transport (you can hire a car, van, or bus) for your trip, as it is a 6 hour drive away from the town.

It is also possible to take public transport, although the ride may be uncomfortable as public buses may not have space if you are carrying a bulky backpack or luggage.

A climb to the top of Mount Kerinci or one of many other volcanoes shows an important and remarkable change in vegetation; lower trees, which are covered in mush and sub-alpine meadows and swamps at the top, gradually replace high trees. A remarkable flower on higher altitudes is the Javanese edelweiss Anaphalis javanica, which only grows on volcanoes. This flower usually reaches four meters in height and is colored white-green because of its small hairs; the flowers are yellow with white. The peak of the volcano itself is bald, because of the last eruption in 1934. The park also houses the biggest flowers in the world, the monstrous, flesh red flower of the parasite Rafflesia arnoldi and the two-meters-high flower-flames of Amorphophallus titanum.