The Gayo people broke away from the Batak Karo people of North Sumatra, because the Batak Karo people are Christians and the people of Gayo are Muslim. They regularly give ritual offerings and sacrifices to the spirits, to holy men and to their ancestors. Many Gayo people believe in good and bad spirits and in holy men, both dead and alive. Most Gayo are Muslims, but lacking orthodox understanding of the religion. From their traditional dances one can see the root and greatest challenge they face, namely suicide (all ages) due to hopelessness. Their main source of income is coffee, growing Arabica coffee, which is often referred to as the very best Arabica and Luwak coffee. They have also embraced survivors of the Aceh Civil War and the 2004 Tsunami.

They live in the and around the Gayo Highlands of Central Aceh. During the occupation and during the last several decades of Indonesian independence, the Gayo have gained access to higher levels of education and participated to some degree in the Islamization and modernization of their area. During this time, the Gayo developed a thriving cash crop economy in vegetables and coffee. After the initial Dutch resistance (during which many Gayo were killed), the Dutch occupied the area from 1904-1942. In the past, the sultans of Aceh conquered the Gayo region and made the Gayo slaves. The Gayo are close neighbors to the strongly Islamic Aceh people. Their language does not have a writing system, but folk tales, stories and poetry are passed down in oral tradition. The Gayo language has four dialects: Lut, Serbejadi-Lukup, Lut and Luwes. Most Gayo live in the Central Aceh and Southeast Aceh regencies. Their homeland lies in the Bukit Barisan Range ('Parade of Mountains') which has elevations of over 12,000 feet and extends more than one thousand miles.

The Gayo live in the isolated central mountains of Aceh province on the island of Sumatera.

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