The Gibbon Experience is a Once in a Lifetime Adventure

Ever wanted to be Tarzan? Have you imagined what it’d be like to glide across the jungle and sleep in a giant tree house? The Gibbon Experience combines these childhood dreams with an awesome conservation effort, and is a must do if you are visiting Laos.

If you are reading this post in an effort to decide if you will sign up for the Gibbon Experience please go and sign up immediately. Trust me just do it.! Yes it is expensive (especially if you are on a backpackers budget like me) but it is 100% worth it.

If you are reading to discover cool adventures to have on your trip to Southeast Asia, definitely add this to your list.

And if you are not convinced yet, you will be by the end of this post!

Trying to describe my adventure through the Gibbon Experience is quite difficult because it was so magical. I don’t think that my words can do it justice, but I will try.

What is the Gibbon Experience?

The Gibbon Experience was created in an effort to conserve the beauty of the Nam Kan National Park in Laos. Illegal logging, commercial cropping, excessive slash-and-burn practices, overall pressure on land and mismanagement combined are rapidly eradicating tropical forests. For this reason, the Gibbon Experience project in Laos was given a mandate to think and act differently. Since 1996, we have dreamt and ensured a sustainable future for the Bokeo forest. The Gibbon Experience currently provides full time jobs to over 120 people. Portions of the cost go to local salaries, maintenance, ranger operations, and reforestation and aid projects.

What to expect on the Express Trip

Map of the Express Trip

The adventure begins at the Gibbon Experience office in Houayxay, Laos at 8 AM. After a brief introduction to the cause and a safety video about zip lining we were separated into our respective groups. There are 3 different tours that you can take including the Classic, Express and Waterfall. We opted for the Express Tour because it was the least expensive and offered the most zip lining. Initially, Kevin and I thought we might be the only people on the tour because no one else had got into our car, but thankfully there were 3 more people with us. Having 5 was the perfect size because we enjoyed meeting other people, and our group was small enough to move quickly and get the most out of the zip lining (Perks of the off season!).

The Best Guide, Pad Thai

After an hour drive to the village, we arrived in the village where our guide, Pad Thai greeted us. We also had another guide who I will refer to as Egg Man because he literally transported a bag of at least 20 eggs across the jungle and zip lines and only broke one! In addition to the guides, there are a lot of other villagers employed by Gibbon Experience to transport the food into the jungle and to do maintenance and safety checks.

Egg Man!

The trek started out immediately with a quick zip line across the river to the beginning of the trail. It was a fun little taste. Next, we had to hike for about an hour to the top of this mountain, where the zip line course begins. This walk definitely got my heart pumping because it is mostly up hill. I was happy to get some exercise after spending the whole day before in a car.

At the top of the hill we sat and ate some lunch before we started the zip line course. We were served really yummy chicken curry sandwiches and were able to try some of the Lao food that had been provided for the guides. All of us were very eager to start zip lining so we ate quickly and got strapped into our harnesses.

The course to the tree house consists of 9 zip lines. For the most part we were zip lining the whole way there with the exception of a couple quick walks to get to the next zip line. The views were incredible and one of the zip lines was 540 M long. Most of the time you can’t see the other end, but they have a great system to know when the next persona can go. Flying above the canopy was exhilarating and every time I secretly wanted to stop myself in the middle of the line so I’d have more time to take in the views..

Arriving at The Gibbon Tree House

After an hour or so of zip lining, we made it to our home for the night. I was amazed at how huge the tree house is. The coolest part is that you have to access it by zip line. The tree house is 3 stories and had 360 degree views of the jungle. I was beyond stoked to spend the night there.

After a quick snack we left the tree house to visit the “kitchen” where the ladies prepare dinner and breakfast. We all got to participate in making some of the dishes that we would eat for dinner. I helped to cook a chicken curry dish that tasted amazing. I’m really hoping I can replicate it when I get back to the states. We got to try samples of each dish they prepared. One of my favorites was a bamboo soup – I had no idea you could eat bamboo!

Future Dinner

Once the food was cooked we went out for some more zip lining. I think we were only supposed to do 4 more zip lines at this time but we convinced them to take us around the whole loop. There is a whole other set of zip lines that take you back to the beginning where we started in the morning. This was my favorite time of the trip because it was raining while we were zip lining so we glided extra fast and the views were breathtaking. As the sunset, I was flying above the canopy. By the time we got to the last zip line it was pretty dark. Apparently this was the first time in 7 years of being a guide that Pad Thai had done this many zip lines in a day or finished at night. It was fun to navigate the jungle in the dark.

The Night in the Jungle

Family Dinner

When we finally made it back to the Tree house, everyone was stoked to find all the dishes we had prepared earlier laid out on the table. It was a big feast. The food was pretty cold because we had zip lined for so long, but I think they make food spicy here so that it still feels hot when you eat it. I can say this meal was one of my favorites in Laos. Everything is so rich; my taste buds were having a party.

After dinner, everyone took showers. This shower is amazing because you have the best views of the jungle and it was nice to get all the mud off for the night.

Once we were all cleaned we spent the rest of the night talking and drinking beers. Pad Thai told us some really funny stories. He is really good at speaking English and working for the Gibbon Experience has helped him to learn a ton.

By 9 PM we were all dead tired. Each one of us had our own bed mat and mosquito net. It was one of the best beds I have slept on in my travels so far. I fell right asleep to the sounds of the jungle and had no bugs on me!

Rise and Shine, Day 2

I was a little sad to have to leave my comfy bed at 6:30 AM the next morning, but thankfully the tradeoff was more zip lining. We did another loop of 4 zip lines and then visited the biggest tree in Laos. It is not the tallest tree, but it is the fattest in this part of Laos and it’s a sacred tree. They believe that a spirit belongs to it and have wrapped monk cloth around the base to show that it is sacred. I really liked the big tree.

We had a quick walk back to the tree house and thankfully another massive meal awaited us. Again, I was impressed by the flavors.

Saying Goodbye to the Tree house

I was really sad to say good-bye, and wish that I had another day to chill in the jungle. It was so peaceful to be disconnected from the world and surrounded by so much beauty.

On the second day we had 7 new zip lines to ride that would lead us out of the jungle to the pick up spot. One of these was the longest zip line of the trip. I think it was 570 M and lasted almost 1 minute. I kept just trying to soak in as much of the beauty around me and keep a mental picture of it all. I don’t think I could get sick of zip lining. It is just so magical and cool to be soaring so high in the air and be surrounded by so much green.

The final zip line took us to a small farmhouse where we ate lunch and waited for the truck to pick us up. We got lucky that it didn’t rain over night because the truck was able to come all the way, but sometimes in the rainy season you have to walk an hour or two to the pick up spot. At the farmhouse I also got to go for a swim in the river and cool off from the hot hike out of the jungle.

Eventually we hoped in the truck and made our way out of the jungle. We said goodbye to Pad Thai and Egg Man at the village we met them in, and then returned to the main office.

What a whirlwind of a time! I will always remember the Gibbo Experience and I am so happy that we made a point to check it out. My experience is limited to the Express Tour, but I can only assume that all the other options are just as amazing. If I ever return to Laos I will definitely do it again.

Check out The Gibbon Experience for yourself!