The Gibbon Experience a Travelfish feature story

The Gibbon Experience

Blame it on Alex Garland's The Beach, but when I first heard of a place deep in the jungle where people could fly through trees and stay in tree top houses it sounded like an old wives tale. I expected to be passed a map and to find myself lost, alone in the middle of the Golden Triangle. What I hadn't bargained for was The Gibbon Experience.

Situated in Bokeo province in northern Laos, the Gibbon Experience is a conservation project which allows visitors access to the rainforest at canopy level. With an ingenious system of zip-lines and tree houses visitors scour the landscape in search of a once thought extinct species, the Black Gibbon, Nomascus concolor lu, which were only re-discovered in the area in 1997. The project's grand aim is to conserve the vast Bokeo nature reserve and raise funds to protect the wildlife whilst alleviating poverty.

Northern Laos however is not an easy place to get to in a hurry. After a brief ride on Lao Airlines my first impression of Huay Xai was an idle chicken pecking at the runway. Welcome to the real rural heart of Asia. To add to this the four smiling, terracotta-coloured returnees climbing out of the pick-up made me realize that the next 48 hours were going to be a mixture of dirt, mud, sweat and exhilaration.

Within the first hour, as our transport snaked its way through the dust, the immediacy of the project was brought into focus. Mud is thrown up and hills moved aside as a new Chinese-built road carved up the landscape. Lao is opening up to the world and one of the last wildernesses in South East Asia is being threatened in the name of regional integration.

After a three-hour ride and another hour's trek we had arrived. The project has a total of four tree houses, each accessed only via zip-line. Ours was a gigantic four level affair, stocked with food, necessities, unique toilet access and for that extra kick a bottle of Lao Lao to get things started after dark.

After a brief safety lesson and a short tour of the site we were left to our own devices; all that was left was to strap up and head into the unknown.

One or two tentative leaps from the hillside and you're away, no going back as speed and wind build up and the dot in the distance is your new home. The sound of the zip is reminiscent of an incoming plane, you look up, around, anything but down, and then on your right a whole vista of tropical jungle reveals itself.

The momentum of the zip brings the scene to you in cinema style and you don't quite believe what is around you. You feel detached from the experience and question your surroundings, is that really a jungle under your feet? What next, the Arc De Triomphe? You expect a blue backdrop, a change of picture, yet this time there's no $10 photo, this is the real thing and below you it's a long way down. The height of the longest line is greater than the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.

Without realizing it within a day you become accustomed to your treetop lifestyle. The once timid group of tourists can be heard along the hills shouting various renditions of "Go, Stop, Clear," followed by that crashing plane sound echoing around the hillside.

From the canopy, you get a gauge of the size of the forest you are trying to protect, not a sign of human habitation for miles, just endless shades of green. The wildlife meanwhile notices the additional tree-living ape with curiosity.

At night you're kept awake listening and wondering if you're about to fall out. It is discomforting to think that you are a hundred feet up playing Robinson Crusoe in the branches, and the sounds of the forest bounce across the canopy towards you. Crashing, snapping, falling, anything but graceful. You realize the jungle is more Meatloaf than Swan Lake. Yet it is a lot quieter than expected. Until recently the area was a hive of poaching activity (even the local police chief still comes to pick up timber for his own personal use) and the wildlife is still to fully recover.

Whether the Gibbon Experience can really protect the reserve for the future is an open question but there is no doubt it is ambitious. We never heard any gibbons but it didn't matter too much. It was a unique experience to have so much fun, acting out all your childhood fantasies, and to know that for once, you're not ruining the environment you came to see. For anyone looking to escape the faded plastic tour guide adverts in Chang Mai, for the moment, this part of the world and this project in particular holds the answer.

For more information, see the Gibbon Experience website.

Read 24 comments on this story

nicolaine
Posted on 27th December, 2008
Hi guys,
im a solo traveller heading north to cross over into thailand and have heard so many backpackers rave about the gibbon experience.. how much is it for the 1 night, 2 days?? im in vang vieng now and will be heading to luang prabang in a couple of days... let me know how much it is??!

finn
Posted on 11th June, 2009
The Gibbons experience sounds amazing I love that there are no "$10 pictures!!" I am looking for tours that give a rare peak into the genuine culture and authentic environment as well as those that don't have a negative impact on the land or people- which these days, are really hard to find! I will be traveling around southeast Asia for a couple months- anybody have any suggestions on great tours like the Gibbons Experience??

BruceMoon
Posted on 28th June, 2009
I (thoroughly) enjoyed a recent sojourn to the Gibbon Experience. The access price is high, but... [i]once every so often, price is not the issue[/i]. And, the Gibbon Experience falls into that category.

All too often, I hear the comments like [i]I'd only pay that much to actually see a Gibbon[/i], or [i]for that money, I could...[/i]

As one guide suggested [i]unless you've got a horseshoe stuck up your bum, you [b]won't[/b] see a Gibbon[/i].

No, I didn't see, or hear a Gibbon. But, that is not why I went.

I went for a host of other reasons:

* trekking in a rainforest,
* sleeping in a treehouse,
* ziplining,
* interacting with the H!Mong guides,

to name a few.

But, the primary purpose I went is that the project is preserving Gibbon habitat rainforest. That so much of Laos has been deforested so some high ranking official can drive a fancy car means that Gibbon habitat is shrinking fast.

Globally, the list of species becoming extinct is growing too rapidly. But worse, the list of species considered endangered (ie on the brink of extinction) is growing at a faster pace.

That a conservation minded person has devised a way to protect habitat from deforestation, give employment to the locals who would otherwise be paid by high ranking officials to deforest (and sell the logs to him for tuppence, only to be resold for a huge profit), and at the same time let me have a great adventure needs recognition.

I hope you choose to enjoy the Gibbon Experience. Likely as not you won't see a Gibbon, and yes you could do a host of other things with the same $$$'s, but you [i][b]WILL enjoy yourself immensely[/i][/b].

Cheers

samhobbit
Posted on 16th July, 2009
I first heard of the Gibbon Experience in 2007. I'm wondering how long and how far it will be to make the journey from Chang Mai this October? Is October a good time of year to go?

Cheers for the advice, much appreciated!

Elisha
Posted on 11th September, 2009
Hi,

I really want to do this but the phone number on the website doesnt work and I havent received any replies to my emails - did you just book once you got there? is it the wrong phone number or something?

Thanks,

Elisha

Patrick
Posted on 15th September, 2009
Elisha,
What follows is the e-mail address from where I received my confirmation letter:
experience@gibbonx.org. Apparently you can show up and participate without having prearranged. They take a new group up nearly every day.
They wrote to me: "To make a *last minute booking*, please come directly to our office.
>

Elisha
Posted on 15th September, 2009
Thank you so much!

Matt Simpson
Posted on 21st September, 2009
It's a phenomenal experience. If you're near, you have to do it. If you're not near, make the effort.

Sam - October's a bit of a crappy time to go, the rains make the roads difficult. Although I hear that they're improving the road from Huang Xai (meaning: they're actually creating a road rather than having you drive on mud) so it may not be too bad.

The best time is unfortunately peak season - Jan/Feb which means 2-3 week booking ahead times. However plenty of people just rock up and ask every day. Being Laos, travelers often can't make it or cancel etc. Worst case you might have to hang out for a few days and get boozed with all the other people in town who are waiting too..

Bottom line - best, most unique experience you'll have in SE Asia. Just like that Chicane album, it's far from the maddening crowds..

Daniel Kallick
Posted on 2nd October, 2009
Am headed towards the Gibbon Experience October 24. Chaing Rai Thailand appears to be the nearest airport. Are there buses from Chiang Rai or is it best to fly to Chiang Mai? Can I get a Leo visa at the boarder?

Dani
Posted on 4th October, 2009
Silly question, sorry !
Are they a lot of spiders around and in the treehouse ?
Thanks in advance,

Ron
Posted on 19th October, 2009
Is anyone going in the near future? What price were you quoted? They just e-mailed me and said it's 160 (240 USD) euros if booked ahead or 170 euros up front O_o

Daniel
Posted on 22nd October, 2009
Have arrived to wonderful Bokeo, sitting at a plastic lawn chair typing away for the sum or 7,000 kip an hour at an internet cafe with no name....
Spent an 2hours searching for Gibbon Experience, housed in a little dive attached to a budget guest house. Hard to find..... bring some notes from the Web site Cost for the 3 days 2 nights is $240. Maybe they will take us to a waterfall for a swim or not.

Dezi
Posted on 10th November, 2009
Wow! I feel very lucky after reading the above comments- I visited the Gibbon Experience in May 2007 and it remains the most amazing travel experience I have ever had. I heard Gibbons at daybreak and dusk and saw some very early one morning after our guide came and woke us at 4am- it was a bit of a wild goose chase through the forest (at ground level) but seeing those wonderful creatures swinging through the trees was mind blowing.

Baba
Posted on 12th November, 2009
So...I read about the project and wanted to visit. After reading some of the comments (and experiencing that these projects tend to change within some years) I'm not sure if it's worth the visit. I would go there in the beginning of march. Maybe some of you have been there lately (and give some more information than Daniel)? Thanks! Baba

Steph
Posted on 23rd November, 2009
My group went in April of this year. AMAZING and worth every penny we spent. And we were all extreme budget travelers. We saw gibbons both mornings, but it was part luck, part determination. They had recently been spending time in our part of the forest and we got up at 4 am to trek and zip line to find them. The folks that didn't want to wake up, never saw or heard them.

We couldn't get in contact with anyone in the organization after repeated emails months in advance, so just ended up going to Huay Xai and waited outside the office. We had to wait in the town a couple days before we could get in a trip and not the waterfall experience we had wanted.

Dani: There was a spider the size of my fist in our 'shower'. If you're squeamish about those sort of things it may not be the best experience for you. It is the actual jungle. I had to use the restroom in the middle of the night with a bat flying around my head! Ah, the memories!

Christina
Posted on 12th January, 2010
I find it funny how the writer thinks that this is adventure is so environmentally friendly when really - the noise caused by the tourist is absolute noise polluting the whole area ....and no, wildlife are not wondering with curiosity but are of course scared and this leads to an alteration of their daily life - Therefore, going totally against the whole idea of having a conservation area.

The experience must be unforgettable but as the writer states, noises that sound like crashing planes is really not a way to contribute to a good conservation project but merely a selfish experience with a very simple win - loose result.

susib
Posted on 20th January, 2010
Highlight of my trip to Laos and Cambodia. Well worth the money, just wish I could have stayed much longer!

Larry
Posted on 23rd January, 2010
The gibbon experiance was great but where were the Gibbons ?? What an experiance to be in the jungle 40 meters high living in a tree house for 2 days using zip wires to get from A to B. The food aint great but it did us. We stayed in tree house 4 which slept 6. The rats keep you awake at night and the noise of the jungle, but i enjoyed all this its part of the experience. We took some alcohol with us and on the second night and went zipping to other tree houses where other travellers were camped. Dangerous but at the same time brilliant. It is expensive think we paid £160 each but its not every day you get to do a thing like this. There is a lot of walking and it takes it out of you. You can do the waterfall experience which is a bit more expensive and is alot more trekking and all you get to do is look at waterfalls. On one crossing from tree house to tree house i dropped my camera and it fell 100 meters to the jungle floor, believe it or not one of the guides went off and come back with it 2 hours later. Fair play to him !!!!

Zack
Posted on 23rd January, 2010
Im headin into Laos with my wife from northern Thailand in about 2 weeks and am planning on reserving spots. I have a little apprehension about safety. I was hoping someone could speak to the quality of the equipment as well as instruction. Having a little rock climbing experience i have used harnesses before but generally under the superviosion of more experienced and trusted friends. My wife has not. ANy thoughts?

Matt
Posted on 23rd January, 2010
Hey zack,

harden the fuck up. You won't die.

Regards,

matt

Patrick
Posted on 27th January, 2010
Can anyone give advice on suitability for children (zipwires etc). Am in Huay Xai with three kids aged 7 to 9 in June and this is the sort of one off experience they would dream about. Thanks. Patrick

johnb
Posted on 4th February, 2010
Due to unforseen circumstances I had to cut my trip around Asia short. This meant that my pre-arranged booking to go on the Gibbon Experience had to be cancelled.
Under the terms and conditions, I had been advised that I would only be able to get a 90% refund on my 160 Euro payment.
After cancelling via email, and getting confirmation that I would receive my refund by the end of the month (December 2009), I heard nothing. No refund was paid, no reply to my follow up emails.
Therefore I can only advise that you don't pay up front because if you need to cancel, you might end up having your money stolen.

julie
Posted on 24th February, 2010
its sounds like an amazing experience that is worth the large amount of money! What was the experience with rats? I have a huge fear of them. Where they were you were sleeping?

thanks a million for any input!
julie

chocgirl
Posted on 9th March, 2010
Treehouse no 1 has a tree cat that takes care of the rats. Have not heard anything about rats from any of the other treehouses.

Yes, it's a great experience, though not sure if to me it was worth the full $250. It is simply awesome waking up at 4:45 am surrounded by the jungle sounds and zipping out at first light. Food is simple, yet sufficient (loads of msg).

Points of improvement would be the guides' minimal command of English and the lack of an emergency system in the treahouse (where you spend the nights by yourselves without Gibbons staff present).

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