This one was pretty epic, I won’t lie. Deep in the Laotian jungle and just across the Thai border lies an unforgettable adventure, The Gibbon Experience. After years of adventures and adrenaline seeking, this excursion remains a highlight and vividly stands out amongst my many memories. 

‘A childhood fantasy with a serious purpose’

In 1996 The Gibbon Experience opened and since then, the Laotian people have invested much time and energy into the conservation of the local Bokeo Forest. The tropical rainforests of Laos and those around the world continue to be destroyed by illegal logging, cropping and excessive slash and burn practices. The people behind The Gibbon Experience looked for a way to stop the bleeding and discovered the power of tourism as a means and aid in its mission. With this approach, The Gibbon Experience is deemed a tourism-based conservation project.

The Nam Kan National Park was made official and designated in 2008, protecting 136,000 hectares of land. Under that protection is a tropical rainforest beaming with wildlife and inside this national park you will find the world’s eight tallest treehouses. 

The Gibbon Experience cares about two things, protecting the Bokeo Forest and employing the locals native to the region. At The Gibbon Experience, they believe those who know the land best and are historically bound to it, should be the ones involved in taking care of it. They employ 120 locals in the operation and are proud of the involvement and cooperation that takes place at the local level. 

Nomascus Concolor Black Crested Gibbons

As you probably gathered from the name, a highlight of this experience is a chance to see a wild gibbon. Gibbons, apes not monkeys, are an endangered and threatened species with a population of only 1,300 - 2,000 around the world. Most of this population resides in Southern China, Northwestern Laos and Northern Vietnam. The Nam Kan National Park is thought to be one of the only accessible and viable options outside of Yunnan, China. 

The Gibbon Experience

The Gibbon Experience promotes a unique interaction with nature, centered around endangered gibbons, the jungle and the tallest treehouses in the world. These treehouses are remote and so high in the trees that the only way to access or enter them is by zip-line. Holding the world record, these treehouses are over 100 feet high or 30-40 meters. At about 10 stories high, the ground is hidden and covered by the canopy of trees below. While I care about conservation and support their mission, I will admit this is what brought me here; I came for the treehouses and the zip-lining. If I saw a Gibbon, I felt that was just an added bonus. 

The Gibbon Experience offers four different tours:

• The Classic Tour: 3 days / 2 nights 

  • This tour includes about 1 hour of trekking a day and is suitable for beginner hikers or those who want an easier journey.

  • This is the most relaxed schedule with the greatest opportunities for wildlife and gibbon sightings. 

  • You will be able to experience everything you came for, zip-lines, trekking and treehouses.

• Waterfall Tour: 3 days / 2 nights 

  • This tour requires that visitors be in good shape as hiking can be strenuous and lasts for about 2-3 hours a day. 

  • This one takes you deeper into the jungle, involves more trekking and ziplining but less opportunities for gibbon encounters. 

  • On this tour, you will trek to and sleep in two treehouses, a different one each night.  

  • This tour includes trekking and zip-lining along the Nam Nga river, a fresh water swimming pool and a small waterfall.

• Express Tour: 2 days / 1 night

  •  This tour is only one night and so you will see less of the jungle and the wildlife.

  • This tour means less wildlife and no gibbons, but maximum opportunities for ziplining.

  •  Visitors on this tour will visit the Tree King, the biggest tree in all of Laos.

• Honeymoon Tour: 3 days/ 2 nights 

  • This tour is designed to be more intimate for a couple’s experience.

  • This is the classic tour but with added privacy and a stay in one of the refurbished treehouses. 

Included in the tours:

– 7 fire-cooked meals for the 3-day program, 4 meals only for the 2-day program, local fruits and snacks

– Your local escort will show you the way

– Clean drinkable running water, as well as tea and coffee

– Unlimited access to an extensive canopy cable-gliding network for exploring the treetops escorted by a guide or solo

– Exclusive access to the Nam Kan National Park

– Transportation to and from Houayxay or Baan Donchai

– Accommodation in a canopy-level tree house complete with running water; access only by zipline

– Beds under a mosquito net canopy (2 mattresses in 1 mosquito net), pillows, sheets, blankets, towels and your personal harness and pulley (“roller”)

*Prices are confirmed upon booking and enquiry but their website states that the cost is around $100 USD a day. Any kids under 12 receive half price. *

My experience

My time in Laos took place in 2018 and I visited the Nam Kan National Park in March of that year. I booked the Waterfall Tour as I wanted the most out of the trekking and zip-lining. In the waterfall tour, you are able to sleep in two different treehouses. The guides on my trek were incredible and so knowledgeable of the land. I am writing this post and promoting this experience because it is truly a unique and invigorating adventure. The Gibbon Experience team does an excellent job in taking care of their guests and providing a whole lot of fun. 

I traveled into Laos from Thailand and specifically from Chiang Rai. I took a bus from Chiang Rai across the Laotian border and then made my way to Houayxay. Houaxay is a small town, close to the border and right on the Mekong River. In this town is The Gibbon Experience Office. I stayed at The Little Hostel which was located only a few meters down the street from the main office. You will all meet at the main office before the tour to have a safety briefing, sign some paperwork and be sorted into the small groups that you will be trekking with. It’s a great way to meet new people and make some friends, especially as a solo traveler. It was great to be able to socialize and share the fun with others. I remain online friends with many of those who were in my group today. 

After all the logistics, we packed up and climbed into the back of a taxi-like converted pick-up truck; in Thailand we call these ‘songthaews’. We drove across rivers and winding roads, the drive was surrounded by jungle and hills on all sides. Transport from Houayxay into the Bokeo Reserve is provided by the company and this is where you will begin your trek into the jungle. 

Bocce in the jungle

While in the Bokeo Reserve and at a small village on the edge of the National Park, we began our journey and trekked deep into the jungle. It was hot, wild and loud with the sounds of the forest.

We hiked for hours, had lunch and along the way stumbled upon some of the guides’ and National Park staff’s quarters. A small house, in the middle of the jungle with 10 or 15 people hanging around and playing a game. We watched as they threw and rolled large heavy balls toward a smaller white target. As we walked closer, I realized they were playing the Italian game, bocce. It’s moments like these where the world feels so small and we, people, seem so similar. I’ve grown up playing this game with family and friends, in backyards and while camping. There I was, in the middle of the Laotian jungle, the most unlikely of places, with the very same game. 

Hiking and zipping

We hiked each day and throughout the hikes, we’d zip-line a portion of the jungle, crossing wide-open spaces, flying through the trees and above the canopy. I felt as though I was Tarzan swinging from vine to vine. The meals were prepared for us and were absolutely delicious, it’s amazing how well people can cook in the middle of seemingly nowhere. The guides zip-lined our meals and supplies in and out of the treehouse. I showered and slept in the treetop, surrounded by the untouched and raw natural world. I can promise you it was the best bathroom view I’ve ever had. The mornings and nights were peaceful and at the same time, boisterous with the harmony of the ever-constant life in the rainforest. 

At some portions, we were able to zip-line freely in a loop of lines and had the utmost freedom in enjoying the adventure. With the responsibility of clipping ourselves in and out, we had so much freedom that OSHA ( the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the US) would have been sweating merely at the thought of it. It was honestly so sick. 

I didn’t see any gibbons on my tour, but we did hear them howling one morning and could see the faint sway of the branches from wherever they were hiding. The evenings were full of conversation with the others, people from all over the world. In our small group, we were gifted some locally grown bamboo shot glasses for what our guides called ‘happy water’. This is homemade rice wine and you’ll find it all throughout Southeast Asia, differing in variations and potencies. Usually, it packs a burning punch and oftentimes a petrol-like aroma and taste, Yum.  

To sum it all up, the three days were full of hiking, laughing, zip-lining and all-out adventure. The experience was incredible all around and I would love to one day, do it again. If an excursion like this one interests you, don’t hesitate and go for it. 

How to get to Houayxay:

• You can arrive in Houayxay by either bus, private van or plane.

• From Thailand:

  • First arrive in Chiang Rai, you can get here either by a flight or bus. In Chiang Rai you can visit the infamous White Temple. 

  • Then from Chiang Rai take a bus across the Laos border.

  • You will be dropped off at the border, and after crossing into Laos you will then take a rickshaw or taxi to your homestay/hostel in Houayxay.

• From within Laos:

  • The cheapest way to to get Houayxay is by bus, though there is a small airport in Houayxay as well. If you want to fly domestically here, you can.

• In Houayxay you will go to The Gibbon Experience main office and from there they will take care of the rest. They will provide roundtrip transport to and from the Nam Kan National Park. 

• I would suggest spending one day in Houayxay before your tour start date.

* I use Booking.com and Hostelworld for accommodation and 12goasia for transport. *

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