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The Gibbon Experience

The Gibbon Experience

Multi-Day Tours
in Huay Xai, Laos

Come stay in the world's highest tree houses over 100 feet above the forest floor! You will zipline amongst the trees, sleep under the forest canopy, and wake up surrounded by gibbons. The Gibbon Experience in Laos makes your childhood fantasies come alive. Better yet, by visiting its treetops, you are protecting the Nam Kan National Park and support local communties! Hundreds of forest people now make a living from this conservation project.

Right for You?

Experience

Style

Active Adventure, Connect with Nature, Off the Beaten Path and Roughing it

Price

$225-350 /person
Approximate price. Rates vary based on tour chosen (Classic 3D/2N vs. Express 2D/1N).

Location

Rainforest
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Connect with The Gibbon Experience

Locally Owned Social Enterprise
The Gibbon Experience
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Speaks: English

Why Lokal Recommends The Gibbon Experience

Background

Social Enterprise | Locally Owned with 100% local staff

A Unique Story

In 1997, there was no tree houses, no ziplines and no tourism activity whatsoever. The first step of our project was to put together a team of 5 forest guards, selected among the best tribal hunters living in the forest. Funded with occasional donations, the team was experimental and the first of its kind in the Lao PDR. In 2014, the patrol team is composed of 15 local villagers working on a full time basis under the supervision of 5 staff from the Provincial Department of Natural Resources. The Provincial Department of Forest Inspection controls their work.

The team's primary focus is on illegal logging, hunting, bomb fishing and land use.

The Gibbon Experience project runs the patrol jointly with the Lao Government, and bears nearly all the related expenses: salaries, food, cars, bikes, petrol, uniforms, environmental awareness campaigns and special law enforcement operations.

Deep Community Connections

Since inception, the project has helped over 120 families switch to more sustainable farming practices and maintain their land. With an increasing population, local have felt pressure to increase traditional slash-and-burn agriculture. The Gibbon Experience project has offered free or low-cost land flattening and irrigation services to farmers willing to switch to irrigated paddy rice cultivation, which helps them sustain their land into the future.

Active Environmental Stewardship

The Gibbon Experience has been managing two reforestation projects since 2009:

The first happens on the farmers' land that surrounds the National Park, helping them to foster sensible logging practices and earn extra income from valuable, fast growing trees, such as teak.

The second project occurs in the National Park's degraded areas, planting diversified species to support canopy reconstitution. They consider reforestation in and around the Nam Kan National Park a strategic long-term tool to complement day-to-day conservation activities. Each year, 100 000 young trees come out of their dedicated tree nursery.

Location

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