Information from Gibbon Experience
Option 1: The Classic Gibbon Experience*
You may choose the Classic Gibbon Experience, if you are looking after a relaxing stay in your tree house with access to an important cable network - within a restricted number of canopy infrastructures though. You will not need to hike much and you are highly encouraged to have a rather contemplative, slow motion and discreet behaviour.
Groups of approximately eight people depart Houayxay for the Bokeo Nature Reserve every other day at 8.30am. Travel time from Houayxay to the village of Baan Toup is about 3½ hrs. It is a difficult, 83 km trip that is either dusty or muddy depending on the time of year. In the village you will be welcomed by guides who will take care of you from there. From the village, it is a one-hour, mostly uphill hike to get to the canopy infrastructure. When you arrive, you will put on a harness and glide across a cable to enter the first tree house. Here you will be informed about important things to know in and around the tree houses. You will split up in two groups. One group will be sleeping in the first tree house and we offer a more private tree house for two people.
On the first afternoon the guides will take you on an optional, two-hour hike to become familiar with the cable network. On the second day you can use the cables, relax in your tree house or go for short hikes on your own. Dawn, on day two and day three, is the best time for wildlife encounters. The project received its name because the black gibbons (Hylobates concolor) sing on most days and hearing them is an experience unlike many others; however, The Gibbon Experience is not a wildlife park. We are visitors in their territory, which is very extensive, so we cannot guarantee gibbon sightings. On the third day you will leave from the first tree house at approximately 10:00 am. Our driver will then take you from Baan Toup to Houayxay unless you prefer to wait for the bus to Louang Namtha from the Reserve Gate, in which case you will generally arrive in Louang Namtha the same evening.
*Option 2: The Waterfall Gibbon Experience
*You may choose the Waterfall Gibbon Experience if you are looking after a more extensive discovery of the Bokeo Nature Reserve with the possibility to access all canopy infrastructures. You will then switch tree houses on day 2 and trek slightly more : 2 to 3 hours per day.
Groups of approximately eight people depart Houayxay for the Bokeo Nature Reserve every other day at 7.30am. Travel time from Houayxay to the village of Baan Toup is about 3½ hrs. It is a difficult, 83 km trip that is either dusty or muddy depending on the time of year. In the village you will be welcomed by guides who will take care of you from there. From the village, it is a one-hour, mostly uphill hike to get to the canopy infrastructure. When you arrive, you will put on a harness and glide across a cable to enter the first tree house. Here you will be informed about important things to know in and around the tree houses. On the first afternoon guides will take you to your tree house. You will split up in two groups. The first group will be escorted to the sleeping quarters in the tree house near the waterfall. This hike takes two and a half hours from the first tree house. The second group will be escorted to a tree house with a view overlooking a valley. On the second day in the morning you will go on a guided hike alongside the river to maximise wildlife encounters. This hike takes up to 2,5 hours and you will change tree houses. You may want to bring a bathing suit if you plan on swimming (nude is not an option).
Take only the essentials to your tree house, in other words, only those items you are willing to carry for at least an hour. These should include mosquito repellent and a flashlight. Towels and bedding are provided in your tree house. You may leave your large backpack in the office in Houayxay or in the village of Baan Donchai if you plan to travel on to Louang Namtha. Don’t forget to charge your camera batteries ahead of time!
The Gibbon Experience is truly unique. The organization takes great pride in the fact that, as far as we know, there is nothing else like it in the world.
You can find the Gibbon experience office in Houayxay (pronounced "way sigh") on the main road, just north of the immigration checkpoint (upriver) on the side of the street closest to the Mekong. Make sure you pop in the office the day before the car leaves to the forest, so we can tell you more about the background of our conservation programme and discuss the last important things before you leave the next day. Please email or call to make a reservation. Thank you!
INFORMATION FOR TRAVELERS COMING FROM LOUANG NAMTHA:
For guests traveling from Louang Namtha who wish to reduce the amount of time spent on the bus, you have the option of getting off in Baan Donchai, which is approximately two-thirds of the way to Houayxay, and a driver from the organization can pick you up on the way to the Reserve the following day before heading into the Reserve. Accommodations in Baan Donchai are rustic and friendly; prices are comparable to guest house prices. The bus leaves Louang Namtha at about 9am and reaches Baan Donchai at about 4 pm. Make sure the driver understands that you don’t want to go all the way to Houayxay; they are still not used to foreigners stopping in this small village. To make sure that the bus driver fully understands, tell him the name of the previous big village (Ban Tafa). Buy your ticket at 6:00 in the morning, otherwise it may be full. You could also ask someone in your Guest House to write "Baan Donchai" in Lao so that you have something written to show the driver, and you could remind him again in the early afternoon that you will be getting off the bus before the other passengers. In Baan Donchai you can stay at Mr. My-Boon’s house, opposite of the temple. He offers family-style "bed and breakfast" service. Sleeping at Mr. I-Daeng’s restaurant is also possible, less comfortable though. If you choose the option of sleeping in Baan Donchai, make sure to let us know so that we will know to pick you up there. (There are no phones in Baan Donchai, so once you leave Louang Namtha it is not possible to communicate with the office.) You can leave your big backpacks in Baan Donchai and take only a small backpack into the forest. Make sure you bring a flashlight and mosquito repellent. The organization can pick you up the following morning at Mr. I-Daeng’s restaurant in Baan Donchai at around 10.00am on the way into the Reserve.
INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS COMING FROM CHIANG MAI:
For guests traveling from Chiang Mai who want to cross into Laos the same day to join the Gibbon Experience the following day, we advise you to take the bus in Chiang Mai in the early morning. If you take a bus at noon you are likely to arrive too late at the border crossing in Chiang Kong, regardless what bus drivers may say! The border crossing closes at 18.00pm, sometimes even a bit earlier.
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