Imagine standing on a platform built in the canopy of an ancient forest giant, hooking onto a roller that will take you along a cable that will allow you to soar 200 meters, high above the forest floor, at great speed. Your seat for the adventure is an enforced nylon climbing harness and the experience is about as close as you will get to flying, like one of the hundreds of birds in the surrounding canopy. [Continued from Part 1]

The other creatures of the forest must wonder exactly what these humans are doing. Whooping and laughing; the weather is miserable shouldn’t they be somewhere dry? In truth we didn’t even notice the rain much, though picture taking was seriously hampered. When throwing ones-self from treetop to treetop I figure a little bit of rain only adds to the challenge; heck we were in a rain forest, perhaps we would have felt a little slighted if we didn’t have the rain in equal measure with forest.

Oh, what a forest it is indeed! The Flight of the Gibbons is located in the pristine old growth forest of Mae Kompong. The trees are absolutely magnificent and even high in the canopy many of the trees were sufficiently large that two people could not hug the trunk and touch hands. Many of these giants are over 100 feet high and standing on the platform in the canopy was like being perched on the window ledge of a tall building.

Exhilarating for sure, yet safety was always a primary concern and our four guides were all highly trained to make sure that we were securely anchored and tethered and the equipment was performing properly. Hats-off to the guides, who managed to keep us moving like a finely oiled machine as we flew from tree to tree in true gibbon fashion.

The zip-line riding was a whole lot of fun but it is not all there is to anticipate. There are also several abseiling points where we need to drop out of trees with the greatest of ease; meaning controlled descent on the end of a rope as we are lowered through holes cut in the platform and dropped as much as 50 feet (15 meters) to awaiting guides.

We were in the rain in a rain forest, yet it wasn’t really like being in the rain. It was more like there was water hanging in the air and we were enveloped in wetness. There was not a dry piece of anything on any of us but that was part of the fun… it is Thailand, the weather is warm, and a little rain should not dampen anyone’s spirit for this great adventure (in fact it is much more usual that the weather is dry and pleasant).

After about 2.5 hours we reached the end of the 2 kilometer zip-line experience and there was one more abseil plunge to take us to terra-firma. It had been a 10/10 experience and the cold beer at the rest area brought the overall enjoyment factor darn close to a perfect 11. It was also a chance to pull out the cameras from their protective places and get some snapshots. Photos of a day none of us will soon forget, an excellent experience for big or small (though children must be over 1 meter tall), young or old; just bring a healthy appetite for adventure and you will not be disappointed.

The day ended with a fine lunch (early dinner for those that take a tour later in the day) that is part of the cost and we then took a short trip to a nearby waterfall where we could enjoy the beauty of the forest once more and in all it’s natural splendor. I tell others about this experience every chance I get and I look forward to being able to return. My father, at 69 years and with his hip giving him some trouble, considers Flight of the Gibbons to be a highlight of an already amazing trip to northern Thailand.

From an ecological perspective, the tree canopy tour is a great way to confine tourists to a specific area and still allow full enjoyment of the rain forest with minimal disturbance. It is also worthwhile pointing out that the Flight of the Gibbons organization is actively involved in rain forest and primate habitat conservation initiatives so your admission fee supports a great cause.

Enough said… you are invited to come on out, give it a try, and experience this wonderful adventure in this beautiful little section of northern Thailand.

To reserve your day of excitement please visit Chiang Mai Vacations and book either:

1 Day Flight of the Gibbon (Zip-line adventure tour)
2 Days Rock Climbing & Flight of the Gibbon
2 Days Rafting & Flight of the Gibbon
2 Days Mountain Biking & Flight of the Gibbon