We didn’t see any gibbons but we sure had a chance to act like a group of gibbons. We were a group of 16 people rocketing across 2 kilometers of zip lines strung through the rain forest canopy of the highest elevation zip-line operation in the world. Flight of the Gibbons is a splendid outing; an experience that is highly recommended for any adventurous visitors to Chiang Mai.

Our day began fairly early, with a scheduled pickup in Chiang Mai at 6:30 AM. It was a rainy morning and it was 7:00 by the time all the stragglers had arrived and the staff from Thai Dragon Travel & Tours and my 69 years young father, on holiday in Thailand, piled into 2 vans for a day of fresh air, outdoor fun, and a lot more rain.

We were headed to the mountains on the east side of the broad valley that cradles the city of Chiang Mai and were all looking forward to a day of zip-line action with the good people from ‘Flight of the Gibbons’. I will mention that this was a new experience for every one of us; there was some trepidation, great anticipation, and we were all very excited as the mountains grew nearer.

We had an uneventful drive to the mountain and then up the tortuously twisting road as the van drivers kept in close radio contact. As we reached high elevation the sky seemed to quite literally envelop us and we were level with the thick clouds that clung to the rain forest at the sides of the mountains surrounding us. When we pulled up to the staging station we were by now standing in the clouds and the whole landscape was covered with heavy mist and a slow steady rain.

Our first order of business was to go into a thatched roof, bamboo out-building where we received an orientation from our guides, signed waver forms, and had some mountain grown coffee that came from the coffee bushes that were about 50 meters from were we sat.

Then we all headed over to the equipment area and were fitted into harnesses and helmets and each given a bamboo ‘hook’ about the size of a small hammer; this we learned would function as our braking mechanism and a very wise alternative to grabbing a steel zip cable with bare hands.

The start of the zip line trails is only minutes from the base station and before we knew it we were descending a steep hillside path that took us to the platform that would be the beginning of an amazing experience. I must say that the drive up to the mountain, the breathtaking scenery, and the rain forest coffee was already worth the price of admission.

Now imagine, if you will, standing on a platform built in the canopy of an ancient giant of the forest, attaching yourself to 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. This is what we had set out to do and we were about to see what makes The Flight of the Gibbons one of the premier zip-line adventures in the world.

To book a zip-line adventure with Flight of the Gibbons, please visit Chiang Mai Vacations:
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

Story Continued – Gibbons In the Mist (Part 2)