Tour details
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Sustainability
Meet at the Green Discovery office in Pakse. The drive to Ban Nongluang is about 12 km and will take about an hour.
Two days of adrenaline fuelled action not enough to curb your enthusiasm then add another day with this 3 day 2 night fun filled adventure. Get to do exactly what you can on a 2 days 1 night adventure but just more of it including a 400 metres zip line ( the longest in the park).
Day 1:
Arriving driving from Pakse for 1 hour you will arrive at Ban Nongluang where you will meet the village guides who will accompany you for the next three days in the jungle. They will give you your first lesson, an important safety briefing.
We then hike to the Treetop Explorer site through coffee plantations and small vegetable gardens until wild semi-evergreen forest gradually takes over. Along the way, the guides explain the plants traditionally used in the village kitchen or as herbal medicine.
The first challenge is a breath-taking canopy walkway in the heights of the trees and across a steep river valley. The trek then continues, passing the huge Tad Seua (‘Tiger’ waterfall) and soon after the giant ‘Kamet’ waterfall (name of a monkey), where the water plunges more than 100 m down into the valley.
Then the zip-lines start and the real thrill takes over. Brace yourself for an adventure of a lifetime! Depending on the time you may be ready to prove your boldness by taking on the first, smaller cables. Or take a rest on one of the zip-line platforms high in the tree tops.
Then it will be Lunch and you are invited to have a comfortable lunch in the wilderness after which you will have the chance to explore the secrets of the area and have a cooling swim if the desire to master the absolute unbelievable zip-lines immediately is not stronger.
The cables crisscross the valley in front of the majestic waterfall, letting you feel the stunning height and the spray of the water. Enjoy the sensation of being weightless and one with nature. Let your adrenaline rush come to a maximum. It’s joy, sheer joy multiplied by the views.
After a day of great activity, the first night will be spent in our Treetop Hotel where you will settle for the night in the wonderful camp with our restaurant nearby. For dinner, local food and absolutely delicious barbecues are on the unwritten menu. There will be a chance to chat about your experiences of the first day. About 10 o’clock you will retire to your own tree house almost 10 metres above ground. These houses in traditional architecture, made of wood, bamboo, and grass, can only be reached by a (short) zip-line.
Bathrooms are near the restaurant and offer hot and cold showers, powered by tiny hydro-electric generators. Without a doubt you’ll instantly fall into a cosy sleep shrouded by the fiddling sound of the forest crickets.
Day 2:
Recharged and fresh for the adventures of the second day you will wake up amidst the warbling, piping, chirping and twittering of the numerous birds in the dense canopy around us.
A simple but energizing European-style breakfast prepares us for an easy 30-minute trek through great forest before reaching the first cable. Today, be ready for extended flights through the jungle! The longest cable (400 m!) of the entire park is the highlight of the day. Its speed and the proximity to the usually invisible upper stratum of the forest is an amazing and unforgettable experience.
For lunch a picnic lunch is served on the tour inside the forest. We return to the camp in later in the afternoon, passing by the ‘red rock’ stream (Houay Hin Daeng), where we will have time for some rest and for swimming.
Back in the camp you’ll enjoy a deserved dinner the same as the first day before falling asleep in your tree house.
Day 3:
Day 3 is another day of excitement and more challenges, but also a day of saying goodbye. After breakfast, we slowly trek uphill passing a section of forest where gigantic trees dominate. The zip-line project contributes to rescuing these giants from being felled and for the generations to come.
Then it gets a bit tough and jaw-dropping when the trail suddenly “ends” at a steep rock wall. The trail is narrowing into a ‘via ferrata’, where iron U-bolts are fixed and glued into the rock. Yes, glued, and rock-solid! We have to overcome this obstacle via these bolts in order to get to the other side. There is no other way around. But don’t worry, it’s all safe and you are secured by modern gear like harness and a separate safety line. And it’s not really long, just thrilling. Latch your karabiner step by step onto the bolts and soon it’s done.
Upon reaching the top of the mountain, one of the highest peaks in the area, an open plateau without much vegetation affords once more – and for the last time - stunning views of three waterfalls and vistas over the Mekong deep into neighbouring Thailand. We’ll have our well-deserved lunch here before hiking for 1 1/2 hours, this time without much effort, back to Ban Nongluang, where a car is waiting to take you back to Pakse.
Participant guidelines
General Behaviour:
Clients disturbing the peace of the other participants due to unruly behaviour (see also drugs and alcohol use, judgment) or causing any harm to the environment will not be allowed to continue the adventure and will be brought back to the Treetop Explorer office. Refunds or vouchers cannot be expected in this situation.
Drugs and Alcohol:
Besides that the use of drugs is in any way prohibited by law in Laos, the management of Treetop Explorer reserves the right to decline at any time the participation of persons obviously being impaired by intoxication since they may not only endanger themselves but others too. The judgment about “intoxication” is to the discretion of the Treetop Explorer officers in charge.
Smoking:
Though smoking is not considered to be an offense, abstinence for the time in the jungle is strongly recommended, particularly in the dry season, when forest fires may quickly be ignited by un-extinguished cigarettes.
Other disclosures
Body size:
The weight of participants should not exceed120 Kilograms (ca. 250lbs.) due to the gravity depending system. Tall people above 200cm should reconsider their participation due to the limited distance between wire and platforms.
Physical Fitness:
All participants are expected to be relatively fit as required for all kinds of physical exercise. Some uphill hiking before reaching the starting point of the zip-line may be exhausting for some. Check any ailments like heart disease, backache or the like. Please consult your doctor if you are unsure whether this activity is suitable for you. We strongly recommend that pregnant women abstain from this adventure.
Weather Cancellation Policy:
The Treetop Explorer activites will take place in almost all weather conditions. However, in case of strong winds or thunderstorms, which may occur quite suddenly, the tour may have to be suspended on short notice, either temporarily or for the day, or shifted to another day.
If a tour needs to be cancelled for good, clients will be offered a refund. In case the tour has to be shifted, the general ‘cancellation policy’ will be applied.
Liability:
By nature, riding zip-lines and hiking in a tropical mountainous “wilderness” area is potentially dangerous, hence the Treetop Explorer management is not in the position to ”guarantee” a 100% safety. Each participant is therefore required to sign an acknowledgement of risk and ‘release of liability’ waiver prior to her/his adventure. Clients under the age of 18 must have a parent sign for them.