# A Night in the World's Tallest Treehouses > Discover the treehouses of Nam Kan park in Laos: 30 to 40 meters high, gibbons nearby, and the only way in is by zipline. Simply breathtaking. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/nochivlya-na-vysokykh-derevakh-u-budynkakh/ - Language: en - Published: 2023-01-17 - Categories: Hiking, Leisure, Mountains, Tours, Laos, Mountain, Relaxation --- This is the stuff of childhood dreams. As the sun begins to break through the darkness in Nam Kan National Park in Laos, the calls of wild black-crested gibbons echo through the jungle. Climbing out of our mosquito-netted beds, perched high in wooden treehouses that rise above the canopy, we grab a pair of binoculars for a closer look as these lively creatures leap from tree to tree in the distance, the leaves around them shaking wildly as the branches bounce up and down. ![](/storage/image/prev/052023-62-1024x576.jpg) It's an incredibly special travel moment, one you won't find anywhere else in the world, made possible by the Gibbon Experience, a tourism-based project launched in the late 1990s in response to illegal logging. The eight Gibbon Experience treehouses, standing 30 to 40 meters tall (roughly 100 to 130 feet), are the tallest in the world, according to staff. But here's the best part (or the worst, if you're not a thrill-seeker). The only way to reach them is by zipline. "We have a 15-kilometer network of ziplines," explains Yann Gourmelon, a GIS specialist with the Gibbon Experience. "That lets us get clients deep into the forest very, very quickly. The longest line is around 600 meters or so, which means you'll be flying along at huge speed for about 50 seconds while you take in the views." ## The Experience ![](/storage/image/prev/052023-63-1024x576.jpg) The Gibbon Experience offers three types of tours, each combining trekking and ziplining. The Classic tour and the Waterfall tour both run for three days and two nights. There's also an Express tour of two days and one night. We picked the Classic tour, the most relaxed option, since our group included three children under 12 and one teenager. (The minimum age for the Waterfall and Classic tours is eight, while children aged 12 and over can join the Express tour, which is more demanding.) On the first day, we set off from the Gibbon Experience office in the small town of Ban Houayxay to Nam Kan National Park by truck, a 2.5-hour drive. After a short hike to the gear camp, we were issued harnesses and gloves for the ziplining. Accompanied by two guides, we made our way along well-worn jungle trails, trekking and ziplining, and ended the day at our treehouse, much to the disappointment of the kids, who would rather have kept ziplining well into the night. We spent the second day the same way, hiking through stunning jungle and riding thrilling (and occasionally terrifying) zipline routes, and visiting other treehouses in the Gibbon Experience network. All the treehouses are built from timber recovered from poachers and fitted with electric lighting. The beds, draped in mosquito nets, are basic but comfortable. Each treehouse toilet is out in the open air (though screened off from the rest of the house) and comes with its own freshwater shower. Laotian-style meals are cooked in a nearby village, and the staff deliver them to the treehouses, by zipline, of course, along with fresh local fruit and local snacks. ## The Architecture of the Treehouses So how do they choose the trees these remarkable houses will stand in? Gourmelon says they factor in the location, the height, and whether gibbons are nearby. Trees that are too tall are hard to supply with fresh water. Ones that are too short mean visitors miss out on the spectacular views. "About two years ago, we changed the way we design the treehouses," he explains. "We used to have to bring in an architect to spend a lot of time up in the tree. That's not very comfortable or easy if you want accurate measurements of all the angles and curves. It wasn't very efficient. You could build beautiful treehouses, but it took a long time." Today, he says, they use drones that fly around the tree in a full 360 degrees, taking shots from different angles, saving them weeks of work that used to go into drawing it all by hand. Using photogrammetry software, they can create a 3D model of the tree, which they then use to design the treehouse itself. When it comes to construction, several methods are used depending on the structure and shape of the tree. Some, for example, hang from cables, while others rest on wooden brackets. As for build time, Gourmelon says it depends on the size of the structure, but on average a single treehouse takes about six months to build. Some are multi-level, offering a bit of privacy at night, while others make up for their lack of space with an incredible view over the jungle stretching dozens of meters below. ![](/storage/image/prev/052023-64-1024x576.jpg) ## The Tip of the Iceberg The Gibbon Experience project was born out of a desire to preserve the area's precious ecosystem and protect it from pressures like illegal logging, commercial crops, and excessive slash-and-burn farming. It all started in 1996, when the organization's founder, Jeff Reumaux, arrived in Laos and set off on a hike around the region. Along the way, he spotted black-crested gibbons and snapped a few photos. As it turned out, this species of gibbon, endemic to the area, was under threat of extinction. That's when they realized they had to find a way to save these magnificent forests. "But how do you find the money to protect the area, when you have to pay forest rangers, and the government didn't have much money at the time?" says Gourmelon. That's when the idea came to build a series of trails, treehouses, and ziplines, "the tip of the iceberg," he says, as a way to draw both people and money into the forest. The first treehouses and ziplines opened in 2004. Thanks to a partnership with local authorities, the Gibbon Experience project area, covering 136,000 hectares of mixed deciduous forest, was officially declared a national park by the National Assembly of Laos in 2008. Today, the Gibbon Experience employs more than 120 full-time staff, many of them residents of the neighboring villages. The profits go toward various park projects. These include funding a national park patrol team that tackles illegal logging, hunting, and fishing, as well as land-use and reforestation schemes both within the national park and on the farmland bordering it. ## Know Before You Go ![](/storage/image/prev/052023-65-1024x576.jpg) Travelers should pack light, since they'll have to carry their backpacks on the first and last day of the trek. Larger luggage can be left at the Gibbon Experience office. Wear old shoes, as the trails can get incredibly muddy. Bring a large water bottle that you can refill at each treehouse. Don't forget to charge all your camera and phone batteries in advance, since there are no electrical outlets in the treehouses. Extra things worth packing: binoculars, a deck of cards, and earplugs (both for the sounds of the jungle and for any potential snoring neighbors in your treehouse). Zipline safety: since the ziplines began operating in 2004, there has been one fatality. The guides keep a close watch to make sure the line is clear before the next person uses it, sending signals along the cable, though at the same time you'll need to check that you're using your own equipment correctly and that every knot is secure, since you won't always have a guide right beside you. Gourmelon says all the equipment is imported from France, undergoes strict regular inspections, and is replaced at the slightest sign of wear. Gibbon Experience, Ban Houayxay, Bokeo Province, Laos; +856 84 21 20 21