Ziplining in Southern Laos

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On friday morning about 8.30am Jan and I headed down to the Green Discovery office in Pakse to begin our 2 day Treetop Adventure. We were joined by three french tourists and then we all hopped in a minivan and headed to the Bolevan Plateau town of Paksong before turning down a dirt sideroad for about 20 minutes to a very small village. We then got fitted out with our gear, had a drink, and started our trek to the ziplines. After just over an hour, a couple of log bridges, and a swing bridge we arrived at a small waterfall where we had lunch. After a short walk we came to our first zipline where our guide Ting, explained the safety aspects and how to use our little wooden stick as a break. The first couple of ziplines were quite short, but then became longer throughout the afternoon. It was a lot of fun but it took me a while to stop turning around whilst on the zipline and also to master the use of the break. A few of the ziplines went in front of a couple of waterfalls and most of the ziplines were quite high above the ground. On a few occasions we were lowered by rope from the platforms down to the ground where we had a short walk to the next zipline. By the end of the day we must have been on about a dozen ziplines with the longest being 200 metres. We arrived at our treehouses in the late afternoon and sat on the large deck relaxing and enjoying the view of the large waterfall in front of us. Before it got dark we all walked down to the base of the waterfall to take some photos and watch the sunset. Dinner was very nice and we had plenty of it to satisfy our stomachs. About 10pm we were lead by torchlight to a platform about 20 metres to our treehouses. We then ziplined into our room for the night. Our treehouse was fairly basic but quite nice, with 4 single beds with mosquito nets, and a large bathroom containing sink and western style toilet. Our treehouse was about 15 metres above the ground and contained no external walls, just wooden railing around the outside.

After a good nights sleep we ziplined out of room and made our way down to the common deck area for our breakfast. We then had a little walk to a couple of short ziplines before tackling the longest one of our trip at 400 metres. This one I really enjoyed because of the scenery (very high up above a river and a waterfall in the distance) and you didn't have to use your break which meant that you could relax and enjoy the whole ride. We then came back across the valley with a 380 metre zipline. We asked our guide Ting if we could do these 2 again and he happily agreed which we were all very grateful. From here it was 20 minute walk back to the deck area at the treehouses for lunch and a little rest. We then had a strenuous uphill walk for almost an hour before arriving at our last activity for the trip, a short via ferrata. At first it looked a little daunting, but once up there on the rockface, I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately it only took us about 10 minutes to complete it. I could have happily continued for a lot longer. And then there was a nice hour and a half walk back to the small village and our waiting minivan. After arriving back at Pakse we had a well deserved dinner at an Indian restaurant and went to bed early.

The 2 day Treetop Adventure cost us $197 each in a group of 5. For me it is a lot of money, but at the end of the 2 days I thought it was good value. It was a very enjoyable 2 days with great activities, great guides, good food, and a unique sleeping spot.

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