Maida Pineda goes on a hair-raising, challenging adventure through the Laotian jungle
We departed our hotel in Pakse on an idyllic Sunday morning. An hour-long drive took us through picturesque scenery, past the orderly rows of coffee plantations up onto southern Laos’ Bolaven Plateau, the country’s principal coffee region. Our destination was the sleepy farming village of Ban Nongluang, where herds of cows with bells dangling around their necks greeted us. A day of challenges lay ahead of me: a combination of eight zip lines, abseiling and canopy walks. Did I mention my fear of heights?
Leading our group was Inthy Deuansavanh, creator of Tree Top Explorer, an immersive jungle experience that offers adrenaline-pumping activities in Dong Hua Sao National Park, plus a stay in the Jungle Hotel, whose rooms are located 20 metres above ground in the trees – you need to take a zip line to leave your room for lunch or take a shower.
Once everyone was kitted out with a harness, helmet and a short, forked piece of wood to be used as the zip-line brake, we began our five-kilometre trek to the first canopy walk. A slippery trail took us up and down through streams, steep inclines and muddy terrain. I nervously traversed a wobbly hanging bridge, made even more frightening by the swift movements of my fearless companions. But the view of the waterfalls helped.
We reached the first of eight zip lines, the longest stretching 450 metres. Clipped in securely to the zip wire, my task was fairly simple. All I had to do was sit back, step off the ledge and soar until the man at the end of the line told me to “Brake! Brake!” I screamed like Tarzan, but shut my eyes tight the first time. After that I kept my eyes open, because with each line a new facet of the forest was revealed to me, including the breathtaking Khmuat waterfall, named after a monkey, and the secret falls called Taket, named for the man who discovered them. As if the zip lines weren’t enough excitement, we also had to abseil down from towering five-storey trees.
By the time we completed the eight zip lines, I was sporting an extra thick layer of mud covering my skin and shoes. But a sumptuous lunch feast (and hot coffee) of pumpkin soup, khao niew (sticky rice), jeo (spicy tomato salsa), grilled pork and sautéed vegetables was waiting for us. We devoured the feast, revelling in the view of the waterfalls, and the occasional shrieks of people zipping by.
The finale was the Via Ferrata, a jaw-dropping passage of iron U-bolts sunk into a rock wall hundreds of metres above the falls, gorges and ravines. My legs, arms and heart were all trembling, but slowly I managed with the help of two Tree Top personnel assisting me every step of the way. I shrieked and cried first in fear, then in gratitude for surviving this daunting challenge. But I still had to trek three kilometres through streams, rocks and fields before we arrived back where we had started.
The cows were still there with bells jingling around their necks. Everything appeared idyllic and serene, oblivious to the action-packed adventure I had just experienced.
GETTING THERE
Lao Airlines flies to Pakse from Ho Chi Minh City, Luang Prabang, Siem Reap, Vientiane and Savannakhet. Alternatively, fly to Bangkok or Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand and drive from there. Tree Top Explorer will pick you up from your hotel in Pakse.
November to February is coolest and driest. The southwest monsoon lasts from May/June to November, but the rainy season is not too bad, with brief heavy downpours and long periods of sunshine.
Treetop Explorer at Jungle Hotel Paksong has six tree houses accommodating up to 16 guests. Full board plus activities packages start at US$187 per person for groups of four or more. www.treetoplaos.com
